Lutherans Just Like Catholics -- In the Bad Way

High-church types, yr. obdt. svt. included, suffer from occasional bouts of "me-too-ism." Lutherans and Anglicans ape bits and pieces of Roman Catholic practice; Romans sometimes crib from the Orthodox playbook, etc.

So I suppose an ELCA pastor convicted and sentenced for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old boy over the Internet was inevitable. Thank you, Michael Anthony Harris, formerly of St. Paul's, Pensacola. You've proved that we are capable of just as much betrayal of trust, sexual violence, and general clerical malfeasance as our tonsured brothers.

Word of advice: once you get out of prison, keep your distance from Father A. That guy has a quick temper and a long memory for creeps like you..

Impeach Bush

Follow the link to see the Egg's New Year's wish. About as likely as dancing sugarplums, but what the hey.

Christus Belli

Christmas has come and gone (at least for those who aren't down with the whole "twelve days" business). And with it, we may hope, has gone the War on Christmas promoted by Bill O'Reilly and his ilk.

For my Hanukkah gelt, the funniest take on this bit of festal foolishness was Stephen Colbert's. He started with spiral-cut ham, and built to ... well, you'll see. Follow the link, scroll down if you have to, and then click the box for "Xmas."

NY Man Changes Name to "Jesus Christ"

Merry Christmas. Sigh.

My favorite part of the Daily News article is the, err, revelation that Jose Luis Espinal, of Washington Heights, is the second person this year to have his name legally changed to the Savior's.

Alleged Pope Incarnate is Excommunicated

That's the actual CNN headline. But what we love best is the subhead: "Bishop also issues warning to woman claiming to be Virgin Mary."

Seems a Puerto Rican firefighter believes that John Paul II has taken over his spirit, and that Benedict XVI is "the antichrist." (Okay, Martin Luther occasionally muttered something about the Pope being antichrist, but the context was different.)

Geeze, Louise. The Egg is old enough to remember when crazy people just claimed to be Napoleon and let it go at that.

Anglicans Restore the Taurobolium

Anglicans in South Africa aroused some consternation over their plan to ritually sacrifice an ox in celebration of opening a new diocese. The SPCA, needless to say, objected.

The Beliefnet comments on this one got sorta bogged down in the history of Jewish and Zoroastrian demonology, and for the less obscurely minded, on the question of whether the sacrifice was okay as long as they planned to eat the animal. Well, fine, everybody has a perspective. Our thinking here at the Egg is that this sounds like the Mithraic rites of intiation -- slaughter a bull, and take a bath in it's blood. Ick.

But here's the thing: Last I checked, Anglicans were Christians (despite Bishop Spong). And Christianity has historically taken a pretty dim view of animal sacrifice. And yes, I understand the nuance that Paul (in 1 Cor 8) is talking about animals sacrificed to pagan deities. And I try to be sympathetic to calls for enculturation. But still -- what possible purpose can an animal sacrifice serve for Christians, given that whole Hebrews 10 business about how we are made holy by the sacrifice of Christ, once and for all?

We Evangelicals have always been a little skeptical about the Roman Catholic interpretation of the Mass as an "unbloody sacrifice." But, whatever its limitations, that has to be safer theological ground than, well, an extremely bloody sacrifice. I mean, do you know how much blood an ox has?