Faith, Fact & Fantasy

It is my first semester at the University of Maryland, College Park, and as a budding English major, I am attending a class entitled Structural Grammar. It is a challenging concept for one steeped in more traditional notions of English grammar taught with prep school precision, not to mention six years of Latin grammar under my belt. A noun is no longer "the name of a person, place or thing." In fact a noun is no longer a noun -- it is a "nominal". Nominals are words which function in the grammatical place of a traditional noun, i.e., words which occupy the place of a subject. "Objectives" are words which occupy the place of a traditional noun when used as predicates or objects of prepositions, etc. Most importantly, verbs are no longer action words, nor are they verbs. In lieu of verbs we are introduced to "verbals", words which occupy the place of traditional verbs and which express actions. With verbals, for example, one can "engin

The Anglican Communion is a voluntary coalition of autonomous provinces linked primarily by a similar expression of worship, the desire to be "in Communion with" one another, and a large dose of good will. In the eyes of some, the Articles of the Lambeth Conference of 1888 helped to shape minimal criteria for participation in this voluntary coalition. Historically each province has been free to proclaim adherence to the Articles without proof of compliance. Of late some of the provinces have passed judgment on the actions of other provinces, calling into question compliance with the minimal criteria, and in some cases severing the ties Communion. It is not the first time that the Church of England, spiritual home of the Anglican Communion, has faced distress. The wisdom of Elizabeth in the mid-sixteenth century required Catholic and Reformed to worship together at the same altar using the same liturgy, in essence enforcing good will. The Book of Common Prayer was the s