Ecumenical Insanity

Friday, April 2nd

Sanity restored, sort of

According to CBC News, Ottawa filmmakers have decided that funding a move about pedophilia might have been a wee bit chancy:

A taxpayer-funded grant for a film depicting a sexual relationship between an adolescent boy and an older man has been pulled.

The movie, Last Night With Jesse, was to have received a $1,000 grant from the Independent Filmmakers Co-operative of Ottawa.

The film had been approved for funding by the selection jury of the IFCO, which gets public money from the Canada Council, the Ontario Council for the Arts and the City of Ottawa.

But the group's board quashed the grant on Tuesday, saying the film's director, Ken Takahashi, couldn't confirm whether he planned to use a minor as an actor.

A loss for Art, no doubt, but a gain for some unknown young man.
Athanasius on 04.02.04 @ 09:22 PM EST [link]

Interesting contrast

Here are two quotes regarding the gruesome events in Fallujah. Guess where they come from:

The spectacle of the mutilated remains of four American contractors being paraded through the streets of Fallujah will have turned the stomachs of all who saw this savagery on their television screens. This was mob violence at its worst.

Those who participated in the butchery must be punished. The mob may oppose the Coalition occupation. They may support the insurgents. They may count the death of soldiers as victories. But there is no understanding the brutish slaughter of four unarmed men who were working to rebuild their country. It was a senseless crime of great barbarity.

Here's the second:

Let the people see what war is like. This isn’t an Xbox game. There are real repercussions to Bush’s folly.

That said, I feel nothing over the death of merceneries. They aren’t in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them.

The first is from the Arab News, published in Saudi Arabia. The second is from Daily Kos, one of the most read political blogs on the Net, written by Markos Zuniga, a political consultant who's very popular among Democratic Party leaders, according to the Wall Street Journal's James Taranto. By the way, don't bother looking for the original post; it received such a ferocious response from the blogosphere that it's long gone from Zuniga's Web site, as well as Google's cache and the Internet Archive.

Just thought you'd be interested.
Athanasius on 04.02.04 @ 09:00 PM EST [link]

Say what?

Just got a look at the newsletter for the ECUSA's Washington diocese. Full of unintentional funniness, including this prize quote from the Rev. Bob Carlson, former canon of clergy development, talking about his qualms over The Passion:

I was embarrassed by this film. I think the fault of this film to me is the liberalism....It set up the good guys and the bad guys as the Jews and the Christians...which I totally reject.

Whatever you say, Bob.

Bob wasn't the only one with a, shall we say, novel reaction to the movie. The Rev. Andrew Walton of the Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church said,

I feel like this movie is a great disservice to progressive theology. In many ways it drags us back to pre-Reformation days.

Uh, Mel's a conservative Catholic, Andy. Why do you think he gives a rat's tail for "progressive theology"?

Meanwhile, the Rev. Clark Lobenstine of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington demonstrated that he fell asleep during the credits:

There are more sympathetic Romans in this movie than Jews, which is crazy historically.

Clark, there's exactly one sympathetic Roman in this movie: Claudia, Pilate's wife. Sympathetic Jews: Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, John, Simon of Cyrene, Veronica (the woman who wipes Jesus' face on the Via Dolorosa), etc. You do remember that these individuals were Jewish, don't you Clark?

If you'd like some laughs, you can find the whole newsletter here (it's a PDF file, so you'll need Adobe Acrobat or some other PDF reader).
Athanasius on 04.02.04 @ 06:40 PM EST [link]

Wednesday, March 31st

Is that all?

A name from my family's past surfaced at the Weekly Standard today. Jonathan Last's column is on slavery reparations ferment at Brown University, whose president is Ruth Simmons, the former president of Smith College in Massachusetts. My daughter spent her first year in college at Smith, and while she loved her classes, she found the campus environment stifling. Dr. Simmons, you see, is a diversity-hound, so the result was that at Smith, students came in all different colors, sizes, languages, and backgrounds, but with just one set of political views. Being a Republican was what you did when you wanted to protest the mindless left-wing orthodoxy, but you had to watch your back. Well, anyway, Dr. Simmons is quoted today talking about the plethora of gifts and talents she brings to the Rhode Island Ivy:

By way of explaining her views on identity politics, Simmons has said, "If I have something to teach our students, if I have something to offer Brown, it's the fact that I am a descendent of slaves."

That's it? That's really all she has to bring to one of the best universities in America? She's a Ph.D in Romance languages from Harvard, a former African Studies professor, a long-time college administrator, and what she has to offer Brown is something she has in common with about 10 million other Americans, including Michael Jackson and Charles Barkley (neither of whom were considered for Brown's presidency when Simmons was hired, I guarantee)? What kind of self-respecting academic reduces herself to her genealogical table?
Athanasius on 03.31.04 @ 03:10 PM EST [link]

Tuesday, March 30th

Oy, Canada...

From Lifesite–Canadian tax payers are helping to pay for stuff like this:

The Ottawa Independent Film Makers Co-operative of Ottawa, IFCO, a taxpayer-funded group, hands down a decision today as to whether it will fund the pedophilia-themed film Last Night with Jesse. The group is expected to grant filmmaker Ken Takahashi $1000 for the project, which the Ottawa Citizen describes as "basically looking at man/boy relationships, but from a different perspective."

It's not too difficult to guess what that perspective will be:

Takahashi's other offerings include The Milkman, a homosexual love story his web-site describes as being about "two unlikely individuals who share love at its most basic level." The Milkman recently received The Jury's Choice Award, the top prize at the University of Oregon's 12th annual Queer Film Festival. Takahashi is seeking further funding from public sources to complete Last Night with Jesse.

Not to be too picky about Art or anything, but isn't there a really good chance that a felony will be committed in the process of making this movie? Or will Takahashi skip the porn and just move straight into NAMBLA propaganda? I'm reminded of Joseph Welch's question to Joseph McCarthy: "Have you no sense of decency, IFCO? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?

(Thanks to Kathy Shaidle at relapsed catholic for the link.)
Athanasius on 03.30.04 @ 10:12 PM EST [link]

Bag the Bible–CNN has the real scoop on Jesus

An upcoming one-hour CNN documentary on Jesus, called "The Mystery of Jesus," has the Network of Record breathless with excitement:

Narrated by critically acclaimed actor Liam Neeson, the one-hour documentary explores the historical aspects of the life of Jesus and delves into why so many mysteries exist about his life.

"Tying together historical evidence, religious works and forensic data, this documentary gives us a fresh glimpse into the history of a man whose life and death has been greatly deliberated upon throughout the ages," says Rena Golden, senior vice president of CNN International.

"CNN Productions has done a brilliant job in unveiling many long-standing mysteries surrounding Jesus."

Thank God for CNN. I don't know what we'd do without Ted Turner's super-sleuths on the trail of this long-standing Mystery. I mean, that dang Bible thing is full of holes, and the Vatican has been covering up The Truth (which is, after all, Mysterious) for so long you couldn't pry it out of them for a lock of the Virgin Mary's hair. I appreciate Ms. Golden letting us know her colleagues have "done a brilliant job" (otherwise we'd just be Mysterified at their chutzpah). And I'm especially happy to know that they'll be "unveiling many long-standing mysteries surrounding Jesus"–personally, I'm hoping they'll tell us whether He really did go to Tibet and study with Yoda so He could learn all that martial arts stuff and star in The Matrix. That would be a Mystery worth investigating.
Athanasius on 03.30.04 @ 06:40 PM EST [link]

Passion four, alarmists zero

Not only have there been no anti-Semitic incidents traceable to The Passion of the Christ (one incident in Toronto is still being investigated), there are at least four instances of criminals turning themselves in after having seen the movie:

Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of Christ is said to have prompted a Norwegian neo-Nazi to admit to two arson attacks against squatters.

After watching the film, Johnny Olsen, 41, is reported to have confessed to police about the 1990s attacks in Oslo. (BBC)

A man seeking "redemption" has confessed to a more than two-month-old murder that was originally ruled suicide, say police.

Dan Leach, 21-years-old, of Rosenberg, [Texas,] was arrested on March 23 after voluntarily confessing he murdered 19-year-old Ashley Wilson on Jan. 15. Wilson was allegedly pregnant with Leach's child.

According to the detectives, Leach was moved to confess to the crime after viewing the movie The Passion of the Christ. Detectives say he showed no remorse. (For Bend-Southwest Sun)

In December 2001, James Anderson stormed into a Palm Beach Gardens bank, grabbed an employee and–he now admits–forced tellers to hand over $25,000 in large bills.

Ailing, forever nervous and tired of living in his blue 1995 Toyota Corolla, the 53-year-old walked into the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office lobby in shorts and a polo shirt, saying he was ready to give himself up.

When a sheriff's detective asked him why he gave himself up, Anderson said he was stirred deeply after watching The Passion of the Christ and felt compelled to come clean.(Palm Beach Post)

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ has touched millions of Americans spiritually–including a repentant burglar who turned himself in Sunday in Mesa.

About 3:30 a.m., officers were checking a burglar alarm set off at Yakety Yak Wireless, 1840 W. Southern Ave., when Turner Lee Bingham, 20, walked up and confessed he had taken $80 from the register, police and the store’s owner said.

He also said he was responsible for five or six burglaries at other places. "He had made some mention that after watching the Mel Gibson movie...that was his motive for turning himself in," said Mesa police detective Ruben Quesada. (East Valley (AZ) Tribune)

I'm sure there are a variety of extenuating circumstances in each instance, beyond seeing The Passion, that may have driven each of these felons to turn himself in. But if the movie helped them, even a little, to make up their minds, wonderful.

Athanasius on 03.30.04 @ 06:00 PM EST [link]

Monday, March 29th

See, Frank, it isn't just me

Christopher Johnson at MCJ nails Frank Griswold in his extended commentary on the Presiding Bishop's recent letter to the Lambeth Commission. I particularly liked what he had to say about the paragraph quoted in my previous entry:

Pot? This is Kettle. Do you have any idea how black you are?

In the entire Griswoldian oeuvre, I don't believe that Frank has ever been as remotely or as magisterially mendacious as he is in this one paragraph. The attempt in the Episcopal Church to make homosexuals feel better about themselves has been a purely political act, with a "theology" that intellectually-serious people consider a bad joke.

Yet, to Frank, those of us who try to defend the Christian faith from those who would rewrite it to suit the culture are "motivated by political ideologies rather than theological convictions" and we've somehow "garnered the consciousness" of bishops around the world. Interesting, rather insulting idea and vaguely racist idea, that one, that the bishops of the Anglican Communion can have their consciousnesses "garnered" so easily.

And I really hadn't put it together when I read it the first time, but Chris is right about that last point. This is Griswold throwing in with John Spong and Barbara Harris pronouncing Third World, and especially African, bishops "superstitious primitives" who are easily bought off by American crypto-fascists tossing chicken dinners their way. It's amazing the way long-repressed racism surfaces when one doesn't get one's own way because of the opposition of one's inferiors. It surely is going to be interesting to see what kind of greeting Griswold gets the next time he has to meet with some of those same bishops.
Athanasius on 03.29.04 @ 02:05 PM EST [link]

Sunday, March 28th

Speak for yourself, Frank

Frank Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, has written a letter to a commission of the Anglican Communion. In this letter, he seeks to ~~obfuscate~~ explain his perspective on the continuing controversy over homosexuality in the ECUSA. There's an excellent analysis of this letter on CaNN. What I found especially interesting was this piece of historical revisionism:

Another dynamic is the role members of my own church with a particular point of view have played in shaping opinions, shall we say, since before the last Lambeth Conference. We must openly acknowledge the fact that part of the reason issues of homosexuality have so overtaken the Anglican Communion is because a number of the members of the Episcopal Church–along with individuals and groups motivated by political ideologies rather than theological convictions–have, by virtue of their connections and resources, been able to garner the consciousness of bishops around the world. Their unstinting efforts have made this issue more central to our life than the spreading of the gospel and the living of the Good News of Jesus Christ. We must ask ourselves if this preoccupation with sexuality is truly of God.

Come on, Frank, don't be coy. We all know who you're talking about. The American Anglican Council, Forward in Faith, the Network–in other words, conservative evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics. Now, since we know who you're accusing, let's look at the reality.

The reality is that it is liberals and gay rights advocates who have brought the issue up over and over and over again, seeking to wear down the opposition until they got what they wanted. Griswold's letter makes passing reference to a resolution passed in 1976 that affirmed, rightly, "that homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church." (the acceptance referred to is, I assume, of homosexual persons, not their behaviors, which aren't mentioned). ECUSA conservatives would no doubt have been happy to consider the issue settled. But no–it kept coming up over and over, as liberals sought to chip away, bit by bit, at the traditional understanding of sexuality embodied in Scripture and the tradition of the Church Catholic. It was not conservatives who kept bringing it up. It was not conservatives who were obsessed with getting the church to put its stamp of approval on behavior that nothing in revelation condoned. It was not conservatives who insisted on making this the the most important issue for the church to deal with at convention after convention. If you really want to know who has a "preoccupation with sexuality," look no farther than the folks who have decided that it was worth risking schism for the sake of their sexual agenda. Oh, and as for those driven by political ideologies rather than theology, we need look no farther than bishops like Tom Shaw of Massachusetts, who was practically the first in line to thank that state's Supreme Court for putting their stamp of approval on his ideology.

They say that a substance abuser won't seek help until he "hits bottom." Frank Griswold's addiction to ecclesiastical dishonesty is still searching for its bottom.
Athanasius on 03.28.04 @ 07:21 PM EST [link]