I was fortunate yesterday to catch this before it scrolled off the front page at An Inch at a Time. Bishop Gene Robinson preached at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena this past Sunday. I thought the sermon was quite good, and transcribe most of it. Here’s just a sample of what +Gene had to say, in his sermon centering around the parable of the Good Samaritan…
You know, more and more, I am convinced that the Christian life is not about life after death–it’s about life before death. What God does for us after death, God will take care of. But what we do with life before death is up to you and me. That’s the real reward of Christianity, isn’t it? Not so much life after death, but life before death. It’s not an accident that in our confession now, and in the absolution which follows, we don’t say “and may God bring you to everlasting life”, but keep you in everlasting life. It gets to start now…if we are awake. If we understand that in the doing of God’s will, we already participate in everlasting life.
Much more, plus a link to the video of the sermon, here.
Met him briefly when he preached in Columbus last summer
http://religiousleft.bmgbiz.net/robinsonsermon.html
Anyway, I find him inspiring, and wanted to share this with anyone else who feels likewise.
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Evangelical bloc hasn’t yet settled on a candidate that embodies conservative values
Among those trying to gain the support of Republican voters are a pro-life Mormon, a pro-choice and pro-gay New York Catholic and a former Southern Baptist preacher.
But so far, Giuliani is leading among born-again Republican voters. A spring poll by Pew showed 27 percent of white Protestant evangelicals favored Giuliani if asked to choose now in the GOP primary. A Los Angeles Times poll had a similar result.
While Giuliani captured America’s attention after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks, evangelicals like Focus on the Family’s James Dobson find him unsupportable. As mayor of New York, Giuliani supported same-sex unions and domestic partnerships, equal rights for homosexuals and women’s choice on abortion.
… some evangelicals may lean toward Giuliani, with soft support, because they think he can win the general election. Or, social conservatives may like him on other matters, such as defense and crime. Or, they may not have examined his record yet.
Steven Ertelt chronicles the right-to-life movement as editor and CEO of the anti-abortion online news service LifeNews.com, and he suggests the latter. He makes this prediction: “Previous pro-abortion candidates have fallen by the wayside (Pete Wilson, Arlen Specter, etc.). Eventually the pro-life movement will unite behind one or two top-tier candidates and Giuliani will be a footnote in the 2008 primaries.”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."