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RE: Barreling Towards Schism
Actually, I'm surprised Protestant churches don't split more than they do. Or, if you look at it another way, I think they're already more split up than they seem. If you think about it, how do you define Methodists (all of them)? What is it that sets them apart from all other Protestants? I bet if you took a cross-section of the personal beliefs of Methodists around the world, it would be about the same as the Presbyterians. Also, I bet the difference between a Baptist church in Texas and a Baptist church in Korea is probably more than the difference between a "non-denominational" church in Boston and the Methodist church just down the street. Most protestants also seem able to switch denominations very easily when they move or have a run-in with a preacher or fellow church member. What reason do they have to stay in their Episcopalian church other than their friends and history within that congregation? When they move, get in a fight, or are censured for sinning and don't feel they have these anymore, they just go looking for a place that is right "for them."
This seems odd to me, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because - like Catholics - we believe that God establishes His church on the earth. It's a top down thing, not a bottom up thing; just one God-approved church - the one with God at the head. Protestants, on the other hand, don't believe that such a church exists. Thus, to Protestants, a "church" is really just a place to go to get "fellowship." Looking at it that way, it really doesn't matter what the name of the church is, if it splinters or which side you take - as long as you find "fellowship" there.
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Barreling Towards Schism
Traditionalists went to the conference expecting to debate the 2003 homosexuality issue and instead were blindsided by the election of a woman who was ordained in 1994 and who has publicly said she does not consider homosexuality to be a sin.
I am not an Episcopalian but I have been following this story with much interest for its larger effects on American politics and world religion. The US Episcopal church is waaaaaay out of step with its Anglican and African counterparts as well as the "conservative" parts of the American church.
Liberals in the church seem hell-bent on creating schisms within their church in order to advance the progressive flag and create The Church of Do Whatever Feels Good 'Cause God is Down With Everything.
As a Catholic it is hard for me to understand the structure of this church, but I know there great conflict within it. To me this illustrates the reason for a pope, so there is one final deciding authority (at least on Earth) when conflicts arise.
The inherent flaw in Protestantism is its tendency toward fracture. Newton's First Law applies to Luther's secession- since the Reformation the non-Catholic Christian religions have been Balkanized time and again because they have no one at the top.
Imagine the US if the South had won the Civil War: South Carolina would have gotten upset about something in 1870 and seceded. Then Virginia in 1875, then Georgia in 1880, etc. In the North with the precedent set, independent New Hampshire would have left the Union first, then Massachussets, and so on. Today we would have dozens of countries on the same continent. The US wouldn't have been there to win WWII or oppose the USSR (or destroy the ozone layer and unjustly imprison Mumia, if you're a liberal). France and England would be speaking German (or Russian).
Protestant churches cannot stay together because the precedent has been set for secession. Like divorce in America, it's too easy to walk away. The US Episcopal Church is the latest example of this disheartening tendency, because politics have become more important than unity.
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