The navel-gazing Anglicans of Oz
by fish Thursday, Sep 27 2007, 1:09pm
international / theology / commentary

All the great religious reformers of history are known for taking religion to the streets, as is occurring in Burma today. Taking their cue or lead from their founders some believers display the bravery and fearlessness required to meet life’s challenges today! The Buddha and Christ were men of social REVOLUTION, who, when faced with corruption and injustice, launched peaceful attacks on the ruling elites of their time and effected lasting social change as is evident thousands of years after their initial campaigns.

Arch-conservative, Archbishop Jensen disapproves of women Bishops

So the pattern was/is set for future believers to withdraw their support (passive resistance) from the powers and ALL other forces that threaten peaceful coexistence and life on earth. Sherlock Holmes is not required to determine that real religion is not contractive, conservative, or solely an inward-looking phenomenon. However, today the dynamic social aspect of religion is lost to Christianity. Almost all Christian denominations have become pathologically obsessed with internal political matters at great cost to the suffering people of the world – these are the same people their founders worked tirelessly to comfort and save. The hypocrisy of Western religious institutions today is APPALLING!

Australian Anglicans are a perfect example; on each occasion Oz Anglicans make the mainstream press it is regarding internal political matters – the ordination of women Bishops is the latest effort. It is clear that dynamic intervention in matters clearly of great importance to Jesus Christ and to the later reformer Martin Luther, are of no concern to the timid conservatives that plague the Anglican church of Australia.

PERHAPS A REVIEW OF THE GOSPELS MAY BE WARRANTED. Apprehending both the spoken message and exemplary behaviour of Jesus Christ is clearly required today in most Christian institutions. Never have we seen the Church in such dire need of a good swift kick in the rear!

Need we remind the insular, withdrawing, hierarchies of these decaying Churches that their irrelevance is threatening the future existence of the Church? The Burmese monks have put all Western religious leaders to shame and should serve to remind all Christians of the heroic efforts of their founder, Jesus Christ, who never relented in his efforts to save the people from injustices and oppression. Jesus, the Buddha and the Burmese monks of today took their religion/beliefs to the STREETS – where religion belongs!

The Anglican Church of today clearly demonstrates to the whole world that CONSERVATISM is the most destructive force facing all religious institutions. Show me a religious conservative and I’ll show you a hypocrite and liar!

The founders of ALL great religious movements were radical social reformers who worked tirelessly for the welfare of the oppressed and victimised. Perhaps Western Churches may wish to address matters such as the holocaust in Iraq and various murdering criminal governments, ranging from the USA to Burma?

If the Church finds it too confronting to DIRECTLY challenge the powers responsible for the searing social injustices and crimes of today then it has become IRRELEVANT!

Nature’s solution for irrelevance is extinction – the offending body simply fades from existence!

http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/28/2046124.htm