Month: July 2008

So I’m a little late seeing Dark Knight, but since I saw it on IMAX, I can say my experience of it was tremendous. I liked the character intrigue a bit more in Batman Begins, and I prefer my comic book violence more hand to hand combat than multiple explosions, but I loved the premise of Dark Knight. Repeatedly the characters talked about the hero Gotham ‘deserves’ and ‘wants,’ which was not the black, vigilante Bat, but a more presentable person who ‘plays by the rules.’ I won’t spoil it too much for you.

It is often said the church gets the ‘bishops we deserve,’ which is telling in our Episcopal Church and in other places throughout history (the popes of the 15th century come to mind).

It is also telling to look at the heroes of our own day and culture. Why are our heroes athletes who make millions and don’t have enough sense not to use drugs or drink and drive? Why are our heroes CEOs who take their companies for millions? Why are our heroes beautiful narcissists and handsome millionaire socio-paths who have less relational skills than your average toddler?

We all get the heroes we deserve.

Our Anglican Communion continues to unravel. Regardless of what we do with GAFCON, the global meeting of orthodox Anglicans (heavily weighted to Africa) underscores the obvious reality, the face of Anglicanism (and Christianity) has changed so radically that the average Anglican (ironic term) is a black woman from Africa.

Since the global south and Latin America dominate the numbers, so why then does the North and the West continue to act as though we are what defines the faith. In the Episcopal Church, for example, we think that because of our wealth and prestige we can dictate worldwide Anglicanism. (African Anglicans number about 55 million and about 750,000 Episcopalians in the US show up on a given Sunday) We strut our tininess in the face of the black continent’s dominance. We don’t even have a voice in our own country, much less among those for whom the Bible is a book that is alive, a book that is animated by God’s Holy Spirit.

Now, to be sure, the African and Latin American churches have a multitude of problems and issues (tribalism, polygamy, political compromise with dictators, etc.), however, revival is happening because being at the bottom brings one to God.