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Ann Holmes Redding Update: This bishop, unlike another in the initial story, doesn't seem to "find the interfaith possibilities exciting."
"Episcopal priest given ultimatum," by Janet I. Tu for the Seattle Times, October 10:
There are moments these days when the Rev. Ann Holmes Redding sits outside a church or a Muslim gathering, wondering if she will be welcome at either.
It didn't use to be this way. But now, six months away from what is almost certain to be her defrocking, the Episcopal priest who announced last year that she had also become a Muslim remains steadfast in her belief that she was called to both faiths but says her decision to follow that call has been exceedingly painful at times.
In a letter mailed last week to national and local church leaders, Bishop Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island, who has disciplinary authority over the Seattle priest, said a church committee had determined that Redding "abandoned the Communion of the Episcopal Church by formal admission into a religious body not in communion with the Episcopal Church."
Wolf has affirmed that determination, barring Redding from functioning as a priest for the next six months.
According to church law, unless Redding resigns her priesthood or denies being a Muslim during those six months, the bishop has a duty to defrock — or depose — her, as the process is formally known.
Redding, who served as director of faith formation at Seattle's St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, said she has no plans to resign or to renounce Islam, any more than she would renounce Christianity. She does not believe she has abandoned the communion of the Episcopal Church.
"I'm saddened and disappointed that this could not be an opportunity" for the church to broaden its perspective and talk about what it means to adhere to more than one faith, Redding said.
"The automatic assumption is that if I'm one of 'them,' I can't be one of 'us' anymore." But "I'm still following Jesus in being a Muslim. I have not abandoned that."
But Allah has no son.
Redding has been a priest for nearly 25 years.
While she does not regret going public about her embrace of Islam, she does acknowledge being naive about the controversy her announcement would stir up.
"I can definitely be a Pollyanna," she said. "It never occurred to me it was something to be in the closet about. I just thought it was great."
Getting to know Islam was "like falling in love," she said. "You want to share it, you want to get on a rooftop and start shouting." [...]
Redding says she understands why people might be upset that a priest would also profess another faith, given that a priest represents the church. But she firmly believes she did not break her ordination vows. [...]
Nicene Creed? Meh. Details.
Her one regret, she said, is not realizing that some parishioners at St. Mark's would feel betrayed that they were forming their Christian faith with someone who also professed to be Muslim. She said she has since tried to talk with as many of them as she could.
She will miss the collegiality of her fellow priests, though Bishop Gregory Rickel of the Diocese of Olympia, which covers Western Washington, said Wolf's decision "does not mean the end of our personal relationships. Pastorally, we in the Diocese of Olympia are very much here for Ann."
And there is this: As one of the first African-American women the denomination ordained, Redding was sometimes the first female or African-American priest some parishioners had ever seen. "My symbolic role has been an incredible honor." Now she fears that some "will think I've somehow let them down."
Redding is currently finishing a book with two other local authors called "Out of Darkness into Light: Spiritual Guidance in the Quran with Reflections from Jewish and Christian Sources." She'd like to do more writing and academic work while pushing forward her desire to build an institute to study the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Maybe somewhere in her studies it will dawn on her that under Islamic law, she would have severely restricted rights as a woman, and for her beliefs, she would be regarded as a heretic, with all the associated dangers to life and limb.
Posted by Marisol at October 11, 2008 12:04 AM
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Greetings:
I hope that Bishop Geralyn Wolf doesn't forget to stop sending Reverend Redding a paycheck.
Posted by: 11B40![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at October 11, 2008 12:39 AM
She sounds almost unbelievably stupid! I can't believe that this is an educated person, even a priest. Read the bible and koran and it's obvious that you can't follow both faiths simultaneously.
Posted by: Lili at October 11, 2008 2:11 AM
Incurable nutroot...
Posted by: sheik yer'mami at October 11, 2008 2:42 AM
Stupid girl.
Posted by: Nokingofmine at October 11, 2008 2:47 AM
Another Rowan. Liberal and stupid as a post.
A trip to Saudi Arabia ought to help clear things up for the fool. I can see her at the Medina airport and the Saudi customs official asking her to state her faith and when she states Christian and Muslim with no sect affiliation all hell will break loose. Heck all she has to do is show up without a burhka.I see prison and charges of heresy followed by beatings.
Still how could someone who doesn't know the first things about the Christian faith spout such B.S. Let alone be a ordained minister.
It tells me a lot about her "bishop" and it ain't good.
at October 11, 2008 3:48 AM
Ain't it pretty basic that noone can belong to 2 religions, since there will invariably be conflicting doctrines? I'd love to be both a Hindu and a Jew, but guess what - it can't happen.
Kick her out of that church, and let her work at being an Imam. If the Mohammedans will let her, that is.
Posted by: Infidel Pride at October 11, 2008 4:10 AM
like Jews for Jesus, these people are confused
Posted by: ploome at October 11, 2008 5:41 AM
Wolf has affirmed that determination, barring Redding from functioning as a priest for the next six months.
Well, instead of barring your priesthood for six months Muslims will kill you. Does that make the decision any easier?
Seriously, how much crack do you have to smoke to somehow reconcile the Golden Rule with genocide, rape, looting, torture, and parasitism? How about 'let he who among you is without sin cast the first stone' to twisting Jesus' definition adultery (which, if you read the Gospels instead of listening to clergy, has nothing to do with marriage and includes polygamy and owning sex slaves) and then stoning adulterers even if they have babies to raise, or taking every woman and child as slaves after slaughtering all the men with freeing slaves, which is foundational to both Christianity and Judaism? How about going from Esau is a fraud who never died on the cross and is the son of Miriam and some dude, to Jesus, the son of God and Mary, died on the cross for our sins?
And ploome, Jews for Jesus aren't confused. They're people like my mother who converted to Judaism because she had no problem with abandoning the Church but who ultimately couldn't just ditch Jesus and the Gospels. They believe the simple truth, which is that nothing but the Gospels has any business being in the the New Testament, since everything else contradicts Jesus' message, and was clearly put there arbitrarliy as filler in order to expand the NT to the same length as the OT. Jesus did nothing but set the perfect Jewish example and clarify the message. Read your Gospels. Sorry to break it to you, but Jesus believed in 'Paradise,' not an afterlife, which means that 'Paradise' is here on earth and is a matter of how you live, what you do, and what you think. That was later dogma that threw the notion of an afterlife, and certainly damnation (why would he die for our sins if people are still damned to hell? huh?) in there, contradicting Jesus. He died for our sins because that made it okay to be human and therefore imperfect, just so long as we abide by the Golden Rule and engage in honest hard work.
Many Jews believe that Jews for Jesus, like Christians in their opinion, are people who took their core beliefs and threw them out the window. Jews for Jesus believe that Jesus confirmed those beliefs, which he did if you read the Gospels - the only real Christian dogma - and dismiss all the filler and the fraudulent Christian dogma that did not come from Jesus. If you couldn't tell, a Jew for Jesus too. So was my Jewish grandpa the last few years of his life after he read the Gospels, which simply contain everything you need to lead a great life. And call me arrogant if you want, but I believe that I understand the teachings of Jesus better than those who buy into all the contradictory, sexist, made-up craziness contained in the rest of the NT. I used to love asking the priests who taught us in Catholic school questions like 'how is it that you're able to twist Jesus' very clear definition of adultery into something which has anything to do with marriage, something of which he didn't disapprove, but obviously wasn't a big fan of?' or 'where in JESUS' teachings do you find evidence for an afterlife?' They could never find either.
Posted by: jdamn at October 11, 2008 6:50 AM
Muslims overjoyed:
What a gem! A Christian is doing dawa for us. Allah be praised.
Posted by: pr126 at October 11, 2008 7:10 AM
It is only the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and islam who believe that theirs is the only god, theirs is the only road to salvation, all others are pagans, witchcraft and satans, therefore inhuman.
This is the tradition of islamo-Christian heritage I mentioned in some other post. Get used to this phrase as you will hear it more and more in the future, as these two faiths converge into one “super” faith. These two beliefs have a lot in common than what that divides them. There is even a mention of muslim Jesus, that he was a muslim, something that I have not heard many church leaders condemn.
There was an exhibition of Islamic achievements in arts, science, architecture etc that was doing rounds of British cities. It claimed that many Western achievements are really down to islam. This exhibition had the blessings of politicians of all hew and the Church. This is only one way in which islam is today portrayed as a great faith that Christianity owes a great deal to.
I believe that there is a movement afoot, especially in the West, that wants to bring these two “faiths” ever more closer. Now that sharia and other Islamic customs (like polygamy, observance of Ramadan by Christian Council workers and teachers to name two) and jurisprudence is accepted by the politicians and the Church as having commonality with Christianity, it won’t be too long before the Rev. Ann Holmes Reddings of this world will become a norm rather than an isolated occurrence.
at October 11, 2008 7:26 AM
Getting to know Islam was "like falling in love," she said. "You want to share it, you want to get on a rooftop and start shouting."
This woman has a few loose screws. I wonder if she would like to share Q 5:33 or any of the hundred or so war/jihad verses she fell in love with. Or the one about not taking Christians and Jews as friends.
How is it possible to be 50% filthy kufr?
What was it she wanted to shout from the rooftops? 9:5? 9:29? or how about 'Whoever changes their religion, kill him'...now that always go's over well in rooftop shouting. She could throw in a few Allahu Akbars for effect.
Hmmm now that I think about it, she has many loose screws, not just a few...
Posted by: duh_swami at October 11, 2008 7:59 AM
Hermit, wrong. Christianity and Islam have nothing, not one single thing, in common. Christians and Jews believe that there is one god, which is everyone's god, and that you should love your neighbor even if they are a pagan. The Golden Rule and 'God is love' are the foundations of Christianity. Allah is a supremacist, genocidal god who hates 80% of his children and Muslims deny the existence of the Golden Rule. Every Christian teaching holds up to objective morality. Islam doesn't have a single moral teaching. Like I said above, Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God and Mary who died on the cross for out sins, while Muslims believe that Esau was the son of Miriam and some dude who was a fraud and didn't die on the cross for jack. Christians can never, contradicting what you wrote above, believe in polygamy because it violates the Golden Rule and constitutes a breach of spousal loyalty, which is Jesus' definition of adultery. You're halfway to dawa'ed and it's beacuse you know nothing about religion.
Posted by: jdamn at October 11, 2008 8:13 AM
Hermit, I think you are *half* right-but it's not an attempt to 'merge' the faiths, but to slowly replace Christianity with islam. Why? One, a vague *sense* on the part of media and academia elites, (and to a lesser extent the political elite) that Christianity is inherently sexist/racist/homophobic/antiscience/ecologicallyimpure (that whole "subdue the earth" thing, which is blamed for pollution, MMGW, the extinction of species, etc.) But islam is worse in all respects re: sexism, or homophobia, you exclaim! Well, yes, but it's associated in the eyes of TPTB with third world countries where the people have brown(er) skins, so it's inherently virtuous. basically, Christianity is soooo old fashioned and "victorian" .
Also, look at predominantly (or historically...) Christian nations. The people there actually think they have "rights", and they insist on standing up for them-rights that are inconvenient for the political elites, such as the right of self defense, the right of free speech, and so forth. The rule of law rather than of man, IOW. Now look at moslem countries : The "citizens" too often are (compared to westerners at least) semi slaves who (so long as the powerful rulers do not *too* publicly ignore islam and sharia) accept any mistreatment from the powerful as 'allah's will". Can anyone not see why islamic countries appeal to the wealthy and powerful elites in certain governing bodies, right now in the EU especially but elsewhere in the all-too-near future?
at October 11, 2008 8:32 AM
Confused individuals like Rev. Ann Holmes Redding occur from time to time, after all Karen Armstrong was a nun once.
Posted by: Fred at October 11, 2008 8:48 AM
>>Getting to know Islam was "like falling in love," she said.
How nice Redding "fell in love" with satan.
Defrock Redding. She is a total imbecile.
Posted by: darcy at October 11, 2008 9:17 AM
at October 11, 2008 9:49 AM
>>Hermit, wrong. Christianity and Islam have nothing, not one single thing, in common. --jdamn
Exactly.
Posted by: darcy at October 11, 2008 9:56 AM
That it is even being considered that she remain in the priesthood is patently ridiculous. The discussion should be centered on the conditions under which she would be allowed to return to the church at all.
Posted by: Concerned Citizen at October 11, 2008 11:42 AM
Not to mince words here.. dumb as a 2x4! Obviously this lady had or has not ANY IDEA of islam and how "well" they reat women and place
them as exactly equals to men. She equates getting to "know" islam was like falling in love?? With what, a Black Mamba? There is absolutely no way Christianity and islam are alike in any way shape or form. This proves that her kind of love is truly blind in this situation. The denomination that retains her priesthood in is foolish for letting her remain a priest, and sets a very poor example for their faithful members. Peace and tolerance run amuck here and she deserves to be defrocked in my most humble opinion. I am sure the tolerate muslims will welcome her with open arms and treat her as an equal imam. Talk about being dhimmi dumbed down!
at October 11, 2008 11:55 AM
This kind of loopy "all paths lead to the same god" muddled thinking is not that surprising, given what the Episcopal Church has allowed to be taught and preached in the past. I was a member of the Episcopal Church in the early 1980's. I had my young Episcopal pastor tell me (rather proudly) that you could be an Episcopalian and believe almost anything you wanted. With this muddle headed priest they are finally able to drop the word "almost" from what I was told back then.
Posted by: Theseus at October 11, 2008 1:11 PM
"Maybe somewhere in her studies it will dawn on her that..."
Yeah, and maybe someday cows will sprout wings and fly.
Posted by: DenverRodeo at October 11, 2008 2:55 PM
Midlife crisis, maybe?
Not that every perimenopausal woman is made unstable by the shift in hormones, but some are.
This priest doesn't sound very stable to me, yet, if she has been a priest for 20 years, she wasn't always unstable.
Midlife, even without hormone changes, is a time of doubt.
I wonder if her attraction to Islam is due to a desire to free herself of a priest's leadership role, in exchange for being told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.
Posted by: Abscedere at October 11, 2008 3:49 PM
"That it is even being considered that she remain in the priesthood is patently ridiculous. The discussion should be centered on the conditions under which she would be allowed to return to the church at all.
Posted by: Concerned Citizen
She should be defrocked--No question about that. As long as she professes Islam, she should also be excluded from Communion. However, my own belief is that she should be allowed to attend church. Anyone and everyone should be allowed to attend church.
Posted by: Abscedere at October 11, 2008 3:59 PM
Kick her out of that church, and let her work at being an Imam. If the Mohammedans will let her, that is.
Posted by: Infidel Pride at October 11, 2008 4:10 AM
Getting to know Islam was "like falling in love," she said. "You want to share it, you want to get on a rooftop and start shouting."
What part of 'There is no other God but Allah'. Doesn't she realize that this shahada has disregarded other faiths? Should this not tell respected Rev. that Islam does not share (Ask the Ahmediyas).
Posted by: Alert at October 11, 2008 6:10 PM
Do their wear asshats in her "faith" instead of zucchettos?
Posted by: profitsbeard at October 12, 2008 1:23 AM
Nicene creed?
Dear Lord, these are Episcopalians we are talking about!
Posted by: A Simple Sinner at October 12, 2008 1:41 AM
Anyone and everyone should be allowed to attend church.
Posted by: Abscedere
In general, yes. Regarding heretics, no.
2 John 1:9-11 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.
at October 12, 2008 9:35 AM
My sheep know my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).
One reason why I personally know that Allah is not the same as Yahweh is by the voice. It's not the same.
Why an ordained Christian minister can't distinguish this, I'd like to know.
The voice of Allah is not the voice of Yahweh. The voice of Mohammed is not the voice of Y'suah.[Jesus] A child can see this.
Posted by: A_Plague_on_Both_Houses at October 12, 2008 9:52 AM
Finally. Someone can say "For 'Chrissake's'".
If she wasn't ordained she be re-arranging the furniture. So, having "hands laid upon her" and inspired by the Holy Spirit, she raises a bbing stink in the pew.
Clearly - she should be excommunicated.
at October 12, 2008 4:23 PM
Shawmut - can't really excommunicate anyone when you practice open communion and include the unbaptized.
She is taking Anglican "comprehensiveness" to the next logigal step.
Posted by: A Simple Sinner at October 12, 2008 10:36 PM
...when you practice open communion and include the unbaptized.
1 Corinthians 11:28-30 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
Posted by: Concerned Citizen at October 12, 2008 11:28 PM
Good job she can't appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He'd probably appoint her to lead the diocese. I was baptized and confirmed into the Episcopal Church. Long gone, long gone....
Posted by: MP at October 13, 2008 1:48 PM
A tragic case of almost unbelievable stupidity on the part of this obviously deceived woman, but if one looks at it in the wider context of the ecumenical movement it is not surprising. One just has to think of the "Interfaith" gatherings at Assisi in 1986 and 2002 and at Canberra more recently as well as the Hindu worship that recently took place at the Altar of the Fatima Shrine in Portugal to see that our "Christian" leaders (Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican) have long since sold out their Christian Faith for the mess of pottage that is "a better understanding of other Faiths", even Faiths like Islam that have openly vowed to either destroy or replace Christianity. So this woman is hardly unusual. She is only following her leaders like Rowan "Sharia" Williams. Remember Our Lord's words in the Holy Gospel: "But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?". By the way, only Christianity can claim to be an Abrahamic faith, for did not Christ say that "Abraham saw my day, and rejoiced." Nowhere do Abraham or any of the other Biblical prophets say ANYTHING about a coming Arab "prophet. Nowhere at all.
Posted by: Convert at October 13, 2008 2:25 PM
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