Loading ...Buddhist poised to become Episcopal bishop
flockwoodAn Episcopal diocese in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is preparing to elect an “ordained” Zen Buddhist as its bishop.
The Rev. George Conger has the details in The Living Church. StandFirminFaith.Com also is writing extensively about the development.
Kevin “Genpo” Thew Forrester is the only nominee for “Bishop/Ministry Provider” in the Diocese of Northern Michigan, the diocese’s website reports.
A special diocesan convention is set for Feb. 21 to choose a new bishop.
Genpo means “Way of Universal Wisdom”, Forrester explained in an article in the diocesan newsletter, soon after he changed his name and accepted lay ordination as a Zen Buddhist. You can read all about it on page C.
A universalist, Forrester has unorthodox views about some traditional doctrinal matters, including sin. In the diocesan newsletter, he writes: “Sin has little, if anything, to do with being bad. It has everything to do, as far as I can tell, with being blind to our own goodness.”
Ironically, Forrester’s selection to serve as a Zen Buddhist Episcopal bishop comes shortly after a Seattle Muslim Episcopal priest was punished for claiming to be a follower of both Christianity and Islam.
It will be interesting to see whether the national church will give its assent to Forrester, assuming Michiganders give him the nod. It will also be interesting to see how Anglican archbishops around the world respond to this development.
The Diocese of Northern Michigan is the third smallest in the Episcopal Church [just ahead of the diocese of Micronesia and the Navajo Missions diocese, according to the denomination’s statistics. On a typical Sunday, 690 Episcopalians attend services diocese-wide.
Membership in the diocese dropped 31.7 percent over the past decade.
January 27th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
While I’m no expert in Eastern spiritual movements, I do know some fine people who define themselves both as Christian and Buddhist. If someone at StandFirmInFaith wants to explain why Christianity and Buddhism are exclusive, then by all means let’s hear them out. Perhaps they also ought to ask whether Christianity is compatible with other practices, lifestyles and beliefs– Masonry, yoga, capitalism, etc.
January 29th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
I realize that it’s fashionable these days, particularly in the left wing of protestantism, to see all religions as essentially the same, a sort of cosmic ooze theory. I, too, know people who consider themselves both Christian and Buddhist. But at some point, one has to recognize that when one gets over how good the Dalai Lama looks in yellow, Christianity and buddhism really are different, and have totally different theologies. Christianity does not recognize reincarnation, which is the cornerstone of Buddhism, and Buddhism recognizes neither Jesus, a Christian God, nor the Christian’s view of life and death as one time experiences.
The Dalai Lama recognized this in a book some years ago in which he said that while he admired some of the views of Christians, and certainly believed that they should practice their own religion as they see fit, Christianity and Buddhism are fundamentally different.
That doesn’t mean we can’t learn a lot of things from Buddhism, which I have through my study of it. But Christianity and Buddhism are far different religions. As far as the 690 lonely Episcopalians in the northern peninsula of Michigan, I say let them pick their own bishop, and if they want one with eastern spiritual leanings, that’s their business.
February 22nd, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I happen to be a new addition to that (no so) ‘lonely’ Diocese in the U.P. and I am thrilled to have found just such a welcoming and inclusive spiritual community here. I just met Kevin Thew Forrester this morning, minutes after I learned he is indeed our new Bishop-elect. I can’t tell if the obvious loving and compassionate fruits of his spirit come from his Buddha nature or from studying the Bible, and I doubt anyone could out of context… There are unquestionable universal fibers from across the traditions of human spirituality and what a great time in our history to synergize these ideals we share to heal all our apparent divisions. As the teacher elements of their respective trinities, Jesus and the Buddha would each endorse both ‘virtuous action’ and the ‘golden rule’;both would agree that hatred, greed and delusion are the root of all harm. Sure there are spaces in the continuum, but maybe that’s how the light gets in.
February 26th, 2009 at 11:03 am
And it is not just the Buddhapalian thing. The candidate also eliminated the Nicene Creed from the service because there was a Muslim in attendance and Thew Forrester did not want him to feel left out. (Thew Forrester is a strong advocate of “open communion” where you don’t even have to be Christian to participate.)
February 26th, 2009 at 11:07 am
And Caleb writes, “As far as the 690 lonely Episcopalians in the northern peninsula of Michigan, I say let them pick their own bishop, and if they want one with eastern spiritual leanings, that’s their business.”
Actually, that is one of the objections as well. There was no election, simply an ad hoc committee that, surprise, surprise, chose one of their own. This is in violation of church canon. Concerns about the rigged process were voiced to Katherine Jefferts Schori and they were ignored. See the discussion at BabyBlue’s:
http://babybluecafe.blogspot.com/2009/02/kevin-martin-sheds-more-light-on.html
May 8th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Actually Caleb, I question this because reincarnation is a part of the Jewish tradition, and the early Christian followers, being formerly Jewish, were bound to have a belief in reincarnation. In John 1:21 they ask Jesus if he is Elijah. When Christ appears to his disciples after his resurrection, his disciples mistake him for a ghost. Christianity and Buddhism are very different religions, but if you study Buddhism, as you say you do, certainly you also see many parallels.
May 10th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Alexis, various Jewish friends have told me that reincarnation can be (but is not necessarily) part of the Jewish belief system, though I don’t know upon what they base this belief. However, reincarnation has never been accepted as a Christian doctrine to my knowledge.
May 11th, 2009 at 7:37 am
reincarnation has never been conceded by the Bible. on Elijah: Jesus was merely asking his followers ‘who do you say that I am” to which Peter replied “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”.
We are living in a time when many false doctrines perpetuated by the Church es (to remain in power) have been “allowed” to filter in. This is an example of such. God may not necessarily ‘allow’ you to enter his heaven simply because you have chosen to follow a false prophet and neglected to interpret scripture accurately as it is now up to the individual to do so.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:12 am
Jose–above, I am one of the Stand Firmers who thinks Buddhism and Chrstianity are mutually exclusive. I also don’t advocate Masonry or yoga for the same reason, and can see a lot in capitalism that goes against Christian doctrine. But you know what they say, capitalism is an economic philosophy–not a religion.