We Proclaim Christ Crucified

It is Lent, of course, and in our cycle of Scripture reading - Christ has not yet been crucified. But, in Lent we prepare for the inevitable remembrance of what happened to Christ. What happened was, he was crucified on a Friday, and on Sunday, he got back up. This is, at the very least, what Christians proclaim. It's what we give witness to as the members of Christ's body.

Now, any Christian shares in this proclamation - for it is what we are baptised into. It kind goes without saying, yet should always be said, because it is part of our mission to proclaim it.

Muslims, on the other hand, while they regard Jesus as a prophet, do not believe, to say the least, that Jesus was crucified at all. Leaving out the questions of incarnation, resurrection, etc., to say the very least, Muslims do not proclaim Christ crucified.

As Paul has said, the cross is a stumbling block and foolishness - not only to "the Jews" but also to "the Gentiles" - as well as to Muslims and others.

To say this is not at all meant to be insulting to anybody. But merely to clarify what's what, and who says what. We proclaim Christ, and him crucified. It's the rugged old cross, after all, that is the place where we believe the unique act of God to expiate the sins of the world took place.

I bring all this up - in fact - to comment on the odd case of the Rev. Anne Holmes Redding. The Rev. Ms. Redding has claimed for some time now that she is both a Christian and a professed Muslim - AND - she believes she is also entitled to remain in holy orders as a priest. While this seems like a patently absurd situation to most, and I would agree, there it is. The good news is not that the Bishop of Rhode Island, Geralyn Wolf, has given ample time to her to reconsider her proclamation. The time is now up - she has to decide either to uniquely proclaim Christ (as crucified, raised, ascended, etc.) and remain in orders, or be removed from orders.

It is important to engage in dialogue with other faiths - absolutely! We are indeed called I believe to seek Christ in all persons - regardless of what they look like, think like or how they pray or whom they worship. Nonetheless, this does not mean that 'all religions are the same' or that 'all paths lead to God' or any number of cheap and easy slogans for casual pluralism.

This being said, I'm not certain that the controversy surrounding the election of the Rev. Dr. Thew Forrester as bishop in Northern Michigan is justified - "the so-called Buddhist Bishop." I have not read - though I've tried to find some things on the web - much of what Dr. Forrester has written or preached. According to Mark Harris - Forrester does not claim to be a 'Buddhist,' but does practice Zen meditational techniques. It has seemed to me that Buddhism, as compared with Judaism or Islam at any rate, is not as coherent, unified or uniform. I have heard some even say that Buddhism is less of a religion, and more of a set of practices and principles. I really don't know about all of that either - as I'm not a student of Buddhism. From the very little bit I do know, I have spoken with a great many faithful followers of the crucified Lord who have been impressed and influenced by certain aspects of Buddhist practice - especially as regards meditation, etc. Beyond question, Thomas Merton was influenced by Buddhist practice and thought - and I don't think he's a 'heretic.' So, if Dr. Forrester fits into the Merton-mold of Christians seeking truth wherever it may be found, as well as helpful techniques to be a faithful disciple of Christ, than I don't have much trouble with any of this. If on the other hand Dr. Forrester is incapable of proclaiming and cherishing the essential distinctives of the Christian faith (as summed up ably in the Nicene and Apostles Creeds, Old and New Testaments, and dominical sacraments) then he certainly should have no place in the apostolic succession. I read one squib of a sermon in which he seemed to be making what looked like a "it doesn't matter whether you are Jewish, Muslim or Christian" type argument - and I must say I found that very weak. But, I didn't read it all, I don't know the fullness of what he said, and I hope any who judge the man on the standing committees and House of Bishops will really look into what he proclaims, and not what fear-mongering folk are trying to say he says.