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The relevance of her story to Christian Culture is her
contribution to helping people connect to others while respecting diversity.
Outsiders may not realize the incredible diversity that exists amongst those
who claim an identity as Christian.
Mrs. Bush' story is also relevant because of the widespread respect she has received from people linked to conservative and liberal religious and political groups.
Not surprisingly, some Christians do not consider other groups as Christian. In the book, AHouse Divided: Sexuality, Morality, and Christian Cultures, I make a point of describing some of the commonalities of Christians reflected in the early creeds as well as noting some beliefs that set the faithful apart as members of various subgroups.
Mrs. Bush' story is also relevant because of the widespread respect she has received from people linked to conservative and liberal religious and political groups.
Not surprisingly, some Christians do not consider other groups as Christian. In the book, AHouse Divided: Sexuality, Morality, and Christian Cultures, I make a point of describing some of the commonalities of Christians reflected in the early creeds as well as noting some beliefs that set the faithful apart as members of various subgroups.
The Episcopal
Church traces its origins
to the second century when Christianity arrived in England. The Church of
England was established in British North America during colonization and became
the Episcopal Church following independence. Today Episcopalians are part of
the worldwide Anglican Communion. Although often associated with
Protestants—likely because they are not Catholic—Anglicans are not necessarily
tied to the doctrinal protest movement of leaders like Martin Luther.
A glance at the official statements of beliefs confirms what
one would expect from a group identified as Christian. But amongst protestants,
Episcopalians are considered part of the mainline Christian groups and not a
part of the Evangelical groups. Evangelicals, especially those holding
fundamentalist perspectives, consider Episcopalians as “liberals” largely based
on their social values. (Relevance: A
House Divided Chapter 1).
BUSH, EPISCOPALIANS, & CHRISTIAN CULTURES
Episcopalians differ from other Christian Cultures in ways
relevant to several chapters in A House Divided.
GENDER:
Women may
have a prominent role as clergy and as bishops. This sets them apart from Catholics
where only men are priests and from various Evangelical groups, which hold to a
traditional interpretation of the biblical texts that excludes women from
church leadership. One unusual finding is the ordination of women in some
Pentecostal groups such as the Assemblies of God—a group, which is a part of
the National Association of Evangelicals.
Barbara Bush was known as a wife,
mother, and grandmother yet she supported women’s rights—as one article
reports, her views on women were “complicated” (USA
Today, 2018). (Relevance: A House
Divided Chapter 10).
LGBT:
Episcopalians welcome those who identify as LGBT as children of God. They have
an explicitly
inclusive position. Clergy may identify as LGBT. And marriage is not
limited to a man and a woman. For Barbara Bush’s compassionate view, see The
Atlantic article (2018). (Relevance: A House Divided Chapter 9).
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
& GENDER BIAS:
Following the #metoo movement, the House of Bishops met to
begin a process of working to change the culture of the church with respect to
the important concerns of those who have been harmed by sexual harassment and
sexual violence. (Relevance: A House
Divided Chapter 11).
ABORTION:
The
Episcopal Church views human life as sacred from conception to death. The
church supports a woman’s right to an abortion with specific limitations (Church
archives).
Barbara Bush wrote “I hate abortion” but also believed abortion
should not be a political platform issue (Slate,
2018). (Relevance: A House Divided
Chapter 7).
Discussions of A
House Divided have been well-received in conservative and liberal
settings--in churches, universities, and a seminary. The book is free to
professors as an exam copy from PICKWICK. The publisher - PICKWICK- also offers group discounts.
A low cost Discussion Guide can
be found on AMAZON.
Twitter @GeoffWSutton
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