Eugene Robinson and the Death of Theological Liberalism

The Washington Post reports that the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, Vickie Eugene Robinson, is being treated for alcoholism. You may recall that Robinson divorced his wife to live with a gay lover and instead of being disciplined was elevated to the office of bishop.

When asked if his sexual behavior required repentance, Robinson replied, "It is not something of which I should repent and I have no intention of doing so. I have been led to understand that I am loved by God just as I am. That is not to say I am perfect but it is my belief that my orientation is value-neutral. It is what I do with my relationship that God really cares about."

So his "orientation is value-neutral." It's only his "relationship" that is of concern to God. Robinson then gets to the crux of the matter, the abandonment of Scriptural authority. "We worship a living God," says Robinson, "not one locked up in the Scripture of 2,000 years ago." What does it say about a church that one of its bishops can make such a remark?

For more good stuff from Robinson, you can check out his interview with the butchers over at Planned Parenthood where he defends the "right to choose" and compares his trip out of the closet with the Exodus story.


Let's see, what did Paul say were the qualifications for an
overseer?

If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

On the plus side, Robinson is apparently "well thought of by outsiders." He was greeted with hosannas at New York's gay pride parade last spring.