ok...i know i said "bring on the schism" a whole bunch of times back in the summer. but this news still makes me sad.

as is pointed out in the article, it's not as if this is a move that will lead immediately to the dissolution of the episcopal church as we know it. it does, however, signal a maddening fundamentalist trend in my heretofore pretty thoughtful church. what a shame. i am more glad than ever that my own church doesn't support this sort of terroristic christianity.

the right christians had an interesting post yesterday regarding fundamentalists' need for biblical inerrancy. allen brill (smart man) wrote, "To prevail, he must cling both to a narrow interpretation of the Bible and biblical inerrancy, neither of which can be supported by a full and honest reading of the text."

the key words here, both for albert mohler (about whom brill was writing) and for conservative episcopalians, are "to prevail." what mohler's piece essentially admits is that he has a specific preference for social organization -- traditional roles for women and nonrecognition of homosexuality -- which must be inserted into the bible on a narrow and ill-informed reading thereof.

luckily for everyone, the bible is not about albert mohler's, or the diocese of fort worth's, preferences for traditionalism. it is not a tool with which political agendas are to be supported. the bible is radical, always has been, and its only clear agenda (on my reading, at least) is all-inclusive, self-sacrificing, revolutionary love.