theophiliacs

Wow, what a thread! It’s difficult to keep track of the various comments in a comment chain, so I’ve decided to post my comment as an entirely new entry.

Concerning the Original Post:
I should have clarified that this post is really just a raw copy and paste from a collection of stray notes that I originally never intended for anyone to read. A thought occurred to me a few weeks ago that this “you had to be there” notion might be a good way to present how I see Scripture to someone who’d grown up with Sola Scripture. Specifically, I thought this “Spirit of God” business as being especially effective for communicating to a Pentecostal. Thus, the goal of this post wasn’t so much to say something new, as to try out saying something I’ve said many times before in a new, more approachable way for a certain audience.

As Tony and Summer pointed out, some of my points were a bit confusing:

It almost goes off in a gnostic direction doesn’t it? What “really” happened becomes disconnected from words, so that words become an exercise in veiling the “real,” which seems to be “the experience.”

This was not my intention. I am not a gnostic.

Similarly, calling language a “mere human construct” implies that language is something forethought-out. Like the way we ‘construct’ a building.

The evolution of language is both intentional and unintentional. By saying ‘only language’ or ‘mere human construct’ I mean that the texts we read are descriptions of actual experiences–not the experiences themselves. Perhaps it would have been more helpful if I’d made that clear.

Rather, the foundation of our faith is always on the prior action of God. As Creator of the cosmos, as caller of Israel, as Jesus Resurrected, and Spirit sent. That is, the whole revelatory action of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Are you saying that scripture alone is not enough and needs to be coupled with the Holy Spirit in order to be a solid foundational basis for faith,or are you saying the Holy Spirit (and our shared experiences with him) is the foundation rather than scripture? (the first sentence of your post and the last sentence seem to state two different ideas).

This is indeed confusing and a good catch Summer. I do seem to contradict myself. I’ve altered the last sentence. Hopefully that clears it up.

Concerning the Episcopal Church:
Roger, speaking personally I am more fully convinced of Anglicanism than American Episcopalianism. Unfortunately, much of what Bishop Jefferts Schori says regarding theology has very thinly veiled political overtones. In this instance, I think the Presiding Bishop is saying as much about how welcome Evangelical Anglicans are in her Episcopalianism as she is about Soteriology. This is the political reality of the Anglican Communion at the moment which I am not particularly proud of.

It’s safe so say that many of the Anglicanish writers on this blog have been more influenced by the likes of N. T. Wright, C. S. Lewis, Rowan William, Marcus Borg and our Priest John Newton than we have by the Presiding Bishop or other polemical Episcopalians like John Shelby Spong.

(However, it’s important to note that we still very much affirm Bishop Jefferts Schori as an Anglican and fellow Christian. We may disagree with her, but we are committed to the same Church and thus she is our sister in Christ and our Presiding Bishop. This radical committment to unity is what drew many of us to Anglicanism to begin with.)

Concerning the Tone of the Comment Thread:
Aggresive Intellectual debate is desirable but I fear our tone has slipped into personal attack and bickering. I think this can as much be blamed on our tool (the internet) as on our dispositions.

Most of us who read and use this site claim to be Christian, and with this confession comes an expectation of conduct–especially to eachother. I have not always exhibited Christian charity on this blog either, so I do not judge when I say I am disappointed in what’s become of the discussion of my previous post.

I do not use this blog the most nor is it *my* blog. However, I do administrate it, I did most of its design and paid for the domain name. For the record, everyone is welcome to continue posting on theophiliacs, as Tony said. In my opinion, this is exactly what everyone should do. It would be too easy to simply give up and stop talking to each other. I hope we can find a way to forgive each other and continue in dialogue as this is the only hope for the future of the Church.