B16 and the Zeitgeist

B16's Coat of Arms

You'll have to forgive me for speculation but I don't think there's much room remaining for bit-part Christian players in the face of militant secularism and Islam. That twin and oddly inter-related threat indicates an urgent call for Church unity; at least that's the way I see it and perhaps the latest announcement from the Vatican concerning a new canonical structure for Anglican converts is a move in that direction. Time will tell; in the meanwhile I've enjoyed this take on the NOTE from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Here's an excerpt, from Let Nothing You Dismay:

"There are those whose visceral suspicion of the Vatican is such that they are already queuing up to accuse Pope Benedict of “poaching” traditionalist Anglican clergy and laity. I’m at a loss to understand their logic. For years we have been told, in effect, to leave because we are not wanted in the new “inclusive” Anglican order. Now we hear that we are being “poached” by the terrible scheming, devious Church of Rome. Could it be that modernists know deep down in their heart of hearts that heterodoxy needs even a vestigial remnant of orthodoxy (however much they affect to despise it) to feed off and in some sense protest against, and that without it they fear they will just wither and die? I shouldn't be tempted into amateur psychology, but I am convinced that some of our ecclesiastical leaders dream they are still taking part in the student protests of the 60s; it would account for their “blue jeans” version of theology; in their hearts they are still fighting “the establishment,” failing to appreciate that they themselves have become the conventional authority figures they so despise. But are liberals so lacking confidence in their newly packaged and zeitgeist-friendly version of the faith..."

It's interesting to see that the ancient Churches of the West and East have both begun to move towards positive dialogue with trad Anglicans as soon as links were cut with the mainstream, "zeitgeist friendly version of the faith." Well, you know what they say, "I don't want a God that looks like me."

Horses and guns tomorrow.

LSP