Quick, Someone call the ACLU!

In a post below, I detail how the President of the College of William and Mary managed to turn an historic chapel into just another student activity room. Well, just a few hours north of Williamsburg, another state-run institution of higher learning, George Mason University, is showing that the process can indeed work in both directions…uh, just so long as you replace the word “chapel” with “mosque.”

More Schoriesque traditionalism!

In a nice segue from the post below, I just came across this piece about disgraced former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey’s newfound vocation…as a (potential) priest in the Episcopal Church. The writer links this up with his local paper’s interviews with leaders of the Religious Left in Tulsa, including the pastor of Trinity Episcopal, who’s eager to make it clear that he’s not all uptight about minor details like, y’know, the reality of the resurrection of Christ:

“When asked if he believes Christ was resurrected in the literal, bodily sense, McKee responded, “To answer that question is not important to me–’resurrection,’ to me, is, because we believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, a life of following the resurrected Jesus is a life of caring about the things he cared about. Another is that, when God gives life, he gives it forever.” As for the traditional notion of a literal, bodily resurrection, McKee said, “I just can’t believe it. There may have been a physical resurrection, and I would be very happy if there were, but it’s not that important to me.”

Yeah–it’s really no big deal.
Unsurprisingly, John Shelby Spong makes an appearance, and his comment is just too perfect not to quote:

” Spong was asked: Without a literal resurrection, a personal God and the Bible as an external standard for belief and conduct, in what sense do your beliefs qualify as “Christian”? Why not just do away with Christianity altogether?

“That’s a question that reveals a profound ignorance,” answered Spong.

“I don’t know of a single biblical scholar who takes the Bible literally or who believes in a literal, bodily resuscitation of Jesus,” he said.

It’s all just symbolism, after all, right? Part of a Mediterranean myth-structure (based on ancient fertility cults) that uses imagery of resurrection to illustrate the regenerative power of hope and forgiveness and compassion for the individual “believer.” Sure, Jesus is “risen” in that sense–he “lives on” in the hearts of those who, as Father McKee puts it, “care about the things he cared about.” Like global warming! I don’t know, though. Somehow I tend to be slightly skeptical of anyone who claims to understand Christianity more deeply than St. Paul did: “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” The logic of that statement seems solid, and brutally honest, to me; I suppose Bishop Spong would say that it reveals “profound ignorance” on the part of that cranky old Paul of Tarsus.

Spot the Irony!

Katharine Jefferts Schori is upset with Peter Akinola, the Anglican Archbishop of Nigeria. It seems Archbishop Akinola will be present this week at the installation of Martyn Minns as the head of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (the newly-minted denomination-within-a-denomination for orthodox Anglicans who wish to remain in the Episcopal Church). As usual, Presiding Bishop Schori’s first concern is for the sanctity of Anglican tradition: Archbishop Akinola’s meddling in her backyard “would violate the ancient customs of the church,” and furthermore would “display to the world division and disunity that are not part of the mind of Christ, which we must strive to display to all.” Of course, Bishop Schori would never DREAM of straying from the path of Anglican Tradition! Why, there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between her views on the authority of tradition and, say, Hooker’s….

Ahem. I can think of several actions and decisions on the part of Bishop Schori and her predecessors that have done vastly more damage to the unity of Christ’s church than Archbishop Akinola could ever do, even if he moved into the Diocese of Virginia permanently. (Actually not such a bad idea…)

Hat-tip to Mark Krikorian on NRO’s Corner…and check out Mark Steyn’s typically mordant reaction

Mmmm…Used Books (and donuts nearby)

I’m a used-bookstore fan from way back, ever since high school, when I used to spend hours (and very little money…used-bookstore owners can be wonderfully tolerant) browsing through the many shops in the French Quarter and on Magazine street in Uptown New Orleans. I’m not generally susceptible to consumerist frenzy–except when it comes to books–and I love finding that perfect copy of something that’s been on my list for a while, tucked away in a dusty pile, for $1.50, or something. Since that time, I’ve always made a point of seeking out the “antiquarian” stores wherever I’ve lived. The experience is not for everybody, admittedly. The stores are often unkempt, disorganized, and dusty–as are the owners! The customers can be obsessive, weirdo-types (no comment), and there’s usually not a computerized database, helpful salescollegekid or Starbucks in sight. On the other hand, they can also be charming and delightfully eccentric little cultural oases for booklovers. Among my all-time favorites are Beckham’s Books on Decatur St. in the French Quarter (no link since the website stinks…but the store is great–3 floors!); Iowa City’s Haunted Bookshop ; and Columbus, Ohio’s enormous Bookloft in German Village.

This is all prelude to recommending my latest find to you: Kubik Fine Books in Dayton Ohio, which I discovered last week when we were in town visiting my wife’s family. Kubik’s is interesting because of its strong focus on religious books, especially serious books on Catholicism. There’s a rare book room, mostly well beyond my price range. One large room is entirely given over to theological works, saint’s lives, books on liturgy, canon law, church history, and on and on. Many of the books are obviously castoffs from the library of the (Jesuit) University of Dayton, which is just up the street, but I spotted lots of major authors, lots of fascinating titles. If you’re in the neighborhood, and have any interest at all in theology or things Catholic in general, it’s definitely worth the trip. Plus the little bakery across the street has fresh donuts.