Forgiveness Part 2 - The Letter Killeth

Yesterday, I received an email from St. Thomas Parish Church. It read...

"Thank you for sharing part of the history of this church. Hope to see more.

The Reverent was correct in his reason for not marrying you and your then wife to be, take note that the Queen will not be going to the wedding of her grandson next month, as his wife to be is a divorcee, but she will go to the reception."

Ironically, at the time that I received this email, I was hosting the Choir of the St. Thomas Church to a luncheon at my home!

I tried to respond but as is often the case with some Outlook accounts, my mail was undelivered. I wanted to engage the writer in a discussion as to why the Queen's actions are to be considered as a vindication of the correctness of this stance by the church. 

I understand that the Church of England, (Anglicans), does not encourage divorce, but, should it not as a "Christian", forgiving organisation, be able to treat with empathy to those who find themselves in such a situation?

Until the 16th century CE, the Church in England recognised the Roman Catholic Pope's authority. However, when Catherine of Aragon failed to produce a male heir for Henry VIII and was considered too old to give birth to any more children, Henry wanted to divorce her. The Pope refused permission and so the only way for Henry to get what he wanted was to break away from the Vatican and make divorce legal. The Archbishop of Canterbury granted Henry a divorce in 1533 (under pressure) and Henry made himself head of the Church of England.

So… Fact. The Church of England is founded on adultery. But, we will not hold that against them.

By allowing himself to remarry, Henry made the same thing possible for his subjects. However, I understand that couples do not have an automatic right to remarry in church. Apparently, remarriage is always allowed if the couple's former spouses are dead. The matter becomes more complicated if one or both of the exes is still living.

I was married in 1996 when the Anglican Church was still a little confused as to the official stance on the treatment of divorcees and their right to be remarried in the church. However, the Church has had a clear stance on the subject of a Christian remarriage since the General Synod meeting of 2002. In a vote concerning marriage after divorce, the outcome was 269 votes to 83 in support of a change. The Church of England teaches that marriage is for life. It also recognizes that some marriages sadly do fail and, if this should happen, it wants to be available for all involved. The Church accepts that, in exceptional circumstances, a divorced person may marry again in church during the lifetime of a former spouse.

Under civil law, the clergy has the capacity to marry any two people (as long as the couple can legally marry). The Church advises clergy to think carefully before remarrying couples and to ask them questions to find out how committed they are. The final decision that can easily determine the course of people's lives, rests with the clergy member.

The Church's suggested questions concentrate on the intentions of the couple and whether allowing the remarriage would be harmful to anybody involved. For example:

• ·       Does the couple understand that divorce is a breach of God's will for marriage? 
•          Do they have a determination for the new marriage to be a life-long faithful partnership? 
•          Do they seem willing to explore and grow in the Christian faith? 
•          Has enough time passed since the divorce for everyone to have recovered, and are there complicating factors from previous marriages (court proceedings or child support payments, for example)? 
•          Has either of the parties been divorced more than once? 
•          Was their relationship a direct cause of the breakdown of a previous marriage? 

I believe that there is an almighty being that controls life in this universe. I also believe that mankind does not have the mental capacity to understand where this entity resides in the construct of time and space as we perceive it. Our universe is a strange place brimming with lovely paradox. Our limited minds cannot hope to comprehend the scope of a creator that can be responsible for such complexity. Even on this tiny dot that we call Earth, that is no more than a speck on a grain of sand in the centre of the ocean, man is not the fastest, the strongest or even the most resilient but we would like to think we are the most intelligent. We definitely are the most arrogant! We create rules and laws in an effort to control the ignorant and then try to justify them by claiming that they are the will of the creator!

This is what rubs me the wrong way about all religions and their hundreds of denominations and sects. Many years ago, I promised my wife that I will stop writing about religion and I will not break that promise. I will leave you with this concept of the Almighty that I find most appealing.

"I am that I am", is a common English translation of the Hebrew phrase, "’ehyeh ’ăšer ’ehyeh ".  Also "I am who I am" or "I will be what I will be". Its context is the encounter of the burning bush (Exodus 3:14): Moses asks what he is to say to the Israelites when they ask what God has sent him to them, and Yahweh replies, "I am who I am." ’Ehyeh is the first person form of hayah, "to be", and owing to the peculiarities of Hebrew grammar means both "I am", "I was", and "I will be". That nicely sums up my creator. I AM, I WAS, and I WILL BE.

I hope that you forgive my rant today. This is not exactly Art related but my beliefs are a large part of what makes me the person that I am. I could not create the work that I do if I did not see the world as I do. My perception of life is what makes me an artist.

Until next time when I will definitely share some more of my work with you, please leave a comment.  And, I will really appreciate if you share this post with your friends. To make sure that you don't miss any future posts, Please enter your email address in the subscribe by email box on the right.

Mark Phillips

Artist
Email:- mark@phillipsbajanart.com
Website:-www.phillipsbajanart.com
Online Store:- PhillipsArtStore