A friend pointed out to me that I've posted precious little to my blog over the past two weeks. This is due to having been away in Buffalo for my brother Blane's ordination, and the following day, and returning home to Christmas week to find my parish church had been burgled — the consequent dealing with detectives, insurance adjusters, locksmiths and repair people being at least as trying as the break-in itself. There is a news report from the NY Times, if you are interested in more detail.
As to the internet, I have been commenting a bit on a thread at Thinking Anglicans. After reading his comments on history, I'm surprised Dr. Seitz calls me a revisionist!
In any case, I do promise to post the sermon from Blane's ordination, in that beautiful Cathedral in Buffalo, shortly. Those interested in my Christmas sermons can find them at Ekklesiastes.
TSH+
The Rev'd Jonathan Hagger, known to friends (and a few foes) as Mad Priest, has entered a new phase of ministry, in the virtual parish Saint Laika's. Of it, Jonathan says:
Pay a visit, say (and hear) the Office, contemplate a saint or two, offer a prayer, and, if you are so minded, read the "sermon" that Jonathan bid me contribute for the inaugural.Absolutely everyone is welcome at St. Laika's.
We are an ecclesial community without any formal membership. You are part of it if you want to be part of it.
We are pan-denominational and nobody is excluded because of their personal beliefs or lack of belief. Our worship is from the Christian tradition and our liturgy is borrowed from any source that takes our fancy.
We are an emergent church. We go where God leads us. We are an experiment that is attempting to blur the edges between the virtual and the real worlds. It is our intention to have a presence outside of the internet. We are an international group but each of us is based firmly in our own local context. We are what we are.
On this webpage we will be creating opportunities in which we can worship together. There will also be articles posted, not to tell you want to think but to get you thinking. If you wish to contribute in any way please email the blog administrator via the link below. You can also comment on any post in the normal blogging fashion although nasty or trollish stuff will be rejected.
It is interesting to see the Internet, primarily via Twitter, beginning to restore what amounts almost to declensions — or at the very least appositive particles — to finesse on-line language in the byte-sized space of tweets.
How fascinating, for instance to find the use of the hash-mark (#) adapted to serve function analogous to the Japanese ga or wa — as a topic or subject marker.
More sinister is the use of the at-sign (@) as a substitute for the old vocative “O” — imagine that! O tempore! o mores! The problem is that as many tweets and blog-comments devolve, talking at is replacing talking to, for which the ready symbol is the trusty numeral. So, 2myreaders, might I suggest even better that we talk with one another, and apply the friendly ampersand (&)? Are you &me?
Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG
Regular readers will have noticed that I have not posted, nor even done much in the way of the comments section of this blog, for the last week or so. This is because I have been called for, and am now serving, jury duty in the Bronx Supreme Court. After a day in the jury pool, my name was drawn for a panel, and as the attorneys did their winnowing, a jury of six (this is a civil case) was chosen, and then out of the remaining few possible candidates two of us were accepted as alternates. On the second day of the actual trial, one of the jurors went home for lunch break and took a nap from which he did not awake until it was too late to return to the courthouse. Then, in a moment not unlike that recorded in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, the names of the two alternates, on bar-coded slips of paper, went into the spinning drum, and the lot fell on me. The case is expected to continue through most of the coming week. After which, I hope I will be able to resume blogging and commenting at a rate approaching the usual.
Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG
It is a commonplace that new communication developments have made the world smaller and more intimate. I would like to opine that this is more appearance than reality.
The proliferation of social networks, twitters and tweets, facebooks and googles and myspaces and second lives may create new electronic connections and foster communication by these means, but I do not think this makes us a global village. Look at how difficult it has been to get real food and medical supplies to real people in Haiti — for all the almost instantaneous footage of the disaster, and the goodwill to text-message a contribution, the aid seems to be taking about what it did a quarter or a half or more of a century ago to reach those in need.
And that is because whatever the speed and form of communication, it remains communication: a text-message may speed the message on its way, but the actual human contact (perhaps well aided by simultaneous improvements in travel capabilities) will still take a while to get up and running. There is, in short, a humanity gap — the gap between the virtual communication and the real presence.
There is also the question of how intimate one can be with hundreds of facebook friends or twitter followers; and how deep an engagement of persons can be when limited to 140 characters. Does this not rather substitute for intimacy something analogous to fast food? Perhaps starved for true intimacy we accept the appearance of dispatches from facebook or tweets from twitter as eagerly as war-brides once looked for the postman.
I"m not saying "Down with social networks." What I'm saying is, "Let us not kid ourselves." It takes a village to be a village, and for all the benefits of quick and easy and voluminous communication, true fellowship and intimacy will always take more than speed-dialing.
Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG
On this feast of Thomas the Apostle, friend and sage (though she'll deny it, of course!) Mimi has posted a wise poem about the weakness of the apostolic band, and how much encouragement we can derive from knowing that even the best and greatest are far from perfect. In our pilgrimage of faith (with its doubts and dark moments) this can help to give us strength to continue the journey Godward, knowing we are forgiven by the very God who draws us on.
Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG
The Blogosphere as Schul
It seems to me that much of our discussion, on a number of topics, has taken on an almost Talmudic quality, in which any given thesis or concept is surrounded by a halo of commentary and commentary on commentary — much of it in the interlinked realm of the Internet rather than the printed page. In the midst of this sometimes polemical but always expanding web of conversation, what are we to make of those who want a simple black-and-white up-or-down answer to the underlying question? Perhaps the best answer to the unanswerable is to hedge it about with every possibility, in the hope that a pattern might emerge?
Actus Purus
Think of God not only as Being Itself or the Ground of Being, but also as Potentiality Itself; not as a Thing or even the Best Thing or even just the Source of all Things, but also the origin of even the Possibility of Thinginess. This gets us away from Nobodaddy and the God Rejected by Dawkins, but also and to an important extent even somewhat away from the God of Scholasticism. As with the former thought, this is also about hedging about the Unknown with the Merely Known.
Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG
Fellow-blogger Grandmère Mimi was in town for a brief visit and James and I went out for drinks and dinner to the famous Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station. This is my first visit there in about forty years. It was a true treat, to visit with Mimi and enjoy a meal together. That's her at the left, me at the right, and James in the midst. And yes, the camera makes us all look fatter than we are, even after a hearty meal!
Arrived in London yesterday in the wee hours, and spent the day walking about the city, and growing accustomed to the Underground. Midday had a fine walk from Charing Cross up the Strand and across Waterloo Bridge, from which the snap above "Time Pieces" was taken, and then on to lunch with Giles Goddard and Simon Sarmiento. This morning, said Morning Prayer in the Chapel at St Andrew's, on this the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the Brotherhood of Saint Gregory. At breakfast sampled the fabled Marmite, but also some fine English marmalade. Hope to head off to see the Tate Britain, though the Turner exhibit is not yet open, and much of what I would have liked to have seen will be by this time likely moved into that installation. Still, no doubt there will be Constable, Blake, and others. On this my first trip to England I can attest that the sky looks just as Constable, Turner, and others, have shown it to be.
Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG
Well, I've sent off the page proofs for Reasonable and Holy: Engaging Same-Sexuality and so I hope the production department will keep to schedule and the book will be off press by late March / early April. In the meantime, I'm starting a second blog, also called "Reasonable and Holy" to the end of continuing the conversation begun in the book, and also as a way to offer additional resources that the book didn't end up including (such as, I hope, a complete index and index of sources). These may be more useful and practical in electronic form in any case.
The book itself s intended in part as a fulfillment of the “Listening Process” mandated by Lambeth 1998.1.10, and as a response and rebuttal to the familiar arguments raised against the morality of faithful, life-long, monogamous same-sex relationships.
Should any interesting conversations develop over there, I'll flag them here. And vice versa.
In the meantime, I'm busy with getting ready for the beginning of Lent and my parish's Annual Meeting on March 1 (this was once thought a good idea for avoiding blizzards; it doesn't work so well for avoiding Lent!).
Tobias
A.S. Haley of the Anglican Curmudgeon has honored me with the "Superior Scribbler" award. Here are the rules of this particular blogition.
In keeping with the above, I am happy to award the next round of Superior Scribbler citations to:
So congratulations, and keep scribbling.
Tobias Haller BSG
From Ann:
Things done are bold, things left undone, or not yet done (and some of them likely never to be done!), are plain.
One of the most common charges leveled at “progressives” or “liberals” when they make any criticism of, or raise any objection against, a “conservative” or “reactionary” is that they are being hypocritically intolerant or exclusive. This happened here in a comment left on one of my earlier posts. This accusation of viciousness gives me the opportunity to make a number of observations on the matter of vice and virtue.
First, tolerance is, properly speaking, not a virtue but a political strategy or policy. Tolerance, in this political sense, is the willingness to allow others to express opinions or hold beliefs with which one (or the majority) disagrees. Thus the Church of England eventually came to tolerate the practice of Roman Catholicism, without in any way affirming it.
Second, there is a difference between toleration of the right to hold an opinion or belief, and any suggestion that this need extend to action. Thus, I am perfectly tolerant of the opinions of Bishop Duncan, Iker, &c., but I do not approve of those of their actions which I believe to be illegal under Canon law.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, tolerance is not a religious virtue, though it may call upon the exercise of some of those virtues, such as patience and fortitude, as well as charity. But I do not expect the Roman Catholic Church or The Episcopal Church to be tolerant of those who wish to remain members while teaching things at variance with their corporate beliefs. Thus, while it may be intolerant of the Pope to discipline a Jesuit for teaching something at odds with the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, he is well within his rights to do so. The same goes for The Episcopal Church, though this authority is very rarely exercised. I would thus say that TEC is relatively more “tolerant” of the expression of contrary opinions than is the RCC; that is, we rarely discipline clergy merely for holding or even teaching a contrary opinion, at least if it stops short of action such as attempting to lead a parish or diocese into secession.
Fourth, the fact that one tolerates an opinion need not mean that one agrees with it, nor, on the contrary, does disagreeing with an opinion — even strongly — mean that one is intolerant. Toleration has to do with people’s rights to have opinions, not to be right.
Thus I can strongly disagree with Duncan and Iker without being intolerant of them; but at the same time I do not have to tolerate actions I believe to be illegal.
Which brings me to the whole idea of inclusivity. Someone once said that anything can be tolerated but intolerance — but I’m not sure that is true. As I note, the English eventually came to tolerate the existence of a relatively intolerant body, the Roman Catholic Church, as long as its intolerance was directed towards the discipline of its own members — a thing they have every right to do; that is, the Roman Catholic Church does not have to put up with (i.e., tolerate) its clergy teaching doctrines at odds with the magisterium.
The same can be said of inclusivity — which I also do not see as a virtue in and of itself, though, like toleration it may call upon the exercise of real virtues. Obviously it is difficult to include within any body a person set upon the overthrow of that body — this is why the political freedoms granted to Americans stop short of any right to foment revolution or insurrection.
It is quite true that many speak of inclusiveness as if it were a virtue in and of itself. I do not accept that theory. The same goes for tolerance. Neither of these things requires or implies agreement with what the one being tolerated or included thinks or says. It is neither intolerant nor exclusive sharply to critique any notion advanced or position argued. And if a state, or a church, is required to exercise discipline when an opinion or a teaching goes beyond the pale into insurrection or disobedience, well, the state or church has the right no longer to tolerate the behavior, and to exclude the member.
So, I do not disagree with the Roman Catholic Church, or the Mormons, or the more conservative segment of TEC, for example, for being “intolerant” or “exclusive” — they have every right to be so! However, I think they are wrong — and I have every right to critique them in the strongest language — though, I think, I am really rather forbearing in my tone. Of course, I could be wrong on this as well.
Tobias Haller BSG
Well, I'd hoped to report on my visit to Baltimore, complete with photos sent to me by fellow blogger Mary Clara, who lives in that metropolis and found her way to Saint James Parkton this last Sunday, but the indomitable Grandmère Mimi has beat me to the punch, or the punch-bowl, and spilled the proverbial beans -- whether zaydeco vert or the red ones that go with rice, I know not.
So hie thee hence to the nest of The Wounded Bird who has been getting a good bit of press herself lately, courtesy of the Huffington people.
Meanwhile, just let me add that the Baltimore and Parkton experience was delightful, and it was a joy to spend some time with the congregation and its leadership, and to put a face to a virtual friend from the Internet.
Tobias Haller BSG
This is Sancho, whom I met when I was in San Francisco, along with his "companion" Graziela. He only weighs a little over four pounds, and is some three years old. Very intelligent, apt to fetch stuffed toys and leap excitedly. On the whole very doglike.
I confess I am not in general a "dog person" as I find most dogs to be a bit overwhelming -- especially when they weigh more than I do. (This does not include +Clumber, who has all the due Episcopal decorum.) But Sancho and Gracie were delightful, in spite of the latter's not yet completely house-broken ways.
Augusta Victoria, who weighs more than both of these pooches combined, need not hear of this. She has given up blogging for the time being, as she has become fascinated with CNN's coverage of meta-debate about the presidential debate, including coverage of their own staff meetings' discussion of the same. This is as close to a cat-toy as news can get.
Tobias Haller BSG
Well... the old computer has been replaced, grudgingly, by a new one with Windows Vaster... uh, Vista. I am experiencing some of the expected quirks and quibbles, though not enough to keep me from working. Most importantly, I've been able to make use of some of my favorite antiquated software by applying Compatibility Settings from the dim ages of operating systems past. (If there is any reason for my reluctance to make the Mac switch, it is my fondness for these archaic but helpful utilities, which some day, if the switch becomes inevitable, I will find still run under a Windows Emulation of Some Sort.) Meanwhile, discovering things such as the disappearance of the Parallel Port (and the need to find a USB-to-Parallel adapter cable so I didn't have to buy a new printer as well) have kept things interesting. Much gleaning of the internet has led to being able to install software people said can't run under WinVista. I really do pity the less than computer savvy: I've been at this since the days of hexadecimal code and machine language, and am not terrified to go under the hood if need be; but I can see how this whole thing is a nightmare for anyone less adept at the mysteries.
I am still struggling with Facebook, and find it to be interminably slow if it loads into Firefox at all. I've checked with Firefox folks and they suggest a virus, but I don't think that's it, as I've used all the virus scanners on the market and they come up negative. I get notes from people via Facebook but am very frustrated not to be able to respond in my preferred browser. Facebook runs and runs faster on IE, which I don't like just on principle, and I begin to think it is something about Firefox, or Facebook, or the two together.
In the meantime, the good news is that I have been able finally to finish my manuscript (Reasonable and Holy) and deliver it to the Editor -- or rather, to her office, as she has had a bad fall and twisted an extremity; prayers for Suzie if you please! But it is a load off my mind and onto someone else's for the time being, though I expect to receive it back with the usual suggested emendations and corrections, as well as urgings t'wards transitions, expansions and contractions. But for the meantime I can turn my mind to other things, grateful that my old computer was sufficiently "backed-up" so that I literally only lost the sentence I was working on when the old thing went [blink] and disappeared into Computer Sheol. (No computers go to Heaven. A few very good ones might end up in Limbo, or an internet cafe just off the Elysian Fields, or perhaps in the Valhalla Public Library, but not heaven. That goes for Macs too.)
I'm packing now for a trip to California, to visit with the San Franciscan brethren and lead a retreat, and preach next Sunday at St John the Evangelist in that fair city. While there I hope to see a few of the sights (and sites) and a few other friends from church and/or blogosphere.
My last very brief post unleashed a cataract of comment, though I think it has slowed to a trickle at this point. I will have some access to Ye Olde Internet while in San Fran, but hope to spend my time there not glued to the phosphorescent or liquid-crystalline, but take part in the actual more than the virtual, so updates to this blog and to any comments will not happen with alacrity, and depending on the Daemons, if at all!
Finally, I commend to all the last article by the Rev Dr Richard Norris, appearing in the current issue of Anglican Theological Review (Summer 2008), on Homosexuality, Ethics and the Church. I was very honored back at the turn of the century to have worked with Dick Norris and others on a statement of Hermeneutical Principles commissioned by the Bishop of New York in response to Lambeth 1998; and even further flattered when Dick asked me to take a look at and offer comments on an early draft of what now appears at last in print. Sadly, it is unfinished, though there is much to think about in the essay as it stands, and the responses from various thoughtful contributors, in what amounts to a posthumous Festschrift. The volume as a whole is a very helpful ethical reflection. As Augustine heard the child sing, tolle lege.
Until my return, unless something truly momentous comes up, Hasta luego...
Tobias Haller BSG
Well, as ill luck would have it, my desktop computer perished yesterday morning, fortunately before I'd had a chance to do much work; and the good news is all of my other work is well backed up.
Still, this is not a good time for such a sudden death, in what appears to have been the power supply. I'm in the final stages of a book manuscript, and preparing for leading a retreat in San Francisco, and one in NY for the Deacons of the diocese, and then a preaching engagement in Maryland for the dedication of my latest icon. This is not the time to engage in the laborious process of reinstalling software, and becoming acquainted with the mysteries of Vista (which will no doubt be installed on the successor to the current desktop; repair to which would cost close to what a new one will. A fact I was appalled to discover.) But I have little choice in the matter, so onward and upward.
If all goes well with the new machine, I will be back up and running by early next week. In the meantime, thank goodness for backups, external hard drives, and the trusty laptop.
Tobias Haller BSG
I am away at a conference and so have very limited internet access at present. (So apologies for slow comment approval and my even rarer than usual comments and posts.
A quick note to all that my blogging will be a bit restricted over the next month or so. The good news (from my and I hope others' perspective) is that this is because I have signed a book deal to put into published format some of my ruminations on sexuality and theology. This is quite exciting, especially since it results from the publisher approaching me rather than the converse, so I know there is a real interest in seeing this happen. But it does mean a bit of work in rearranging, restructuring, and all-around writing, that will keep me a bit occupied — amongst my other duties as a vicar and member of the standing committee. I promise to post a note from time to time, and also to keep you posted on the progress of the project; and I will do my share of continuing to browse what others contribute to the blogosphere.
Tobias Haller BSG
“a clear-sighted companion.... If you are passionate about the vitality of today’s church, I encourage you to accompany him on his mystagogical excursion into the liturgical landscape. You will rediscover a familiar place rife with fresh provisions planted by the God who longs to feed our deepest hungers and hopes.” —Jay Koyle, chair, Faith, Worship and Ministry of The Anglican Church of Canada
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