Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Anglicanism, liberal or conservative, or ...?

First, an excellent commentary from the Anglican Communion Institute on the meaning of the TEC resolutions D025 and C056. (Remember, ACI's general thrust is, Support TEC, Not support ACNA, Encourage TEC to comply with Windsor etc - a conservative strategy within TEC).

Its conclusion is:

"Whatever one makes of the resolutions of the last two General Conventions, it is clear that TEC has now charted its own course and no longer considers itself bound by previous undertakings and Communion moratoria."

In short, that course is being charted is in an explicitly 'liberal' or 'progressive' direction, relative to the innate conservatism of the Communion.

Many things can be said about such a direction, from cheering it on to condemning it. But whether our passion is to move forward in a progressive or conservative direction, extremes should be avoided (common sense suggests). Thus readers might find this column by leading US political commentator David Brooks sobering. In it he makes the point that the Republican party has lost its way because it has lost touch with middle America ... and the Democratic party is rapidly going the same way with its 'don't care, won't listen' attitude to increasing the deficit and the tax take! Each party seems bound to the extremes, rather than guided by the middle.

Lessons to be learned for world Anglicanism?

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