A Striking Contrast
Contrasting comments by two prominent religious leaders show why some denominations grow while others decline and wither. Just before his election as pope, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger gave an inspiring speech about the need to pursue timeless truth and to resist "the dictatorship of relativisms."
Meanwhile, Gene Robinson, the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, spoke to Planned Parenthood and compared the Passover story of the Book of Exodus to his coming out as a gay man. "I know what it's like to leave Egypt, or leave the closet," he declared, adding: "We need to teach people about nuance, about holding things in tension, that this can be true and that can be true..."
No wonder that his Episcopal church faces division, disinterest, and disastrously declining numbers, while the uncompromising Catholic message remains powerful and relevant. In the marketplace of religious ideas, most consumers seek guidance, rigor and continuity, not New Age nuance or anything-goes-trendiness.
Michael Medved
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