Perhaps some of you are animists and believe rivers, streams, oceans, trees and the grass itself to possess soul or spirit. As in, "The river which flows through our post-industrial urban hellhole is enlivened by the river nymph Asset-Stripper." Maybe you believe this animist juju, maybe you don't, but the new Bishop of St. Albans is all about it, which is why he blessed the river Marden as a "sentient being."
To be fair, the Right Reverend Dr Andrew Rumsey, newly minted bishop figure of St. Albans, wasn't the chief conductor of this riverine paganism. No, he just blessed it, signing off on pagan Councillor Robert MacNaughton. MacNaughton explained the nature of the event:
“I know rivers to be living beings, therefore they have their own consciousness and our consciousness can interact with theirs. If we put out positive feelings into rivers, then they reharmonize themselves in terms of that positive energy. If people put pollution into the rivers, they could become dead. Whilst we can't do anything about structural issues of the government, about water companies, what we can do is come to the rivers and say, we love you, you're fantastic, we need you.”
Wow, I stand in awe. Do you think, dear friends, that such Anglican Animism will bring people back to church? As in, "They're worshipping river spirits, better flock to Holy Communion on the first and second Sundays of the month."
Said no-one ever. What risible, pagan, greenlighting nonsense. Time to say enough is enough, St. Albans, we're looking at you.
Ad Flumina,
LSP
7 comments:
Whether things, objects, places or so forth have spirits or not is an interesting question. Shintoism assumes that spirits do exist in objects and places and so forth.
Last I checked, there's not a streak of Shintoism running through Anglican Christianity.
Do I believe there are spirits? Maybe. I do believe strong emotions or events can possibly leave something behind, a psychic imprint or such, as I have been places that have 'something' going on and labeling that as 'spirits' is a way of, well, labeling them.
Non-demonic emotional spirits, that is. Yeah.
But for a priest to openly bless them? Well, now that I think about it, a lot of people get their objects blessed by priests, from boats to animals to places to even golf clubs. But those blessings don't actively call out the 'spirit' entities.
Then again, the same Anglican ministers who support same-sex marriages, gay stuff, the opinion that 'God' is just a metaphor and such, now saying that animalistic or place spirits actually exist and are now part of the panoply of Christian holy things? There will be a great comeuppance come the End of Days, no?
I do believe dogs, cats, and a few other animals (elephants, whales, dolphins perhaps?) have souls (nasty ones in some cases). Rivers, stones, and such? Insects? Nope.
If you looked at that and asked yourself, "what the hell are they doing?" be advised that the "h" should be capitalized.
Good Shinto point, Beans, well spotted. Me? There's noting wrong with blessing a river, just don't pay obeisance to its spirit.
Animals most certainly do, Anon, animal souls/spirits. Rivers? Another matter again.
Totally agree, Wild.
Exactly. Bless an object as an object, not as an aware individual.
Not that I don't think things have 'spirits,' nor animals, but what the ungood cleric did smacks of paganism. No, it is paganism. Which, um, is not Christianity. But then again, from what you and others say, the CoE isn't Christian anymore.
Then again, Mother Church (Roman Catholic) wants us to be arm-in-arm with the paynim. We really need Mother Church to accidentally elect an Urban II. Please.
Post a Comment