Last week, I went to our adult study group which meets between services at 9:15 AM. You're probably bored with hearing that I'm not a morning person and how I struggle to get anywhere before 11:00 AM. The class finished the Walter Bruggemann DVD series, and moved on to a series of lessons by Bishop N. T. Wright of the Anglican Diocese of Durham in the UK. I don't know the name of the series, but Bp. Wright's words are interspersed with scenes from a movie or video on the life of Jesus. The first lesson was on the scandal of Jesus.
One scene in the film showed Jesus dancing at the wedding of Cana, and I loved that. At Mary's request, he made more wine for folks who had already drunk up all the wine, although he was not yet ready to begin his miracle ministry. Bp. Wright pointed out other ways that Jesus scandalized the people of the time, such as spending time with all the wrong people of his day, the prostitutes, the tax collectors. He touched the unclean; he worked on the Sabbath.
All well and good. It seems to be a good series, but I will probably not be attending the classes, because of the 9:15 AM time. I made a heroic effort (for me) for Bruggemann, because I loved his teachings and because they stimulated such lively discussions afterward.
At Lambeth, Bp. Wright said this:
“George Bush said he was going to invade Iraq. Everyone told him not to because there would be consequences, but he did it anyway.
“The Americans floated the balloon in 2003 when they consecrated Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. They knew exactly what they were doing then and they know exactly what they are doing now. They knew it would be unacceptable to the majority of the Communion. They are doing exactly as they please.”
He continued: “Either the rest of the world caves in or someone has to stand up to them.”
That's quite a leap, isn't it? Bush - Iraq - consecration of Bp. Gene Robinson.
In addition, Bp. Wright was a principal contributor to the Windsor Report, which somehow morphed into rules that the entire Anglican Communion must live by.
As Bishop Martin Barahona, the primate of Central America, said, "The Windsor Report," he said. "It’s just a report. When did it become like The Bible?"
Exactly. I hope that it dies a peaceful death.
I'm told that Bp. Wright is a fine Scripture scholar, and perhaps he is, but as he talked of the scandal that Jesus was, I was thinking about his actions and his words, and that put me off the series and discouraged me from making the heroic effort to be at church at 9:15 AM.
Wright is a respected scholar, but a very conservative one, and a harsh critic of much modern Biblical scholarship (there is a book of a debate between him and Crossan, IIRC, though I don't know if it's a record of a face to face meeting, or a set of essays bound together for marketing purposes).
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm still not commenting on blogs anymore.....
This is not a comment either...
ReplyDeleteBishop Martin Barahona, the Primate of Central America is exactly RIGHT about The Windy Windsor Report and you are correct about WRIGHT being windy.
Wright is often Wrong and is a grandstander who thinks he ought to be ABC...sad he can´t do real miracles instead of trying to impress us with his not-so magic anti LGBT tricks.
I'm not reading you blog, but that seemed suspiciously like a blog post to me, Mimi.
ReplyDeleteMike does not get bored when Mimi talks about herself, but then he doesn't read Mimi's blog.
I'm not really commenting either about this non-post, but it truly amazes me that so many people cannot make that leap of imagination from 1st century Judea to the here and now, and to those people today considered unclean and impure by the standards of the established religion, and by generations of habit.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for not reading and commenting, because this is, most certailly, not a blog post.
ReplyDeleteRmj, I seem to remember seeing a video of Crossan and Wright in a discussion, but I could be wrong. I found this about a meeting at the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 2005. I'd like to have been there for the forum.
Leonardo, Wright has certainly mastered the practice of promoting himself.
Mike, thank you. That's putting it quite nicely.
Counterlight, it amazes me, too. With which outcasts would Jesus choose to associate himself today? I can't say for sure, but pondering the thought stretches my mind greatly.
rmj, I believe you mean this, coauthored with Marcus Borg:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/57mxho
The book was written as a dialog, though not face to face, with the two alternating chapters. It's now about the 367th in my pile of books I haven't gotten around to reading.
How does Wright square his stance on the "scandal of Jesus" vs. the "scandal of TEC"?
Wilfried, scandal was for Jesus' time. Today, Christians must be respectable, above all.
ReplyDeleteI know Wright's NT work only by reputation. His words and actions as a bishop persaude me not to make the effort to gain first hand knowledge; with such a message as his leadership conveys, why should his opinions matter? "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." I see nothing of the life of Holy Sophia in his message.
ReplyDeleteOK, now I get it.
ReplyDeleteYa know, ya could do as I do: wander away from yer blog for a month and not tell anybody.
I guess yer too much a lady for that, though.
Mimi:
ReplyDeleteOh, so he's a dispensationalist. I get it now.
Johnieb, I prefer the more dramatic option.
ReplyDeleteWilfried, you could say that.
You're not very good at not-blogging, are you. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for this Wright fellow... well, 9:15 is very early in the morning to be subjected to one of those Windsor types.
"Wright has certainly mastered the practice of promoting himself."
ReplyDeletePoor thing, he prolly doesn't get paid enough by CoE to be able to make those pastoral trips to the US. That's why he always comes with a new book to promote.
Oh, that wasn't a comment, BTW. Glad to see you aren't blogging, either.
ReplyDeleteSusan, he prolly doesn't. No less an authority than MadPriest has told us how poorly paid the Church of England bishops are. How they maintain the palaces that certain of them inhabit is beyond me. What's a poor guy to do?
ReplyDeleteThank you for not commenting.
PJ, not-blogging seems to be beyond my reach.
ReplyDeleteWright always brings up the failed and silly analogy about "unilateral" actions. Gene Robinson hasn't "invaded" anyone. No other Province has to recognized him and allow him to function as a bishop (just like any other bishop!).
ReplyDeleteBp Wright is a middling NT scholar. Nothing extraordinary or profound in his work, and nothing original. Read him and you may nod, yes, yes, but you will rarely say, Aha! The latter is the mark of truly great scholarship that provides a way to see what was always there but overlooked or overlaid.
Keep up the nonblogging, dear Mimi. You're doing fine. Have you tried the patch?
Tobias, thank you. We used another series by Wright in the adult group called "Simply Christian". To me, it was suitable for something like an inquirers' class for folks who were just being introduced to Christianity and knew very little.
ReplyDeleteWhat do I know? If folks say he's a Scripture scholar, I can't make the argument against it. I'm a simple pew-warmer, but I was not impressed. I learned nothing at all from the class, and the discussions afterwards were not lively. No Aha! moments.
The patch? There's a patch? I did not know that.
Grandmere --I am reading you and I am posting.... there's just no help for me...
ReplyDeleteI heard Wright in person, with Marcus Borg, about 12 years ago in Portland Oregon.... I would put money on it he is not much better in a video.
I think the "Church of the Inner Springs" (your mattress perhaps?) might be a far better place than a wrong Wright video.
The Anonymous up there is me, not signed in, on another computer.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, the "Church of the Inner Springs" sounds lovely.
ReplyDeleteI've been through Alpha, which infuriated me, then Wright, now another Wright, with Bruggemann as merely a treasured interlude. I'm not doing another Wright.
I'm enjoying your non-blogging. And you're right, the Bush analogy was rude and silly.
ReplyDeleteRuth, he should be ashamed.
ReplyDeleteOI! Grandmere! Pay a visit to the Grapevine via my blog!
ReplyDeleteAlleluia!
Mimi dear, one of my favorite games is "Let's, and say we didn't!" How sweet of you to give us all an opportunity to play.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that anything worth doing is worth doing to excess, especially if you can extract a bit of drama from it.
Don't worry, I expect you just got huffed out from your recent episode of fame. A little rest and you'll be good as new. Stick close to home, do stuff you enjoy, avoid going to anything that starts before 10 a.m., and keep away from Wrong theologians. Life is short.
The real issue, of course, is how we discern which theologians are worthy of getting out of bed for and exactly what spot on the clock they merit. For Bruggerman, I'd get up before dawn. I just would. For NT, not before noon if then. I do think he's a bright guy. I just don't like him much. Enjoy your Sunday morning sleep-ins.
ReplyDeleteEt ce-ci n'est pas une Pipe, chére Gran'mère ;=)
ReplyDelete"Too much of a good thing is just wonderful!" -- Mae West
ReplyDeleteWell, I see that y'all are still not commenting. My fame went to my head. No doubt about that.
ReplyDeleteI resolve to keep away from Wrong theologians and, as best I can, avoid early morning appointments. I already have one in December to have my boobs pressed between metal. I had no choice about the time. They are busy.
Göran, LOL, and I am not a blogger.
CL, I can never have too many wonderful Mae West quotes.