the schism business

By ( articles ) | May 07, 2004

The NYT's Laurie Goodstein has an interesting article on a pending divorce in the Methodists:

Frustrated by years of rancor between the left and the right in the United Methodist Church, conservative members proposed Thursday that the denomination dissolve itself and split into separate churches. ...

Although a schism is far from imminent, the proposal is part of a long-term strategy and an indication that Methodist conservatives intend to use the gay issue as a wedge to precipitate a fracture -- just as conservatives have in the Episcopal Church USA, in which some churches are forming a rival network.

There's a lot of loaded language here. The conservatives (who are only just beginning to understand what hit them) are trying to "precipitate a fracture" by refusing to abandon teachings that were common ground until 25 years ago. Goodstein also mentions that the cons are "bankrolled" by -- well, it turns out to be the Scaife and Olin foundations, but no one needs to read the rest of the sentence. In the meadow of the NYT, leftist organizations like Catholic for Free Choice live like the lilies of the field, off the oxygen of their own righteousness. Only right-wingers are "bankrolled." Goodstein also says that "conservatives are mounting increasingly organized challenges to denominations long associated with theological diversity." Most of us will understand that, in this context, "theological diversity" has little to do with the doctrine of trinitarian perichoresis and a lot to do with BOYCO ("Blood On Your Clown Outfit") ideology.