North American Anglican church splits

I apologize in advance for copying and posting again something that I posted on another string about an article on just this topic, but it is relevant. Because of conflicts going on within a group of friends of mine, I became very much aware of this whole fight within the Episcopalian Church.

Here's the post:

Though I am not an Episcopalian myself, I have friends who are. I know some people that are right in the middle of this. There has been a lot of conflict amongst them over the entire subject of homosexuality. That has been the flashpoint that has instigated this split.

Most of the people I know are mainstream Episcopalians who support the current church policies. Several of them have been sending numerous copies of e-mails to me that they have been receiving from the people separating from the main church, urging them to come over to that side.

When you see some of the e-mails that the separationists are sending to each other and on to those they want to lure away, it is interesting to see how their worldview fits together. With this one particular group that has been leading the secessionist fight, and has succeeded to a point, in one area of the United States, it is not just homosexuality that it opposes.

This group, also, opposes evolution, a woman's right to choose, the idea that there is global warming, wind power energy, protection of the environment and ecology as that is worshiping the creation instead of the creator, any heterosexual sexual acts outside of or before marriage, national health care, sex education, any government funding for birth control, any government regulation of business or taxation of the rich, any restrictions on oil drilling, and the endangered species act--see creation and creator above. When you see the e-mails, and I have had hundreds of them forwarded on to me, and have even had a few sent directly to me, you can see that they all fit of a piece.

Needless to say, when friends have asked my advice on this, I have told them that I think that they are right to stay in the main Episcopalian Church and not follow these other people out of it.

The Quakers are a fascinating faith. I am very impressed with them, too. There is a village about an hour from me that was founded by Quakers, and it is a wonderful place to visit in the Fall when they have a Harvest Festival there. I have, also, known several Quakers through the years, and they were very intellectual and intelligent people.

Anyone here ever look up the Quakers?
Awesome people. I've started attending meetings at the local meetinghouse on Sundays. They are COMPLETELY tolerant people. They believe completely in equal rights for ALL.

While I don't consider myself religious, I LOVE being surrounded by these great people.

The Episcopalians came from dissatisfaction with Roman Catholic doctrines, as did many others.
Historically, this doesn't seem any different to me.
The beat goes on.

All interesting. Would be nice to get rid of religion and back to faith. Religion seems just to mess stuff up.

I grew up in the Episcopalian church, although at present I could be described more as a Buddhist than anything else. I say, kudos to the Episcopalians (aka Anglicans) for sticking to their very welcoming, open, and accepting beliefs! This new 'breakaway' church, by being so bigoted, completely defies the basic tenets of what Christianity in any form is supposed to mean - love. Their commandments must read "love thy neighbor, unless he's gay!"

There's an Anglican church over by my house...I've never seen anybody there, though.

Glad to hear that some people don't think homosexuality is evil, though.

What are they going to call their new church, the "Conservative Anglicans"?

Why don't they do something useful and just go away all together?

I figured with all the rapes they'd have been gone years ago.

When you have to split in a religion it's a good sign what you are doing and believing wasn't right to begin with.

I'm still fascinated by way conservatives of most religions are so hung up on sex in general and gay/lesbian sex in particular. Interracial gay/lesbian sex would be still worse, I suppose. Not sure where millennial-old tradition of sex with farm animals or household pets would fall on the continuum. Bizarre way to look at the world (and in many cases at one's own self, as with Ted Haggard), especially in the name of religion.

waste of time. stupid religions. how about going back to what its supposed to be about, the faith and the relationship

"Traditionalist"?

Is this to be the New Anglican Church: Bigot Division?

Lord knows, there's a lotta those, in every religion!

But. pray tell, to who exactly are these "faithful" being faithful? Doesn't seem like the spirit of Jesus is anywhere in them.

I grew up in the Anglican Church. Life is better as an atheist. As a child I could see that many of the people who were on their knees in church were exploiting others for the rest of the week.

The Jesus myth is basically a good thing, feeding the hungry and giving away the extra coat and all that, throwing over the tables of the money changers and telling the rich they may not get into heaven...but the rest of the church message was so misogynistic, even a child could see it. They lost me with Adam and Eve story. It is clearly a system of social governance designed to establish and hold power over the sheep.

I still go to church, I like the sense of compassionate community, but it is a liberal religious tradition, the Unitarian Church, which values all people and all traditions without requiring a buy-in to any dogma. Its also a great way to teach world religions to children, who tend to grow up thinking independently and much less likely to get sucked in by any effort to indoctrinate them into a dogmatic, oppressive and exploitative social structure (religion).

I applaud the Anglicans who welcome people who are LGBTQ, and disparage those who do not. Who would Jesus hate?

"band on the run" (Beatles song, get it?)