Writers for the Fishwrap (aka National Sodomitic Reporter) and Amerika type Jesuits want us to become like these forward-looking, progressives whom they so idolize.
This was sent by a friend. Here’s a smattering with my emphases and comments.
From American Conservative:
Spin Of The Year [Accompanied by a pic of their lesbian president in a band collar giving a 2009 abortion blessing at a gathering of NOW.]
By ROD DREHERVia the Episcopal News Service, a press release revealing that the ultramegaliberal Episcopal Divinity School is winding things down:
Episcopal Divinity School will cease to grant degrees at the end of the upcoming academic year, the seminary’s board of trustees decided July 21 on a 11-4 vote. During the next year, the board will explore options for EDS’s future, some of which were suggested by a specially convened Futures Task Force to make plans for EDS’s future.
“A school that has taken on racism, sexism, heterosexism, and multiple interlocking oppressions is now called to rethink its delivery of theological education in a new and changing world,” said the Very Rev. Gary Hall ’76, chairman of the board, in introducing the resolution. “Ending unsustainable spending is a matter of social justice.” [ROFL!]
Translation: “Having abandoned anything to do with orthodox Christianity, we find that we have made ourselves completely irrelevant. If we spin our theological and financial bankruptcy as a sign of our virtue, maybe we won’t look so bad.”
A sampling of courses from the current EDS catalogue:
HB CS 4152 Liberating Bible Interpretations, Antiracist, and White Identity: Approaches to Reading Scripture
What makes an interpretation of the Bible liberating? For whom? When? Where? We will explore how various stages of racial identity development and awareness present challenges to our reading of the texts and each other, in order to develop antiracist and other anti-oppression strategies for preaching and teaching from scripture. Critical Race Theory and Critical White Studies shall inform our primary focus on racial identity of “white” readers while also looking at other culturally dominant features of identity in the interpretive process of biblical texts. G
PT L 1420 Unleashing Our Voices: Voice, Identity, and Leadership
A course for the courageous, [a course for the already convinced] who wish to explore first-hand [oh dear] the liberatory [sic] and transformative power of their voices in community. Using the classroom community as a laboratory, the course will combine: (1) practical work on voice production and the body/mind/soul as human instrument with (2) in-class discussion and small team exploration of readings on voice, identity/community membership, and leadership. Voice work will include group exercises for freeing the body and voice, as well as individual work in front of the group using prepared spoken texts and/or sung pieces. Readings will be drawn from writings on the physical voice and voice as an element of social location from womanist, feminist, anti-white supremacist, and other anti-oppression perspectives. Participants will engage questions of voice and power in pastoral, liturgical, theological, educational, and spiritual contexts. [Honestly, I just had a flashback to a particular course in my first year of seminary. This could have been a description of the agenda of two of the members of the team that taught the nightmare called “Liturgy Colloquium”. One of them even told our class that she wanted us to crawl around on the floor like cats and meow, to introduce ourselves to the chapel by shouting, “HELLOOOO CHAPELLLLL!” A kind of hideous “hello kitty” moment. That day I introduced myself to the door of the chapel and then the sidewalk outside the chapel, and then my car door….]L 3020 Challenging the Liturgical Traditions, Postcolonial, and Queer Perspectives
A critical exploration of intersections between a cluster of contemporary theologies—for example, feminist, queer, postcolonial, “child theology”—and liturgical theology and practice. [Yep… it’s a “cluster” alright.]
T PT 2165 Mission, Ministry, and Sacraments: Re-visioning the Church Inside-Out
This course seeks to construct a theology of the church the essential nature of which is its “inside-turned-outness” for the life of the world. In the light of this basic stance of a church as a people—externally focused and God’s- Reign oriented—a theological re-visioning of the central elements of the church’s sacramental life, worship, wit- ness, [sic – I’m sure they mean “wit-less”] and ministry is undertaken. [Putting “… is undertaken” at the end like that makes it sound smarter than it is.] A central question is how we can recover [get this…] the basic calling of the church to be a sign and instrument of a God-intended “alternative humanity” and an [George Soros style] agent of transformation in a world characterized by oppressive, exclusivist, and fragmenting forces. [Watch for code…] Faith-filled resistance, compassionate solidarity, and creative hope shall serve as significant categories in such a re-visioning. Participants will explore the practical and pastoral implications of such a re-visioning for the empowerment of local congregations [wait for it….] as change agents.
[…]
Spin Of The Year Go there for more descriptions of alluring courses.
And that, ladies and gentlemen… and undecided… is how it’s done. That’s how to destroy a church… well… ecclesial community. That’s what libs want to do to us.
That’s Reason #86774 for Summorum Pontificum and hard-identity Catholicism.
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I, personally, appreciate these two courses, which you snipped from your post:
***
T CS 1710 Feminist Theories and Theologizing
This course introduces the student to varieties of feminist and gender theories and theorists, e.g., liberal feminism, radical feminism, Marxist feminism, post-colonial feminism, womanist theorists, and Asian American feminism, in order to provide a theoretical foundation for theologizing on behalf of women. is course fulfills the feminist theory requirement for the MATS student concentrating in FLT.
T 2010 Contemporary Christologies
Who is Jesus Christ for us today? is course will explore a number of contextual christologies, including the Black Christ, the feminist Christ, the womanist Christ, the Asian Christ, the Asian feminist Christ, the Latina Christ, the queer Christ, and the disabled Christ. is course will also explore the intersections of postcolonial and queer theory with contemporary christological reflection.
***
Is having so many Christs not polytheistic? Also, womanism is apparently different from feminism, Asian feminists get their own Christ, to the exclusion of any other ethnic groups, and disabled and “queer” (how I hate this usage) people need their own Christs.
I just can’t imagine how, with all of this cutting-edge theology, this school could go under! It’s a real mind-bender
Now I’m wishing I’d taken a picture of the woman in what I can only describe as a priest dress. Black, long sleeved, knee length with a white tab on the collar.
One of the spectacles of the Palm Sunday Procession from Bethany to St Anne’s in the old city of Jerusalem.
Every time I see or hear the words “change agents”, I cringe. Long ago I learned that it was a huge red flag, after reading rational, intelligent publications which educated me about our state of affairs in the Church.
a few additions;
They are selling their rather lovely campus near Harvard Square – and have contractual arrangements with nearby Lesley College that make it difficult to sell to a non-educational and/or religious entity.
They are being “joined” with Union, a non-denominational NY Seminary, rather than an Episcopal one, presumably those being to denominationalistic
The library liquidation book sale is August 7-10
Now I’m wishing I’d taken a picture of the woman in what I can only describe as a priest dress. Black, long sleeved, knee length with a white tab on the collar.
You must be referring to clergy dresses. Watts & Co (known for their high quality vestments and cassocks) sells them.
https://www.wattsandco.com/ladies-wear.html
Honestly, I’m not a real fan of their dresses. I was kind of expecting something more beautiful and elegant from Watts & Co. Jersey material and tab collars? Screams unsophisticated, even with the flattering princess seams.
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One wonders if Arius sounded as goofy to Athanasius.
I have this fear that many of these soon to be out of work “theologians” will find employment in our diocesan Diploma in Theology and Ministry on offer. Pray for us, we are seriously going down the rabbit hole.
They may have all that, but do they have ordination tambourines? I think not.
[Ah yes! And for you newcomers… HERE]
That cats on the floor business is appalling, Fr. Z. It’s no wonder anyone with any sense got the blazes out of there. I also think it’s a wonder that this sort of experience didn’t overwhelm your – or anyone’s – vocation.
So glad that you were able to make it through. What a blessing for us!
Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot, over.
… sorry, Father …. that just brought out the inner-RANGER in me.
–Guy
Ranger Class 14-80
P.S.
That stands for “What’s-The-Future?”
–Guy
“Ending unsustainable spending is a matter of social justice.” Huh. How come libs never say this when it refers to the US government?
Also, someone close to me used to work at the EDS library back when they shared a library with Weston Jesuit School of Theology. She remarked that it was the one place where all the Episcopal priestesses wore the collars and none of the Roman priests did.
Another prediction she had, after working at the library, was that, in our lifetime we would see the end of two things: 1. The scholarly print journal 2. The Episcopal Church.
Her money was on the scholarly print journal lasting longer.
One wonders, as some of these liberal divinity schools close, where current and future students will go. Maybe they’ll go to Unitarian-Universalist seminaries such as Starr King at Berkeley or Iliff School of Theology in Denver. These places also certify chaplains for prisons and the military. Iliff School of Theology also has a M.A. in “Social Change”.
(A 2011 LA Times story says the Air Force Academy has an $80,000 Stonehenge-style worship area for druids and wiccans. The Defense Dept. recognizes Heathenry, Paganism, and Wicca as religions. The Wiccan Pentacle has been approved (2013 I think it was, see the Veterans Affairs website) for headstones in VA cemeteries, along with the “awen” (Celtic/Druid), Thor’s Hammer (Heathens), and fifty others such as the Sandhill Crane for “same-sex spouses”.)
The Pagans and Wiccans have entered the Masters degree arena. I may be wrong, but while having state certification, none are yet accredited at the national level. They also have certification programs for military and prison ministry.
Woolston-Steen Seminary in Washington State has graduate programs in Wicca. Cherry Hill Seminary in North Carolina has a M.Div. in Paganism. One course is titled “Sacred Relics of Our Pagan Past.” In this course, “Students will be required to visit a museum to interact with an artifact in person.” Hmm…they might want to have bail money in their pocket for use after interacting with those artifacts.
And if Wicca and Paganism doesn’t interest the prospective theology student, there’s always Harry Potter as Sacred Scripture. No, really. For example, two Harvard Divinity School grads have a Podcast “Harry Potter and the Sacred Text.” Here’s an excerpt from a National Review article last month:
“According to the Washington Post, the podcast has “inspired face-to-face Potter text reading groups, akin to Bible study more than book club, in cities across the country.” At Harvard, the hosts lead “a weekly church-like service for the secular focused on a Potter text’s meaning.””
…
“The podcast includes close readings of the Harry Potter books using methods like Lectio Divina, a practice of reading sacred texts that is most commonly associated with Benedictine monks. Despite the hosts’ claims that they do not want to start a religious movement, their summer tour “fill[ed] church and synagogue auditoriums with fans in their 20s and 30s, many of whom hadn’t set foot in a house of worship in years.””
Maybe someone could stand outside their Harry Potter meeting halls and hand out free copies of Tolkien.
“Ending unsustainable spending is a matter of social justice.”
It’s also not something they have any choice about, after the bankruptcy people get finished.
[Yep… it’s a “cluster” alright.]
Why, is it, Fr. Z, that I am confident it took superhuman strength to avoid adding the four-letter suffix there? Given how, ummm, “relevant” it would be?
Why does this make me think of a re-make of the movie [i]Mars Attacks[/i] with, of course, Jesuits staring as the Martians running about saying “Do not run! We are your friends!” all the while slaying souls with their pseudo-religion social-justice rays. Naturally, the [i]Dies Irae [/i] will have to be the solution to the attackers’ otherwise overwhelming force.
Speaking of modernity, education, and Rod Dreher, here’s an excerpt from Dreher’s book The Benedict Option:
“Education not only has to reset our relationship to ultimate reality [i.e. away from a pagan popular culture], it also must reestablish our connection to our history…The deeper our roots in the past, the more secure our anchor against the swift currents of liquid modernity [a term used by sociologist Zygmunt Bauman to denote social change so rapid that social institutions have no time to stabilize].”
“To be clear, Jesus Christ- not Aristotle, Aquinas, or Augustus Caesar- is the savior of mankind. Still, Dante’s Divine Comedy, the medieval masterpiece and one of the pinnacles of Western civilization, shows imaginatively how God used people from the West’s pagan past to prepare souls for the coming of Christ.”
“Classical Christian education proceeds from the conviction that God is still doing that through the art, literature, and philosophy of the past, both Greco-Roman and Christian.”
[Two pages later Dreher reflects on his own formal schooling:]
“Nobody tried to deprive me of my civilizational patrimony. But nobody felt any obligation to present it to me and my generation in an orderly, coherent fashion. Ideas have consequences- and so does their lack. The best way to create a generation of aimless know-nothings who feel no sense of obligation beyond themselves is to deprive them of a past.”
Deprive us of our past, indeed. Thus, the howling torch-carrying mob of leftist academics, journalists, script-writers, and novelists- all marching through the institutions and mental landscape of the West, revelling in their pyromania.
“But he who perseveres to the end shall be saved.” – Matthew 24:13.