Author:
George Conger
I do not mean to suggest that the
custom of lying has suffered any decay or interruption,--no, for the Lie, as a
Virtue, a Principle, is eternal; the Lie, as a recreation, a solace, a refuge
in time of need, the fourth Grace, the tenth Muse, man's best and surest
friend, is immortal, and cannot perish from the earth … My complaint simply
concerns the decay of the art of lying. No high-minded man, no man of right
feeling, can contemplate the lumbering and slovenly lying of the present day
without grieving to see a noble art so prostituted.
Mark Twain. “On the Decay of the Art of Lying”
(1882)
It pains me to see the decline of lying. Our forefathers were unsurpassed
in the gentle art of polite fiction, of the little white lie. The feeble
attempts of our debased modern age are insults to a grand and glorious
tradition of obfuscation. We are midgets standing on the shoulders of giants.
The dulling of the craft is most pronounced within the ranks of the Church.
Monday’s announcement that the Archbishop of Canterbury will make a flying
visit to Kenya in solidarity with the victims of the Westgate Mall terror
attack is not only witless but unproductive – this silly explanation will not
convince the liberal wing of the Church of England (it’s intended audience),
will cause the conservatives to chortle and will insult the Churches of
Pakistan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Nigeria.
On 7 Oct 2013 the Lambeth Palace press office released a statement saying Archbishop Justin
Welby would fly to Nairobi to meet with Archbishop Eliud Wabukala on the 19-20
of October.
The purpose of the visit, which has
been arranged at short notice, is to be in solidarity with the Kenyan people
following the attack on the Westgate shopping mall last month.
The programme of the visit is not yet confirmed.
The statement went on to say Archbishop Welby had been invited to attend
the Gafcon meeting in Nairobi that week, but had been unable to attend due to
“long-standing diary commitments.”
These commitments included a meeting of the Porvoo primates in Iceland on
the 21st and the baptism of the future King of England, Prince George of
Cambridge on the 23rd.
After the news broke last week (on Anglican Ink) that Archbishop Welby was
not going to Gafcon, a torrent of negative comments from the right and
rejoicing from the left washed through the Anglican blogosphere. Others gave
the archbishop the benefit of the doubt. And the vast majority paid it no mind
at all.
On Anglican Unscripted I said that the
excuse of having to baptize Prince George was the best
get-out-of-a-social-obligation-free card I had ever heard. I gave the archbishop
high praise for finding a way to finesse a sticky situation. And now we have
this extraordinary volte face -- and this pitiable explanation.
So, what is going on? Wheels within wheels? Or incompetence? From what I
have been able to divine, Archbishop Welby is breaking free from the shackles
of the Church of England’s bureaucracy. His predecessor, Rowan Williams, was
Anglicanism’s Jimmy Carter (or for our English readers its Harold Wilson). The
smartest man in the room -- but clueless as to how to use his authority and
office. Justin Welby started off well as archbishop, but has also fired some
distress rockets that worry the Global South. While they like him and are
encouraged by his sincere faith – will the office overwhelm the man as it had
Rowan Williams?
For the rest, see: http://anglicanink.com/article/decline-art-anglican-lying
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