There are enough words floating around to last a lifetime on the trial of Karen Damman, so after this post, I won’t add anymore (yeah right!).
My friend Hugo offers a link to the latest Christianity Today article on the trial by James Berkely. Hugo offers his critique on the article, which I won’t repeat.
What I will ask is for a favor from Mr. Berkely and other non-United Methodists on this issue. I understand that you aren’t happy with this decision. In fact, I understand that you frankly don’t have much use for Methodism as a whole as a member for Presbyterinans for Renewal. We Methodists are heretical Arminians (to use the words of Michael Horton in “The Church in the Emerging Culture) –and proud ones at that. The Calvin that you adore and the Wesley that we lift up didn’t agree, and our theology and polity differ radically. You are who you are and we are who we are, and God will have to sort it out in the end.
So leave the commentary to us Methodists. We have enough differences on our own without someone from a different theological and polity perspective offering your opinions as to why we are doomed to fail. As Gamaliel said (in so many words) if God isn’t with us, we are indeed doomed to fail, and if God is with us, there is nothing you can do or say to stop us.
Of course some will say that we are all part of the church universal, and they are right. It’s just difficult to hear outsiders turn the knife and not leave room for conversation “in the family.” The jury may have indeed been wrong (I’m still mulling over that one) but that is for us to determine through our structures.
So leave us to our own pain. We won’t gloat when you struggle with your issues. So don’t gloat when we struggle with ours.
