Light and Dark

By Randall Stephens

I just received the weekly scoop from Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. The Lambeth gathering of Anglican bishops was the lead item:

Anglican bishops gathered from all over the world to attend the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England. But among the more than 650 bishops participating, there remained sharp disagreement about what it means to be an Anglican today as they struggled to find a way to hold their Communion together despite strong divisions about homosexuality and the interpretation of Scripture. Relationships have been severely strained among the Anglican Communion's 38 regional bodies or provinces since the U.S. Episcopal Church consecrated an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, and local parishes began blessing same-sex unions. [See these interviews for more.]

While I was getting the grand tour and doing some interviews at Focus on the Family a couple weeks ago in Colorado Springs, I stumbled upon this goldmine of a Christian bookstore: Born Again Used Books. (I was unclear whether that name meant that the books themselves were actually saved, but I figured I wouldn't press the matter.) I bought loads of home schooling manuals, millennial diatribes, Christian America histories, and books with titles like A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality. I was positively giddy. I may or may not have shouted: "Look at all these home schooling volumes from Bob Jones University Press and A Beka Book (Pensacola Christian College)!" There is a Christian perspective on almost everything. Appropriate footwear? Yes; Potty training? Yes; Dog training? Yes; How to have good sex? Yes. It's like manna from heaven for my current book project.

I collected two hefty boxes. I was speaking to the clerk about the weather, the area, where I am from, Boston . . . and she said in hushed, ominous tones, "That's a very dark place." Judging from our discussion and all the books cramming the shelves, I figured she had in mind the hordes of Godless tax-raisers, Irish mobsters, drag kings, Harry Potter fans, Unitarians, global warming prophets, gay-agenda activists and the clergy who marry them, etc., etc., running amok in Beantown.

It made me wonder. How will the same-sex marriage issue play out in the coming months? Will that and other hot button matters drive a wedge between values-cons and their value-less rivals? I'm not sure what to make of whatever culture wars are still raging across the land. Let's see what the Aug. 16 showdown at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church reveals.

(I hope to post more on the Focus visit later. Was a great trip. The play area is awesome. Thanks for the dinner on the town, Paul.)