Paul Zahl can't help himself
Regular readers will be acquainted with Dean Paul (T-Bomb) Zahl, of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry near Pittsburgh, a leading figure on the Episcopal right.
Before the recent episcopal election in the Diocese of California, he liked the potential election of a gay candidate to the detonation of a "terrorist bomb" designed to stop a peace process. Then, in a column on his school's Web site, he likened his theological opposition with the Church to Brown shirts.
Now, he offers this analogy to the Associated Press in a story about reparations for slavery:
"We just find it hard this moment to take it seriously, when we ourselves feel like African-Americans did 50 years ago."
Those of us who disagree with the dean theologically can only hope that he keeps talking.
could you cite the quotation from Zahl, or provide a link to the article? Thanks.
Posted by fran | June 1, 2006 4:07 PM
Sure. Have another look. I just put up the link.
Posted by Jim Naughton | June 1, 2006 5:05 PM
The Dean says that because he feels like African Americans did 50 years ago, he can't take seriously the Church's failure to recognize the sinfulness of slavery.
If he feels like an African American, wouldn't he take seriously the Church's apology? Wouldn't he welcome it, as the African American clergy quoted in the story do?
Now that I spend a little bit of time thinking about it, how is a conservative who wants to limit participation in the Church, like an African American whose participation was limited in the Church?
The only part of his statement that makes any logical sense is "We just find it hard this moment to take it seriously."
I don't think we needed his statement to figure that out.
Posted by RMF | June 2, 2006 9:13 AM
A priest named Victor from Arizona was featured in yesterday's Virtue Online, doing a proof-text hatchet job on the mainstream of the Episcopal Church.
His fuzzy thesis (which defies a brief synopsis) is that Jesus told us to pluck out the offending eye and Paul says sexual sin is bad; ergo, kick out ECUSA. He takes a lot longer to get to that point, unfortunately.
Posted by Jim, Sr | June 2, 2006 10:26 AM
Oh, if we could only magically make Dean Zahl black and in Mississippi 50 years ago and see if he would still compare his current situation. He's the well-paid Dean of a very nice school, hardly like being black 50 years ago.
And I would think African-Americans today would be offended by having the plight of their ancestors 50 years ago compared to the plight of religious conservatives in America today.
It would seem that Dean Zahl so desperately wants to be seen as a victim that he is willing to trivialize anything in comparison to his "plight".
Posted by DanielR | June 2, 2006 1:50 PM
Funny, this reminds me of a quote by one of personal favorites, Pat Robertson.
"Just like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews, so liberal America is now doing to the evangelical Christians. It's no different. It is the same thing. It is happening all over again. It is the Democratic Congress, the liberal-biased media and the homosexuals who want to destroy the Christians. Wholesale abuse and discrimination and the worst bigotry directed toward any group in America today. More terrible than anything suffered by any minority in history."--Pat Robertson, 1993 interview with Molly Ivins
Where DO they come up with this stuff?
Posted by DanielR | June 2, 2006 2:38 PM