Let's Try This Again

Saturday evening I put up a post titled "Ol' Grumps Of The Desert," which, when I looked at it again Sunday morning, was not one of my best rants so I deleted it. The subject was good but I didn't express myself as well as I'd like. I'm going to try again.

The other day the Lovely Mona and I were walking to the grocery store, and we were talking about some research she is doing for a class. The subject is how Creationism and Evolution are portrayed in the mainstream media. We agreed that it's hard to believe that we're still having this discussion here in the twenty-first century. Actually, I don't care if some spittle-flecked snake handler wants to believe that God created the world in six twenty-four hour days and that the earth is only 10,000 years old; what I don't like is when said spittle-flecked snake handler interferes with the education of my children. Now, fortunately, my children are both adults and accept the theory of evolution, in fact, when Tara was about seven she laughed at my mother when my mother expressed creationist views. I don't want any spittle-flecked snake handler or even orthodox so called Anglican interfering with my grandchildren's education, either (no, really; read some of the comments at Titus 1:9. Some of those people are creationists! They believe in Intelligent Design). My faith is not based on everything in the Bible being factual; I have no problem with the Creation Story as myth, so it's difficult for me to understand people whose faith is threatened by evolution. As far as I can see, evolution is the method God used in creation. The idea that one can't be a True™ Christian and believe in evolution is simply not true; I have a dear friend who is an Evolutionary Biologist and he is very orthodox; he and I don't always agree on theology (we're still arguing Cyril and Nestorius) but we do agree that evolution is real.

I was first attracted to the Episcopal Church because it's a church that encourages questions and doesn't condemn folks to hell for having doubts. I was also attracted to the Episcopal Church after my childhood in the Assemblies of God and the time I spent in the Divine Light Mission cult, two groups who discouraged questions and curiosity and expected everyone to toe the party line, because I wasn't expected to believe in Biblical inerrancy. Now we have people who call themselves Anglican who are demanding just that, which makes no sense at all. They have veered from Anglican thinking and are demanding that everyone accept their idolatry of the Bible or be cast out to outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Some say that "I didn't leave the Church, the Church left me." Well, I've only been an Episcopalian for twenty some years, but when I was a boy serving as an acolyte at the Chapel at Sukiran, the majority of the chaplains were Episcopal priests, and I don't remember any of them being Biblical literalists, so I'm thinking that the orthodox so called's idea of Biblical Authority is just so much baloney.

The other subject the Lovely Mona and I discussed was this article I read at Pandagon. Now, why should I care what fringe-Evangelical Protestants think about birth control? Because nowadays the ideas of the spittle-flecked are soon voiced by the orthodox so called Anglicans, unfortunately. The Lovely Mona and I were wondering why some traditionalists and conservatives see pregnancy as punishment for sex. I think that what really amazes me is that there are still people in the West of the twenty-first century who view (heterosexual) sex as something that men do and women submit to. They don't see any reciprocity in the act.

I guess I'm somewhat frustrated that humanity is moving backwards. When I graduated from high school thirty-six years ago (really, granpa?) I never expected that we would still be arguing about evolution and creation and birth control and biblical authority. To be fair, I did believe that I'd have a flying car by now where the hell is my flying car? Frankly, if some folks want to believe in Creationism, that's fine; just don't demand that everyone else believe it. If some Christians want to believe in Biblical inerrancy, that's fine, just don't demand that all Christians do so. If someone wants to believe in a three-tiered universe with God living in the sky, watching and waiting for us to mess up so he can smite us, fine, just don't demand that I buy that bill of goods. If someone wants to pretend that they're living in the sixteenth century, well, there's always the Ren Fair, but don't demand that we who live in the twenty-first century must go back in time with you!

Here endeth the rant.

James over at The Three-legged Stool is thinking along similar lines. Padre says, "Check it out."