The Arrow's Path

Last Sunday began the church season of Advent. But what does that mean? Isn't it just the four weeks to great ready for Christmas?To answer these questions, I feel like I need to expound a bit on the meaning of Advent. I will expound again in later blogs about what Advent means, but to put it first into context, I need to explain it in light of its place in the Christian cycle of the year. With Advent, the Christian cycle of the year will begin anew. This cycle mirrors the life of Jesus, so we may better experience his life in all its stages, and devote part of each year in study of each individual part of Christ’s life, so we may come to a fuller understanding of Christ. It begins with the season of Advent, which means “arrival,” where, in the lectionary readings, we start setting the stage for the birth of Jesus with such stories as the Anunciation to Mary, the birth of John the Baptist, etc. In Advent, we prepare ourselves for the mysteries of Christ birth so that we may fully...

If want to read something really interesting, check out these comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury. I draw your specific attention to the following quote: "Do not think repentance is always something others are called to, but acknowledge the failings we all share, sinful and struggling disciples as we are." -Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury As the no doubt learned if somewhat Pelagiusly Rev. Dr. Williams is, I must heartily take issue with this gem of a statement. We in fact all are called to repentance. That's the whole point of grace, Rowie, my boy. If we are all sinful then we are all called to repentence.

Greetings everyone. My folks were visiting me up here in Chicago this Thanksgiving, so I have had no time to post on my blog these last few days. Things are back to normal now...hope everyone had a good break. One interesting article about how to read scripture I found at ChristianityToday that you might want to read . The following is also an interesting bit about the Kenyan Anglican church refusing money from the ECUSA over The Issue from the Church of England newspaper : "The fallout over the consecration of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire continues to rain upon the Anglican Communion as Kenya has refused funds from a New York parish to fund the church’s theological education by extension (TEE) programme. The UK-based mission society “Crosslinks” in conjunction with the evangelical pressure group “Reform” has pledged to replace the funds lost to Kenya following its decision not to accept money from supporters of Bishop Robinson in the US. For the past six ye...

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. And remember, boys and girls, its about giving thanks not gluttony!

I posted this earlier on Kyle's blog in response to a rant he had about the worth of single people in "Christianity, Inc." I thought it was worth repeating on my blog. From my friends at the SSJE ... "Each of us will pass through different phases in our lives of celibate chastity. At times we will be glad of our inner solitude, which fosters prayer, and the diversity of relationships we enjoy in community and with friends; at other times we will feel loneliness. While others are enjoying the consolations of community life, some brothers may be missing the solace of partnership, the joys of sex, and the satisfaction of having a home of thier own. There will be seasons of contentment in our singleness; there may be days of strong testing and confusion if we fall in love, or beome strongly attracted to another. Struggles will come at different stages as we break through to new levels of intergration; the challenges faced by yound religious will not be the same as tho...

I have been woefully neglecting my thought for the day bit in lieu of gargantuan other postings, which I am going to try to tone down and maybe break up into sections. OK, enough rambling. Today's thought for the days comes courtesy of my friends at the monastery in Boston. It is a reading from the 27th Chapter of The Rule of the Society of St. John the Evangelist . (And no, Kyle, it's not a fake monastery...) "Our ministries demand silence for their integrity, in particular our speaking to others and our listening to them in Christ's name. Without silence words become empty. Without silence our hearts would find the burdens, the secrets, and the pain of those we seek to help intolerable and overwhelming. And our ethos of silence is itself a healing gift to those who come to us seeking newness of life." -Rule of the SSJE, Chapter 27 "On Silence," pg 55.

Here's more on the weird story involving the piece of toast that bears a resemblance to Mary. It sold for $28000. Think how much more it would have been worth had Jesus been on there... In all seriousness, i hope they donate this money to charity. I'd hate to have to explain to the Almighty how I got rich of selling Mother Mary toast.

I. Introduction: What we wean by Gospel and Mission The mission of the church is the vehicle through which the gospel is presented to the world. Mission is not simply a “thing the church does” or one program amongst many. Mission is the very heartbeat of the church, without which the Body of Christ would die. Mission is likewise neither a vague and abstract “warm fuzzy” notion, however. Christians (lay and ordained) have many responsibilities to one another, but also they must also heed the command of Jesus to proclaim His words to those outside of the believing community (John 17:18-21). In the truly active and healthy church, mission has two clearly distinct manifestations: interior and exterior ministry. Gospel is the heart that creates the heartbeat. The gospel, grounded in the good news of the incarnational Jesus Christ, should be the center of all that is done (the mission) in the name of the Church (the institution of the mystical body of Christ) and the people (both the loca...

I feel like I need to apologize a bit for the rampant sarcasm I have used today. Sometimes I just need to rant a little and this blog will let me do it. If you feel I got carried away with today's blogs, I sincerely hope you will continue to puruse my site. I'll try to tone it down. (But you have to admit, the stockpiling WMDs crack was good...)

Prof. AKMA (aka the only person I know who goes by an acronym) pointed me to a pertinent review of The da Vinci Code in the Telegraph. Great summary: “Brown’s book is not garbage, it is garbage on stilts, hyper-garbage that invokes garbage in self-authentication.” The only thing I would add is good heresies (in this case gnosticism) never die, they just get repackaged and sold to pop culture so people can feel like they actually know something about theology.

I need to rant a bit on the state of holiday affairs in this country. Let me get it out of my system, and I won't speak of it again. Surgeon General's Warning: The Following Contains appreciable quanties of Sarcasm. Not recommended for women who are pregnant, nursing, or anyone with heart problems. It seems to me, and I am not that old folks, though granted I may act like it sometimes, but when I was a kid, if you put a Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving...you were a weirdo. Now, people who put Christmas trees up after Thanksgiving are weirdos...and if you actually wait until Christmas eve, man, you are fringe-killjoy-Scrooge-lunatic. I was in Walgreens right before (keyword here) Halloween stockpiling my WMDs (wads of marshmallow desserts, i.e. Halloween peeps) and the stockboy was putting up the real fake Christmas trees. I asked in my sardonic way if he was going to decorate it with a halloween theme, to which he replied, "Uh, I'd have to ask the manager,...

Apparently, Canada is about to allow flying Bishops to avoid the breaking up of the Anglican Communion. Read more here . Personally, I don't understand the concept of flying bishops. This defeats the whole purpose of episcopacy. Is this really viable? Any comments?

I was having an interesting chat with my friend Andrew earlier, aka my favorite theologian, and he was rather enthralled with my previous (and I thought completely benign) post concerning the 30th anniversary of women in ministry in the ECUSA. Specifically he found it interesting that someone like myself, a fairly conservative, dare I say old school, Anglican (yes, we still exist in this country, contrary to whatever notions you get from listening to anything coming out of 815) would have no problem with ordained women in ministry. I felt like I needed to expound upon this a bit. I am sort of a strange critter theologically. In actuality I try to be fairly moderate, I am certainly not a fundamentalist by any means or I could not function in the ECUSA, or more precisely I'd be run out of town on an (altar)rail. But I would be lying if I told you I did not have conservative leanings. (This is all on the theological level, I do not discuss politics on my blog.) But on the same bent...

Here's is the advanced copy of my judgment in the Pelagian Disputatio. This is a rough draft and I have not included my primary and secondary sources as yet, so any feedback would be helpful. Thanks... Sisters and Brothers in Christ, On the 18th of November, Anno Domini 2004, the matter of the Pelagian controversy was brought before myself, the Feloniously Hon. Judge Ryan Hall, in the form of a disputatio. I would like to commend both the Pelagians and the Augustinians for their hard work, well written argument briefs, and oral, if somewhat feisty, presentations. Both sides argued incredibly good cases, making my job all the more difficult. That having been said, all the sub-issues and non-sequiturs discussed both in written and oral format may be subsumed into one question, and that question is what to do with the issue of divine grace in light of human nature. While this court takes judicial notice of the differing definitions and understandings that both sides bring to the ...

In another in my list of bizarre news links involving church, read this one . Brings new meaning to the term "smells and bells." How would people from Holland know what the inside of a church looks or smells like? I find this patently absurd, as most Dutch would only be caught dead in church.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a picture of the recent disputatio of the Pelagians (on the right) vs. the Augustians (on the left) for my History of Christian Life and Thought Class. This picture is courtesy of my professor, Dr. AKM Adam . Yours Truly, the Feloniously Honorable Judge Ryan, is in the center. As my friend Andrew said...the wig is so you! Apparently I am the first ever student to wear a judicial wig to a disputatio. To make the sacrilege complete, notice my judicial tabs and also the candle I used in lieu of a gavel. I thought it was appropriate. Actually, I call it my Candle of the Sacred Barcode of Jesus, because Jesus has this big barcode (though you can't make it out in this picture.) Higher education marches on...

This week was the 30th anniversary of the "Philadelphia 11"...who 30 years ago where the first women to be ordained priests in the episcopal church. Personally, I have always supported women in ministry. I think they bring a lot to ministry that men do not possess. This blog really has no purpose other than to thank all the women ministers out there who do a fabulous job.

This week's grossly oversinplied heresy comes courtesy of Pelagius, hence the name. Pelagianism was refuted by St. Augustine of Hippo. Pelagians argued against the concept of original sin and that men are not corrupted by the sin of Adam. In essence, God created man is His image and gave us everything we need in order to achieve salvation by our own free will. Man has an inherently good nature. God demands perfection and it was in Jesus that we achieve a good example as opposed to the bad example that Adam set for us. Augustine best rebutted this heresy by quoting (and going a little overboard with it) that "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23)." Grace has little to do with salvation according to pelagianism, hence the heresy. Congratulations to this week's winner.

My friend Kyle posted this one earlier, but I think it deserves a full blog. Click here .

This one is just too weird to put into words. Click here .

This is just a weird weekend of strange Anglican news that I feel like I need to comment on. At St. George's College (and Anglican college and Cathedral in Jerusalem near Saladin), the Israeli Mossad apparently stormed in to arrest Mordechai Vanunu, a jewish convert to Anglicanism who had just gotten out of prison after spending over a decade in Israeli prison for giving away secrets of Israeli nuclear weapons. To read more, including Archbishop Riah Abu El-Assal's reaction to all this, click here . Personally, i don't know what to make of this. Having roots in Flaming Xenophobic Zionism combined with my boot-strap fascist propensity for Kissinger-esque foreign policy schemes, I'm torn here. I take traitorous actions very seriously and on the one hand can sympathize with the Israeli government. Certainly, here "on the block" at seminary, there is a latent anti-Israeli bias. And of course, those people are just eating this up. "How dare they violate a s...

Here's another strange little blurb about the Dean of the Cathedral in Philadelphia opening the doors of the church for Muslims to use for worship. To read the article, click here . Considering all the bizarre stuff that has been coming out of the Diocese of Pennslyvania (including Druidgate), I can't say I am much surprised. In fact, its just what I have come to expect. However, I am going to have to think on this one before I can write an opinion. To be continued...

Here's an interesting little article about the weird flap over the two priests from Pennslyvania who were forced to resign over being involved in Druid worship. Hopefully, this will be the last I post on this topic. I'm tired of talking about it, but its sort of morbidly fascinating nonetheless.

Pope John Paul II recently made a statement on the Windsor Report and "The Issue" of ECUSA regarding gays. To recap, he said that The Issue is an obstacle to unity, not just within the Anglican Communion but with dialog with other churchs. To read the report, click here . And the Pope is right, I think. I mean, if we can't even come to some sort of understanding ourselves within the Communion, how can expect to come to any sort of understanding with churches outside the Communion? I have said it before and I will say it again. Unity at the expense of coherence is no bargain. The main thing that I find so troubling about what the Pope said was that if and when the African Anglicans decide to split from Canterbury, that leaves other denominations not knowing who to deal with in inter-denominational dialog. On the one hand, you can deal with Canterbury, who in essense will label the Africans as Schismatic. On the other hand, the majority of Anglicans in the world will ...

This really has no theological import, but I had to post it. Its so weird: Save your Rat!

Some of my non-episcopal friends have been asking me on what exactly a Commission on Ministry is. So, let me elaborate on this... The Bishop of a Diocese (Yes, diocese was orginally the latin name for province, under the old Roman Imperium system) is ultimately the one who ordains a person (either to the deaconate or to the priesthood). To that end, there is a process where a person who seeks ordaination in the ECUSA is first canonically an aspirant to the priesthood. There has to be a meeting with the person in question's rector, who then recommends to the Bishop if this person possibly has a vocation. There is a meeting or two with the Bishop, and after receiving approval from the vestry of the local church, the aspirant files all the paperwork, background checks, etc., the Bishop recommends a person to be interviewed by a VIC (I think that stands for vocational inquiry committee but don't quote me on that. I never can remember that one). The VIC is a subcommittee of the C...

A word of clarification from the Obsequiously Hon. Ryan Hall (judge) about the disputatio. I feel like you people are freaking out over this needlessly. A counsel for the Anti-Pelagians who shall remain nameless and locked away in an undisclosed location asked me this question: >Any chance we could get a rough year of when this disputatio takes place? what's happened >already, who's got what authority, etc... I have consulted His Grooviness AKMA and here is what he "strongly suggests, sisters and brothers..." His basic intent was to have a disputatio essentially take place at the height of the controversy, seeing as its a history class. This is more like a debate on the question involved, so try not to get too hung up on what happened when in what counsel, etc. I AM NOT GOING BY PRECEDENT HERE. As a judge I do not care how other courts/disputatios/monkey trials have ruled, so please don't bring that up. AKMA in fact discouraged that. Pretend that this is...

Just to let you all now, my meeting with the Commission on Ministry could not have gone better. I got their recommendation and am now a full Postulant from the diocese of Nebraska. Thanks to everyone who said a prayer for me. I will post a reflection on this tomorrow, but right now, having been up since 3AM...I'm going to bed. Thanks again all+!

Its time for the game show...That's My Alma Mater! This blurb was forwarded to me by my friend Josh. It apparently comes from the Associated Baptist Press wire: Tennessee Baptists to investigate teaching at three colleges By Greg Warner SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) -- Tennessee Baptists turned back an attack on "anti-Christian" teaching in public schools but agreed to investigate the biblical views taught in their three affiliated Baptist colleges. Messengers to the Tennessee Baptist Convention Nov. 9-10 in Sevierville asked the education committee of their Executive Board to investigate what is taught at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Belmont University in Nashville and Union University in Jackson. The action came in response to an allegation from a current Carson-Newman student, who told messengers some of the college's professors -- particularly in the religion and science departments -- teach viewpoints contrary to conservative views about the Bi...

Before I start my Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Weekend dash to Omaha (more on that later), I need to annouce this week's winner in the Heresy of the Week contest! Winners receive...well, fire and brimstone. Honorable mention receives burning sulfur. (Please realize this is tongue in cheek) This week's winner! Messalianism! Honorable Mention: Alexander the Sleepless Alexander the Sleepless was one of the most controversial monastic figures of the Eastern Church in the later half of the 4th Century because he was one of the last renowned monastics in the Eastern church who followed the apostolic model of monasticism in extreme austerity and evangelism. Alexander refused to remain confined to the steppes of Syria in the traditional role of “desert father,” and with his appearance in urban Constantinople, became a threat to the church powers that wanted more centralized and organized control of the church, monastics, and monasteries. Alexander was charged as a Messalian and banished, ...

Here's an interesting little blurb about one of my personal pet peeves: inclusive language for God: http://titusonenine.classicalanglican.net/index.php?p=3364 I will probably write a rant on this at some later point, but I have not the time now.

I have been tinkering a bit with my previous post concerning my Anglo-Catholic adventure, and decided instead to write another post all together. To recap my previous post, I was not quite sure about what I felt of participating in an ueber-high church goings-on, especially in light of the pompous hat affair. Ultimately I have come back to where I was to begin with. While on the one hand, I certainly felt the presence of God, especially during the sacrament of communion. On the other hand, my Calvinist Redlight(TM) kept going off at the understanding of needless smells and bells. Honestly, I came back to my reformed tendencies. Would God have not been present, or for sake of argument "as present" if we had not had all these sacred things or, as I call them, theological bling-blings? Is God any less present in churches that don't use incense or wear superciliously pompous hats? And ultimately, my Calvinist side wins the argument, for of course God is still present in...

I have been pretty lax on posting this week, so I feel I must apologize to my two avid readers. Things have been oppressively busy this week. I am having to make a trip to Omaha on Saturday as I have been summoned by the Almighty Inquistion one last time (otherwise known the Commission on Ministry.) Oh the joys of episcopacy! But the good news is, if all goes well, this should be the last round of bum kissing as I should be finally and officially granted postulancy. I have had the bishop's approval for some time, but church bureacracy is church bureaucray. "Learn to love it!" the Calvinist says through clinched teeth. I won't have to fool with the COM again until I file for ordaination candidacy, but that won't be for a least a year. And in any event, the COM is paying for my plane ticket this go round, so all is well. But please say a prayer for me on Saturday that I can say the right things, pretend to be a team playing seminarian that loves bureacracy, and n...

In other news, here's a weird blurb about an Episcopal Church in Connecticut hosting "gay bingo." Like I said before, news so weird, you can't make this stuff up... To read the whole story, click here . )Virtueonline.org is something of an enigma, so keep in mind the source.)

Well, apparently the bizarre incident, which I have dubbed Druidgate, with the Episcopal priests in Pennslyvania involved in apparent Druid worship (I am not making this up folks) has ended in resignation. The priest had recanted but resigned his post today. For more, click here . As strange as this is, I do have to say at least the minister involved did the right thing, both in the recanting and in the resignation. Strange but true, folks...strange but true.

As most of you know (and all likely find amusing), I was asked to sub-deacon at St Paul's by the Lake yesterday. St Paul's is the church I have gravitated to here in Chicago, mainly because it has a conservative bent (specifically opposing "The Issue"), which appeals to me. The flip side of that is that St Paul's is as high church as you can possibly get, they even bust out the 1928 prayer book (apparently to the utter horror of the Bishop of Chicago) at least every 2 weeks or so. Being th elow church Anglo-Calvinist that I tend to be, I sort of have mixed feelings about it. I have to admit, on the one hand, I am not used to going to a service that you would mistake for a Pre-Vatican II service. Its "Old School" to say the very least. There is no free standing altar, the priest has his back to the congregation for most of the liturgy of the sacrament. They even use the Puritanical elements from the 1940 hymnal. Needless to say, I have mixed feelings ...

I have not really been posting on the bizarre events in Pennslyvania where a clergy couple were alleged to be involved in Druid worship. I just assumed it was some sort of internal rumor or smear campaign. Apparently, there was some truth to it to the extent that the priests involved issued a full recant. For more on this, click here . I have to admit this is one of the weirdest things I have ever heard about in recent years. I don't even know what to think about it, other than I am glad I am not the bishop who has to deal with. I am pleased that the people involved have fessed up and recanted. On the matter of any sin involved on a personal level, I consider the matter closed. However, in my opinion, such people are no longer fit to be priests until such time, if ever, as they have agained earned the trust that comes with being a minister of Christ (keyword Christ, not trees).

I just got an e-mail from one of the people in my History of Christian Life and Thought class wanting me to put my rules for when I judge the next disputatio debate or everyone, not just counsel, can read it. So, here it is: Official Summons to the Disputatio Hear Ye! Hear Ye! You are officially requested and required to appear and defend your case for or against Pelagianism in the Ecclesial Court of AKMA, Thursday 18th November, in the Year of our Lord 2004. Pro-Pelagians (Defendors: M. Buterbaugh and C. Wilson, et al.) v Anti-Pelagians (Prosecutors: R. Horn and E. Scriven, et. al.) Structure of the Disputatio General Opening Formal Pleading (Guilty/Not-Guilty) General Instructions repeated by the Judge 10 minute opening statement from each side (Prosecution goes first) Recess 5 minute rebuttal (prosecution) 5 minute counter-rebuttal (defense) Question and Answer session Potential sentencing recommendations in the event of a guilty finding. Adjournment Judge’s Commen...

Here's one for you... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3988263.stm Any thoughts? Leave a comment

This week's winner of the Heresy of the Week award is: Antinomianism This term itself is a relatively recent one, and was sort of an interesting reaction to Luther's doctrine of justification by faith alone and not works. Just as Luther stated that good works could not save you, antinomianists taught that neither can you be condemned by bad works. Essentially this means that bad works could not force a Christian from grace because they had faith. In reality, this heresy has its roots all the way back, even to certain elements of Gnosticism and Marcionism. As an interesting side note, this is the roots of the Evangelical Protestant (especially parts of Southern Baptists and the like) principle of "once saved, always saved." For an interesting write up on this, click here . Bear in mind this article is from the Catholic Encyclopedia, and though an excellent reference, the article is somewhat slanted against Protestantism.

I have been a little over whelmed of late and have not been posting to my blog like I should. So, here is the thought for the day: "Ambrose, Bishop of Milan around AD 375, was innundated with refugees after a nearby region had been sacked by some Goths. Ambrose ordered that funds be raised for them by melting some of the golden vessels and ornaments of the church. This created a storm of criticism by church folk, to which Ambrose replied: 'It is better to preserve for the Lord souls rather than gold. He who sent the apostles without gold also gathered the churches without gold. The church had gold, not to store it, but to give it up, to use it for those who are in need...It is better to keep the living vessels than the golden ones!' " -pg 191 of The Story of Christianity by Justo Gonzales, Harper Publishing 1984 Things haven't changed much in churches in 1700 years have they? Try talking parishioners into giving the new sound system to the poor and see wha...

This came across the Episcopal News Service wire a few minutes ago. Our Presiding Bishop wrote a good letter that I will pass along: "Wednesday, November 03, 2004 A Statement from the Presiding BishopENS 110304-1 [Episcopal News Service] Having come through one of the most vitriolic anddivisive election campaigns any of us has ever experienced, we now look ahead tothe next four years and the continuing leadership of President Bush. For manyof our fellow citizens this is a cause for rejoicing. For others it is anoccasion for despair. Given the polarizing rhetoric that has been employedthroughout the campaign, it may be very difficult to find our way forward. Therefore, what is needed now on all sides is a genuine effort to move beyondentrenched positions and to seek common ground. What is needed now is aunifying vision, clearly articulated, of our great nation as a servant of allthe world’s peoples in their yearning after justice and peace. Our President has consistent...

Unless you have been living in a cave and now have mysteriously resurfaced only long enough to check the blog of a first year seminarian, you will know the outcome of the US Presidential election. (Without mentioning names, Hint: the incumbent won). My mantra for this blog is theology not politics, so though I must grit my teeth and be non-partisan and non-cynical, I will countenance a few brief thoughts as they pertain to theology. Regardless of whatever you think of the President and his policies, I offer you these two thoughts from the Book of Common Prayer: First, i call upon the President to remember this prayer, and I hope for his sake as well as our own, that he can live it out. For Social Justice (BCP. p. 823) "Grant, O God, that your holy heart and life-giving spirit may so move every human heart (and especially the hearts of the people of this land) that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions heal, and hatreds cease; that out divisions being healed, w...

Well, its not as bad as it could have been. But here is what the Anglican Bishops at their meeting decided to do (a good write up by the BBC) : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3972433.stm Yeah, you go, boys! +

On the eve of a potentially divisive and ugly election, I thought it would be appropriate, loath as I am to talk about politics, to offer the following thought from the Book of Common Prayer. Let us pray for the whole state of Christ Church and for the world: From pg 822 (National Prayers section) of the BCP: " 24. For an Election Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of the United States (or of this community) in the election of officials and representatives; that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." And for our country, regardless of whatever happens tomorrow (Pg 820 of the BCP): "18. For our Country: Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for ourheritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always proveourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will.B...