09/06/2004: "Epitaph for the mainline church: "We meet.""

Cynthia McFarland and Brian Reid, lead writers for Anglicans Online, actually sound like they're proud of this deep thinking:

Michael Peers, retired primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, frequently tells this story (quoted here from a speech not available online):

"One of our greatest bishops of the 20th century, Desmond Tutu, when he was asked what holds the church together, especially in times of tension and controversy, said 'we meet'. Sometimes people respond by saying that that does not sound like very strong glue to hold a church together, but consider what happens when someone says, 'I will not meet.'"

It all sounds so trivial: what holds us together is that we come together. We meet. Yet it is not so much trivial as it is axiomatic: what holds us together is us. We are together because we choose to come together. We meet. This is why we attend church. This is why dioceses and provinces hold synods and general conventions. What holds us together is that we meet.

What holds us together is us: not God, not shared Christian faith, not common Christian beliefs, not joint Christian mission, not even the Book of Common Prayer. Just us. "We are together" for the same reason as Republicans, Democrats, Kiwani, Moose, Elks, and Knight of Pythias: "because we choose to come together." And the reason we "attend church" is not in order to come into the divine presence and worship our Creator, Lord, and Redeemer, but so that we can meet. Sounds like a monumental bore to me.

And is it not sad that somewhere along the line Archbishop Tutu ceased being an inspiring leader in the struggle for human rights and one of the world's great spiritual leaders, and became the very definition of the word "insipid"? I'm sure he thought this insight demonstrated his continued profundity. Instead, it drained the Church of Jesus Christ of any purpose or meaning, and simply demonstrated his affection for the inane.

(Thanks to CaNN for the link.)

Replies: 6 Comments

on Monday, September 6th, Baillie said

Paint-by-number Christianity...

on Tuesday, September 7th, Baillie said

Paint-by-number Christianity...

on Tuesday, September 7th, Christopher said

In the two interviews I have read, Tutu supported abortion, gay "rights" and "marriage", and demonstrated no Christian thought at all, but plenty of secular humanistic "rights" thinking. While his work against apartied is certainly worth praise, he most certainly is not a "great spiritual leader", if by "spiritual" you mean something approaching a Christian conception...

on Tuesday, September 7th, Athanasius said

What I meant by that expression was that as I recall, back in the 80s during the anti-apartheid struggle, Tutu didn't hesitate to link human rights to Christian theology. He wasn't just a humanitarian or humanist, but an activist whose Christian convictions were both his primary motivation and the foundation for his thinking. Now, I agree, he comes across as nothing more than a standard issue secular left-wing politician.

on Tuesday, September 7th, Christopher said

Many thoughts come to my mind. Was Tutu really a convicted Christian, or was he an educated pagan, who knew how to "use" the language and thought of Christianity, and who found a certain refuge and means (the Church) for the otherwise righteous cause of ending apartied? Or, did something happen to him, a process of sorts, that has led him away from Christ and to his current pagan thinking/philosophy? It would be interesting to hear it from him, if you could ever get someone like him to truly open up. Did you know, that the post-apartied South Africa constitution is the only constitution in the world where abortion on demand is listed as a human right?

on Tuesday, September 7th, Athanasius said

Sad to say, yes, I knew. I don't think many folks in the West realize the extent to which the African National Congress was and is a far-left, Communist-influenced if not dominated party. And it's approach to social, moral, cultural, and religious issues definitely shows that. As for Tutu, a look at some of his early writings might provide an answer. Maybe I'll have a go at that tomorrow, time and job permitting.