Great Interview, I encourage watching it at the Colbert website, but it isnt quite what I want to address.
About Two Thirds of the way into the interview, Bishop Wright defines all of Anglican theology in a nutshell:
The great thing about Anglicans is that we have no theology of our own; if something is true, then Anglicans believe it… or that’s the theory anyway.
Bishop Wright did two great things in that sentence, one is that he defined Anglicanism in a brevity that I have tried to achieve when explaining it to my friends.
Secondly, in the disclaimer he addressed the strain occurring within the communion right now, and what is causing it. There a dozens of theories as to what is at the heart of the mini-schism between the Episcopal Church and the Wider Anglican Community. The media blames it on homosexuality, many Anglicans would argue that it hinges on ‘the authority of scripture’, others would attribute it to fear of change, selling out to society, or a myriad of other things. But, whether Bishop Wright agrees to it or not, it all comes down to truth. What does it look like, where do we find it, what do we do with it.
The Anglican method for finding truth is the “three-legged stool of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason.” And, unfortunately, the Homosexual issue has pitted the legs against each other. The “traditional marriage” argument invokes scripture (after all Christ is the way, the truth and the life” and tradition (its never been done before), while the “pro SSM” side invokes reason (homosexuality is natural, how can it be sinful?) coupled with the scriptural principal of equality (for there are no more Jews and Gentiles in Christ).
What I hope we find with Gafcon and Lambeth is a further exploration into what us confessionless Anglicans define as truth. Perhaps if we cant agree on this, its time for us to split, and thats a suggestion I dont make lightly.
+Alex Resurgent
