Per Christum

I have been reading a lot of the news relating to the Episcopal church lately (over at Titusonenine and Thinking Anglicans), and this is what I see operating in most of the mainline protestant churches:

-Individuals in the same church who disagree substantially and fundamentally about what constitutes true Christianity and the implications of this. I am not talking about side issues, but fundamentally

-Individuals in the same church who absolutely have no trust in one another, and who work tirelessly and politically to wear down and halt the actions of the other side

-Individuals in the same church who have a fundamentally and substantially different vision of Jesus, God, morality, sacraments, and authority

-The presence of a kind of relativism that has essentially allowed all positions, even positions that are mutually exclusive, to de facto co-exist as being of equal authortity. Ambiguous language, the unwillingness to discipline errant leaders, and the open embrace of positions and ideas contradicted by official teachings and canons (and no desire to change the canons, despite widespread ignoring of the canons), have all led to a system of authority where a variety of mutually exclusive positions are de facto normative teaching. As an example: In the Catholic Church we have dissenters, but our authority structure clearly shows that it is they who are in error, even if the dissenters are not silenced. In the mainlines there seems to be no mechanism to determine who is right and who is wrong.

There are at least 3 separate churches in the Episcopal church, maybe even more. Each group believes it is the true manifestation of classical Anglicanism. Each group is sure Scripture supports their position. Each group is sure that the other group is rude, exclusive, and oppressive. Take a look over at Fr. Jake Stops the World, and look how friendly and inclusive even the so-called inclusive folks are (check out the comments). So is true Anglicanism radically diverse and inclusive or is true Anglicanism simply the faith of the undivided[sic] Patristic Church in an English context? Historically it is hard to figure, and really depends on whom you ask. Regardless, all the while the nasty debates rage, the media picks up on this and it becomes a scandal to the faith.

This issue is complicated by the fact that we live in a postmodern age. There are very few social pressures on one to remain in a certain denomination when there are hundreds of different churches in a metro area. Anglo-Catholics are having trouble staying Episcopalian, when they know there are Catholic, Orthodox, and Continuing Anglican parishes down the road. Evangelical Episcopalians are experiencing similar concerns when there are myriad evangelical parishes within driving distance. We no longer have one state church in which every group must get along, but multiple denominations. Thus there is very little reason to stay in a warring denomination, when you can walk down the street, keep your same views, and be a member in a (basically) non-warring denomination.

Is it time for amicable and charitable splits in the bitterly divided mainline protestant churches? Is it time for a recognition that the in-fighting is poisonous and both sides would be better suited if they acted autonomously?

It’s not really my business, but I think maybe it is time. What do you think?

[Note: my intention in writing this had nothing to do with validity of sacraments per se, but effectiveness and common witness]