I was scrolling through some old selections of Neuhaus’ “While We’re At It” and came across this gem that I clipped some years back.  It’s a great example of how a lack of clarity in speech, especially in the area of theology, can get us in a fix.

Here’s the selection:

This item is left over from the 1994 meeting of the Episcopal House of Bishops. During the debate on a pastoral letter dealing with sexuality, Bishop William Frey observed: “It’s evident we’re not prepared to teach much of anything, because we disagree on the meaning of so many words. We’ve been doing theology in a Hegelian fashion for so long that the center keeps shifting. Today I can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ and that’s the thesis. Someone else can say ‘Jesus is not Lord’ and that’s the antithesis. The Anglican via media then becomes ‘Jesus is occasionally Lord.’ I would like a clear admission that we are unclear.”

[Richard John Neuhaus, “While We’re At It,” First Things.  October 1995.]