Maddening

For a long time, I have been happy to identify myself as Episcopalian (not like I go to church particularly regularly or anything, but I'm not trying to distance myself either); then I read this article.

Actually, let me back up and say I'm glad to be *Episcopalian*...not so glad to be *Anglican*. The issue is stemming from the U.S. church's consecration of a gay bishop, and the continued blessing of same-sex partnerships. Episcopal is the U.S. church, Anglican is the global communion...well, read the article, it does better than I do without coffee. The two things that drive me completely up the wall are 1) this persistent belief that God somehow wrote the Bible and threw the pages down from his heavenly desktop and so every single damn thing in there is literally, the gospel truth -- or at least, the parts that serve your particular agenda. The hypocrisy bugs me just a tad too. And 2) this pissing contest between the U.S. church and the worldwide Anglican communion over the fact that the presiding bishop in the U.S. is female. Every time I'm heartened by some progressive fact, I'm also reminded that a lot of people would really prefer that most women still live in purdah churning out babies, and that gay people just didn't exist.

On the other hand, the Anglican church is, by its very conception, an entity borne of compromise. It remains to be seen, I suppose, whether the conservative side of the body remembers that.

Tell me about it. I just don't understand why we can't follow the Golden Rule and not the ones that seem to tell us to be mean and judgmental.