DSR wrote:
>
> And hey, ChuckO, regarding Methodists being liberal, it depends on
> the individual denomination and geography. For example, the
> California UMCs have a very liberal faction, but as the last few UMC
> General Assemblies have shown, the denomination has had to face
> rumors and threats of breaking off into two separate denominations
> over such issues as the acceptance of gay ministers and gay marriage
> - serious threats. Some say it may still happen.
A Methodist minister friend of mine was commenting a couple weeks ago that maybe splitting was the thing to do under some circumstances. He had just come from a conference of ministers and was feeling very depressed by the anti-gay sentiments dominant at it. Incidentally, he does not regard himself as a flaming liberal. He notes that by just staying the same in his politics in 20 years he has moved from being the most conservative minister on campus to being the most radical. :-) In the late '60s the Baptist campus minister was a leftist.
Carrol