From Ethics Forum
In which I’m reminded that the enemy of one’s opponents on such and such an issue is not necessarily your ally, and to be fair to the mainline, at least some of the conversions to the Catholic churches are the Protestant religious right (pro-Israel and all) doing business under new management. There’s the temptation to be snobbish and go so far in the opposite direction from the converts that you end up a mainliner functionally but it’s still sometimes true.

• Iranian sabre-rattling. And, heaven forfend, a threat to Israel? Given that Persians are a religious and ethnic minority in the area (Shi’ites and Sunnis are farther apart than Catholics and Protestants, and I don’t see Persians ruling a majority of Arabs) and I don’t see a threat to the US (Russell Kirk: the American capital is not Tel Aviv), I don’t care.
• The Times, probably not unbiased, reporting on the Pope on social/political issues. The Catholic faith is clear: there is no such thing as gay marriage. But non-Catholics claiming there is such a thing is no threat to me as long as the state is secular not secularist, or the left often aren’t as fair as they might pretend to me: that’s the ‘insidious challenge’ to a just society and not what some people do with their love lives.
• One more on the Episcopalians and I’m done. That’s really about all Protestants, especially all mainliners, and doesn’t pick on that denomination. Never mind English understatement and be bold: ‘We’re not Catholics. We can change our doctrine and have done. If you don’t like it, leave; only don’t steal the building. Have a nice day.’

Labels: Anglicanism, libertarianism, Palestine, politics, the Catholic faith