Fans of ancient satire (and, indeed, ancient fans of satire!) will understand the title. Tuesday was the shift from Valhalla! Anything that involves 3 hours overtime, police assistance and bruising is not a good day. Thank gawd for the meeting! You can dump the Shi'ite and get boosted - and I duly was. Wednesday was by the grace of God a day off. I went to the dentist (Hiss). The filling replacement involved no anaesthetic (gulp!) and was painless (yay!!). As was the X-ray (uh-oh). The upshot is, next Thursday, I will have my 1st ever root canal treatment :-(. Oh joy, oh rapture.
Thursday was OK, due to the zonked nature of the client (same one as Tuesday!), as was Friday. Any injuries received during leisure activities on Saturday are my own fault ("Felix culpa") and swiftly recoverable from (a nice soak in a bath will do it!). Today was fairly easy going and a relaxed bath follows the evening quiche (Holy Mother Church's revenge on gluttony and gourmandism at parish dos!).
This article caught my startled attention: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7870158/Gay-cleric-in-line-to-become-bishop-in-Church-of-England.html This is the same Jeffery John who was done out of the Suffragan Bishopric of Reading because he was gay, partnered and advanced a theology that was at odds with the potty and unenforceable "Issues in Human Sexuality" guidelines. He's now gay, partnered and (as far as anyone is aware) advances a theology at odds with...you get the picture. What has changed? Is ++Rowan no longer appeasing the foreign Rabids? No, he still wants a Covenant. Is he no longer scared of Evangelical threats of financial sanctions? Has the Cameroon revolution led to some firm Old Etonian pressure on the ABC and has he suddenly come over all Erastian (not entirely unlikely, given that DC is a practicing liberal Catholic Anglican, not a closet Papalist nor Presbyterian son of the Manse who couldn't give a stuff about the internal politics of the English Kirk). Or is Rowan Williams displaying that schizophrenic lack of consistency we have begun to know and loathe? Dammed if I know, guv! Of course, there is the unpalatable possibility that JJ is following his old buddy Rowan's example and will recant of his radical views on human sexuality, agree to follow the policy of the House of Bishop's and bag a mitre and the Tooting Bec Palais as a reward. Some words that Robert Browning penned when William Wordsworth went from radical to Establishment spring to mind:
"Just for a handful of silver he left us,
Just for a ribbon to stick in his coat"
I just hope this quote proves inapplicable in this case.
Thursday was OK, due to the zonked nature of the client (same one as Tuesday!), as was Friday. Any injuries received during leisure activities on Saturday are my own fault ("Felix culpa") and swiftly recoverable from (a nice soak in a bath will do it!). Today was fairly easy going and a relaxed bath follows the evening quiche (Holy Mother Church's revenge on gluttony and gourmandism at parish dos!).
This article caught my startled attention: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7870158/Gay-cleric-in-line-to-become-bishop-in-Church-of-England.html This is the same Jeffery John who was done out of the Suffragan Bishopric of Reading because he was gay, partnered and advanced a theology that was at odds with the potty and unenforceable "Issues in Human Sexuality" guidelines. He's now gay, partnered and (as far as anyone is aware) advances a theology at odds with...you get the picture. What has changed? Is ++Rowan no longer appeasing the foreign Rabids? No, he still wants a Covenant. Is he no longer scared of Evangelical threats of financial sanctions? Has the Cameroon revolution led to some firm Old Etonian pressure on the ABC and has he suddenly come over all Erastian (not entirely unlikely, given that DC is a practicing liberal Catholic Anglican, not a closet Papalist nor Presbyterian son of the Manse who couldn't give a stuff about the internal politics of the English Kirk). Or is Rowan Williams displaying that schizophrenic lack of consistency we have begun to know and loathe? Dammed if I know, guv! Of course, there is the unpalatable possibility that JJ is following his old buddy Rowan's example and will recant of his radical views on human sexuality, agree to follow the policy of the House of Bishop's and bag a mitre and the Tooting Bec Palais as a reward. Some words that Robert Browning penned when William Wordsworth went from radical to Establishment spring to mind:
"Just for a handful of silver he left us,
Just for a ribbon to stick in his coat"
I just hope this quote proves inapplicable in this case.
I heard a discussion (okay, a more-or-less polite and mutually incomprehending restatement of trenchant views on both sides) between a rabid traditionalist and somebody vaguely liberal on the issue, I think on the Today programme on Monday.
ReplyDeleteThe rabid traditionalist said that rabid traditionalist clergy won't be able to take the "oath of canonical loyalty". Aye, right. And that matters. You lot (gross generalisation but :) being so good at doing what you're told rather than what you think you should be doing (not that that's a bad thing!) Cue the introduction of matrix bishoprics in to the CoE (The bishop, the bishop for boys who don't like girls playing, the bishop for boys who like boys but don't mind girls playing etc, etc.)
The liberal said that if you looked at the diocesan specification for the role it asked for somebody who would "respect and encourage the contribution of gay and lesbian clergy" (not an exact quote and I can't find a link) and that Canon Johns clearly fitted that role.
It's all very silly really and frankly I seriously doubt if Le Bon Dieu gives a monkey's about it all.The High Trads now have the Roman Option and it's time to take it or pipe down. The Low and Gruesome types need to join some fundie sect like the Wee Frees!
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