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| Layman
responds to statement by Moderator and Stated Clerk
The Layman has responded to the letter
from the Moderator and the Stated Clerk by posting supportive words
from Bob Davis, executive director of the Presbyterian Forum, a
conservative organization that works closely with the Lay Committee.
Davis asserts that the General Assembly leaders are
mistaken in their criticisms of the Layman's charges, and charges
that the leaders are trying "to isolate and alienate The Layman"
from other conservative groups. He bases this partly on the fact that
Moderator Jack Rogers acknowledged to the recent Denver
gathering of evangelicals that there may be many supporters of the
confessing church movement who are not supportive of the
"apostasy" charges, and who do not appear intent on splitting
the church.
Interestingly, the Layman's headline states: "Forum
leader says moderator, stated clerk were out of line." Well,
yes - Davis does use those words in his statement, but he uses them to
summarize what Rogers and Kirkpatrick were saying about the Layman,
and not to describe the actions of the two GA leaders themselves.
The
rest you can read for yourself. |
A
visitor comments on Bob Davis' defense of the Layman
We received this note from Jonathan Justice, who describes himself as
"a long time MLP activist and gardener, now at home again in
Indiana." [8-15-01]
Goodness! Whyever would sensible people conspire to isolate The Lay
Committee? How hard would they have to work to beat the Lay Committee's
24 Members, 6 Emerti, and 4 Staffers at something which they have
managed to do so well for themselves?
As I have suggested elsewhere, the Lay Committee's
grasp of polity is problematical. Having skated along for years on
wishful thinking about being in charge, their writers have now done a
Napoleon routine and crowned themselves Ecclesiastical Authority.
Unfortunately, they have neglected to conquer Italy, or much else. Mr.
Bonaparte had both the general excuse of having survived the excesses of
the French Revolution and sufficient clout to make it stick for a while.
The Lay Committee seems to suppose that the money that
Mr. Pew's Foundation pumps into its budget constitutes a reasonable
substitute. (Yes, Mr. Bonaparte did publish a highly partisan
'newspaper' too.) I do suppose that "discovering" and pimping
a leadership-oriented Presbyterian version of the Confessing Church
movements will keep the money flowing for a while, but we would all do
well to remember just how close his little Conquest of Egypt came to
killing off Mr. Bonaparte.
I can certainly believe that the Stated Clerk and the
Moderator would know what they are talking about, since they are, after
all, the chief elected national officers of our church. When they
suggest that the professional scofflaws at the Lay Committee would do
well to address matters of the life of the our church with a certain
judicious moderation, it does not strain my credulity much at all.
Unfortunately, neither does the Lay Committee's B-movie performance of
Righteous Fury as Generals Pique and Obfuscation.
We should all remember that whatever the outcomes of
the initiatives arising from the 213th General Assembly and
the broader PresbyRight's responses to them, the Lay Committee will
continue to find noxious tangents to run off on. That is its job.
Jonathan Justice |
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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