"It is a most invaluable part of that blessed 'liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,' that in his worship different forms and usages may without offence be allowed, provided the substance of the Faith be kept entire; and that, in every Church, what cannot be clearly determined to belong to Doctrine must be referred to Discipline; and therefore, by common consent and authority, may be altered, abridged, enlarged, amended, or otherwise disposed of, as may seem most convenient for the edification of the people, 'according to the various exigency of times and occasions.'"
- Preface to 1789 Book of Common Prayer
Okay, so if you are not a Christian, or if you are unfamiliar with the Book of Common Prayer and Episcopalianism, here's your crash course. Within Christianity there are various expressions of the faith: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Coptic, etc. What this blog is based on is the worship practice of the Anglican Communion, as it is practiced in the Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church is really just the Anglican church in the United States, although I'm simplifying a little here in order to not get into...ahem, certain debates. You've probably heard of the Church of England; it recently solemnized a certain marriage. Well, they started all of this by wanting to break away from Rome so that Henry could get a divorce. Terrible reason to start a church, I grant you, but here we are.
Now within the Anglican Communion, we have what is called the Book of Common Prayer. (I should point out that this link goes to a Wikipedia page which seems to have a British bent to it.) I am hopelessly in love with the Book of Common Prayer, mostly because the Anglican Communion seems to avoid having much of what might be termed doctrine. Of course we do have some, but Anglicans aren't known for theorizing about purely thought-based questions. They are known for agonizing over the wording of prayers and whether or not to have a thurifer (someone with incense during the worship service). The center of Anglicanism appears to be worship and the collective activity of the Church. I say "appears to be" because I am relatively new to all of this, which gets into my final point.
Something has gone terribly, terribly wrong in Christianity, in that many people calling themselves Christians purport to make a point. "The point" usually has to do with "believing in Jesus." Belief in this context also means believing in a heaven and hell, which are clearly defined by people who apparently never read the Bible, and a desire to end up in the former rather than the latter. If you choose to prefer heaven, you tell Jesus so and that you know he came to save you from your (also badly-defined) sins. You then continue to live your life along Republican party lines, and then you die. Personally, I have no idea what happens to you after that because I don't buy any of it.
This blog is a representation of my writing. My writing is not designed to answer questions. It is explicitly crafted in order to participate in a conversation. I will ask questions, others will ask more, and generally I will just generate even more. I am new to being an Episcopalian (I was just confirmed a year ago), but as I like to ask questions I feel it appropriate that I should just dive in.
If you feel like posting thoughts on this blog, please do; I'm sure at some point I'll figure out how to view them. I confess, however, that if I know you, I'd MUCH prefer a conversation in person, over the phone, or even in a letter. (Or a postcard! So short! So sweet!) My philosophy of life consists of talking until you reach an impasse, and either going to bed or making something yummy to eat. A hug might be called for at some point. But I haven't the least bit of interest in coming up with a theology of anything. You will see feminist slants to my writing, and probably not a little agony over the state of the natural world, and you might catch on that I like books, wine, and my boyfriend. But I am not really interested in making a point. That would require defense, and defending myself ruins my appetite.
