Make a Donation

Lots of time and effort goes into creating and maintaining this site. If we've helped you, consider making a donation.  

Current Poll

Does your state have a smoking ban for bars & restaurants?
 

Support Us!

Buy theophiles merchandise from our store!

Latest News

Latest Journals

News Topics | Page 2 Topics

Episcopal Bishop-Buddhism
Interfaith
Written by holmegm   
Saturday, 28 February 2009 14:39

From  KIIITV News:

The new bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan is an ordained Zen Buddhist.

Northern Michigan's Episcopal congregations and delegates overwhelmingly elected the Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester at their convention on Saturday.

The diocesan Web site says Thew Forrester "has practiced Zen meditation for almost a decade," and the Buddhist community welcomed his commitment by granting him "lay ordination."

 

Comments
Search
JRB   |2009-03-01 00:54:58
This stuff is just sad. First a person no longer had to be male to be an Anglican Bishop, then they no longer had to be heterosexual, and now they don't much care if the person is even a Christian.

When I first decided to leave the Orthodox Church, I had a strong interest in AngloCatholicism. This is exactly the kind of stuff that killed that notion.
laika   |2009-03-01 18:14:37
JRB wrote:
...and now they don't much care if the person is even a Christian.


this is where it gets confusing, though; is Zen meditation in any way non-Christian? i could be wrong, but isn't Zen meditation more of a mind discipline as opposed to a religion?

JRB wrote:
When I first decided to leave the Orthodox Church...


you're leaving the Orthodox Church?
holmegm  - re:   |2009-03-01 22:23:35
laika wrote:
this is where it gets confusing, though; is Zen meditation in any way non-Christian? i could be wrong, but isn't Zen meditation more of a mind discipline as opposed to a religion?


But real Zen is a form of Buddhism. Where suffering is an illusion, and the goal is to reach "enlightenment" where we become free of suffering by no longer believing this illusion.  Or something. It may not be a religion in itself (let's overlook the forms of it where you basically worship Buddha and ask him to intercede with you in this task somehow) but as a worldview it still seems pretty incompatible with Christianity.

Now California-type Zen, I dunno ... maybe there's not enough there to be incompatible.
emperorbma   |2009-03-01 23:02:33
Especially since it is Christ's suffering that brings salvation. It seems a little docetic to suggest that all suffering is an illusion perpetrated by the alleged "maya" (illusory nature) of this world.
JRB  - re:   |2009-03-02 06:23:56
laika wrote:

this is where it gets confusing, though; is Zen meditation in any way non-Christian? i could be wrong, but isn't Zen meditation more of a mind discipline as opposed to a religion?


holmegm pretty well summed it up. Buddhism is so far removed froma Christian world view the two cannot be held by a single person.

JRB wrote:

you're leaving the Orthodox Church?


Yes. Well left anyway. I still have many Orthodox friends and have a lot of love for them, but it seems I don't have enough hate for "heterodox" to stay there.
laika   |2009-03-02 14:17:38
JRB wrote:
Buddhism is so far removed froma Christian world view the two cannot be held by a single person.


it appears that i am ignorant of the deeper aspects of Zen meditation. i associate it with benign practices like mindfulness and disciplining the monkey mind. maybe suchlike is more Zen-lite, or California Zen, as holmegm called it.

JRB wrote:
...but it seems I don't have enough hate for "heterodox" to stay there.


but heterodoxy is deviation from orthodox Christianity, isn't it? when is heresy a good thing? you appear to have a healthy dislike of Anglican heterodoxy.
JRB  - re:   |2009-03-02 17:57:40
laika wrote:

but heterodoxy is deviation from orthodox Christianity, isn't it?


It is. Though I'm increasingly unconvinced that heterodoxy is deviation from Orthodoxy

laika wrote:
you appear to have a healthy dislike of Anglican heterodoxy.


Actually Anglicanism fascinates me. It's just that it also saddens me that that there are such abuses within that communion that nobody seems willing or able to do anything about. I find it very interesting that Anglicanism and Orthodoxy both have a similar ecclesiological structure, and it seems according to my own observation, both have gone extremely wrong at times in opposite extremes.
metallurge  - re: re:   |2009-03-02 19:42:50
JRB wrote:
Though I'm increasingly unconvinced that heterodoxy is deviation from Orthodoxy
The beauty of Orthodoxy is that you probably have room to believe that to a degree within Orthodoxy. It seems as though you ran into the Orthodox equivalent of fundamentalism. Sorry 'bout that...
laika   |2009-03-02 23:49:09
JRB wrote:
Actually Anglicanism fascinates me. It's just that it also saddens me that that there are such abuses within that communion that nobody seems willing or able to do anything about.


oh, yes. now just imagine being an Anglican in the US at this moment in history. (notice i'm too embarrassed to call myself an Episcopalian.)
Only registered users can write comments!

3.20 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."
 

Our valuable member holmegm has been with us since Thursday, 03 April 2008.

Show Other Articles


Archives

Popular

Statistics

Members : 3810
Content : 1050
Content View Hits : 919243

Who's Online

We have 63 guests and 1 member online
  • emperorbma