George Will's Column

George Will wrote a troubling column that was published yesterday, called "A Faith's Dwindling Following." In it, Will claims that the Episcopal Church in America has lost its way and does not seem relevant anymore, given all the problems confronting the church. Will's conclusion pretty much sums up his (in my opinion, short-sighted) argument:

Today [the Episcopal Church] is "progressive" politics cloaked — very thinly — in piety. Episcopalians' discontents tell a cautionary tale for political as well as religious associations. As the church's doctrines have become more elastic, the church has contracted. It celebrates an "inclusiveness" that includes fewer and fewer members.

So now popular opinion determines theological arguments? Or is religion a popularity contest instead?

To say that being inclusive is merely "politics cloaked in piety" seems to ignore Jesus' teaching here on Earth. For wasn't it Jesus who hung out with the tax collectors and prostitutes and other "unclean" people, inviting them to join him in God's love? I guess Jesus was just too inclusive and political for true conservatives these days. (Which is, incidentally, the premise of this novel; evidently the Christian NeoCons would have a problem with Jesus Christ Himself).