Posts tagged with "Anglicanism"

Anglican Priest's Wrong Choice of Words

Jim West has posted his latest “excoriation” of the Anglican Priest who suggested that it was okay to “shoplift” if need required.  Jim states:

I’m right firstly because there is NO biblical justification for theft.  None.  Not a passage nor a theologically undergirded interpretation of any passage permits theft.

And, that is true, in terms of “stealing,” this is one of those acts that we “shalt not” do.  That’s why I think the Anglican priest should have framed his suggestion not with the terminology “shoplifting,” but rather with the term “dispossession.”  If he had said that it was okay for his congregation to “dispossess” large chain stores of their merchandise, he would have had a great deal more Biblical warrant:

Hear, O Israel! You are about to cross the Jordan today, to go in and dispossess nations larger and mightier than you, great cities, fortified to the heavens, … (Deu 9:1 NRSV)

Know then today that the LORD your God is the one who crosses over before you as a devouring fire; he will defeat them and subdue them before you, so that you may dispossess and destroy them quickly, as the LORD has promised you (Deu 9:3 NRSV).

Anyone who has given the Old Testament a cursory reading knows of the texts where the Israelites are told to go in and dispossess the people of the land, and even further that God will help them dispossess the people of the land. Does this only apply to land though, and not items from large chain stores?  I don’t know.

Of course, I being a bit facetious here, maybe even trying to be a little bit humorous suggesting that this is simply a matter of framing (i.e. Lakoff).  I do this only to highlight the fact that if a person were to go to the Bible looking for a Biblical warrant for almost anything, they could probably find one if they were careful about how they framed the issue.  In my own mind, I think that the Anglican priest is wrong because he likely misunderstands large companies.  If someone steals from a large company, it may not take the loss and it may not raise our cost.  They may pass that loss along to their workers.  In this way, shoplifting does not hurt something nebulous like a corporation, but rather a real, concrete person like the one working the register.

Today’s Earlier Post:

“Prostitute,” “Harlot,” “Whore” – Does it Make a Difference?

Doug Chaplin on Theology

I checked out a post by Doug Chaplin today on problems with the idea of canon formation.  That post has the potential for sparking an interesting discussion;  however, it also reminded me of something I have forgotten to do, though I have been meaning to do it for a while.  I wanted to point my readers to Doug’s sporadic but ongoing series on the Church of England’s 39 Articles.  Being a Roman Catholic, I do come from a different tradition than Doug. Yet I find myself agreeing with him far more often than I disagree.  So, if theology is of interest to you, be sure to check out this worthy series.

Anglicans becoming Catholic – We'll Have to Wait and See

Thanks to John Hobbins for pointing out this article from the New York Times on the recent invitation for Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church.  I think the author, Rachel Donadio, hits the nail on the head.  The effects of this move are going to be long lasting and it is far too early to tell what exactly those effects will be.  On the one hand, this has been a reaching out to the more conservative elements within Anglicanism.  On the other hand, it brings to the fore (not that they have ever really gone away) discussions of celibacy, which are of great significance to the more liberal elements of Roman Catholicism. So, this should get interesting.

More thoughts on this later …