Biology

These, to be sure, are very interesting things; whence the mysterious attraction felt by elderly bishops for other men? No one knows, perhaps it's a matter of chromosomes and DNA, maybe it's some other thing altogether. Who knows? It's a tremendous mystery and one which has consumed our part of the Church to the endless employment of primates, bishops, priests, laity, lawyers and journalists, to say nothing of Conventions and Synods. But this is only the glamorous tip of the socio-biological iceberg, there's plenty more, famously championed by TEC's Presiding Bishop, +KJS, who told us last year that, "This Church has said that our larger vision will be framed ... by the vision of shalom embedded in the Millennium Development Goals." What are these MDGs? Something to do with the Creeds and Person of Christ? Not a bit of it, they're a suite of worthy causes embraced by the United Nations, which aim to:

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, provide universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, combat AIDS and Malaria, ensure environmental stability, all the while creating a global partnership for development, which will ensure tariff and quota free access for the imports of least developed countries.

Excellent, I for one hope that the U.N. achieves its MDGs,especially tariff free imports. Still, it seems odd that General Convention, 2006, resolved these goals to be a "mission priority," especially given the fact that nothing else seems to be; apart from promoting gay rights and suing those parishes who feel conscience bound to physically disassociate them selves from such an agenda. Leaving aside its sadly litigious aspect, TEC's biological and social hobby has taken center stage and the same is true for the Anglican Church of Canada. No less than its powerful ally, the little ACoC has embraced its rich cousin's hobbyism, though if anything, the liberal minded Canadians are slightly greener.

Nuclear Winter

The recent General Synod in Winnipeg made this abundantly clear. Resolution C001 called on the House to reduce Green House Gas Emissions, A213 advocated the U.N.'s strategy to eliminate poverty, injustice, and disease everywhere through the MDGs. Another, moved by The Venerable Peter Hobbs urged the Church to foster "just and sustainable food systems." And, of course, the Synod set itself to abolish nuclear weapons and ban the use of tobacco products, this last motion being curiously defeated. As in the States, Same Sex Blessings were a hot issue, with the Synod deciding that these were not in conflict with "core doctrine," but failing to pass a resolution authorizing them at diocesan discretion.

This brings us back to the point; both TEC and its small Northern friend have plenty to say about the environment, ending poverty, and injustice in the food chain. They seek to showcase equitable treatment for oppressed minorities, such as women and homosexuals; they're good at this, but they seem to have precious little concern for anything else. The hobby, as it were, has overtaken the man; socio-biology has replaced Christ. Protestation notwithstanding, the former appears to have taken on the modish status of "core doctrine," but is this so bad? What if the hobby and the man are really the same and we've all been blind to the fact for several millennia? Blind that is, until TEC and the diminutive ACoC happily stumbled across the truth and discovered the genuine article; that Christianity is ecojustice and the gay agenda, with Our Lord being little more than some sort of CFC, a level of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere? Maybe so, after all, there's a certain pedigree to believing that God is the environment and that religious duty lies therein.

Melting Ice

Perhaps, but let's not pretend that the religion in question has much to do with Christianity. On the contrary, it acts as a solvent on it, with faith in the Transcendent Deity who became Flesh for our salvation fast dissolving into the worship of a divinized universe. With this in mind it's no wonder that MDGs frame the scope of our vision, what else is there to see but the world and its concerns? Likewise with SSBs. If the All is God, so too are all acts morally equivalent and the only sin lies in the denial of the same. We see, then, that TEC and its partner are acting with perfect consistency, but they shouldn't be surprised to find that people looking for Christianity are taking themselves elsewhere. Why sign up to a liturgical version of the United Nations when you can devote your energy to the real thing? For that matter, why should someone who is searching for a living, authentic relationship with Jesus Christ turn to a Church that doesn't seem particularly concerned with Him?

Well, there may be a reason why people should, but if there is, it is unquestionably the case that the masses aren't getting it, the Green Party hobbyism of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada are signally failing to fill the pews. So by all means hail the MDGs, vote to abolish nuclear weapons, stamp out smoking, drive oppression out of the food industry and vow to eliminate "gender disparity. Even, with the "orthodox" Bishop of Edmonton and her denomination's Synod, set about the exciting task of redefining marriage. Do this, but be sure that there will be an ever decreasing demand for the rites in question, as small congregations get smaller still, until, in the end, there is nothing left.

Experts predict that there will be one person left in the Anglican Church of Canada by 2056; pundits are divided as to whether this figure includes a miter.

---Fr. Michael Heidt is the Parish Priest of St. John the Evangelist, Calgary, in the Anglican Church of Canada and a contributor to New Directions magazine. St. John's is Calgary's Forward in Faith parish.