Theology of the ECUSA

From various critics of the 2003 GC/VGR affair, one might get the impression that the ECUSA has no Christian theology. With VGR ordained, it might seem to "conservatives" that legitimate, traditional, Christian theological standards no longer guide the ECUSA: anything goes. Does the ECUSA stand for anything Christian in a traditional sense? Is there a distinctive theology behind the ECUSA's actions?

I think the answer is "Yes." But go and find anyone making an accessible defense of the ECUSA; where will you turn? The HoB listserv? Explicitly theological defenses are relatively hard to find, e.g. buried somewhere deep in the catacombs of L. Crew's site.

I propose a review of the Episcopal Church's theology with a view to the 2003 GC et al, a review taken primarily from its own teaching series. Properly distilled, from these works a cogent rationale emerges, one with teeth, one that (alas) does not seem to get out and around as much as it should. Where to start? I will go chapter by chapter through two works:

Christian Believing (1979), Urban T. Holmes III and J.H. Westerhoff III (CB)
The Anglican Vision (1997), James E. Griffiss (AV)

Later, we shall continue with other works.