One can see why the Episcopal Cathedral, where Ms Brower is on staff, is going bankrupt and has had two rounds of staff layoffs and closed many of their ministries. (I do not see that as a bad thing. Less people will be exposed to their heresies.)

If anyone needs more evidence of the wretched state of the Episcopal denomination, they can check out two helpful references: The first looks at the insane costs the denomination is paying lawyers to sue faithful Christians so that the denomination can kick them out of their churches (a good example of that just occurred in San Diego, a diocese that has lost 14% of membership in the past 4 years with no signs of abating). See http://tinyurl.com/Primer4Pewsitters . Another document is a very thorough report by the American Anglican Council that, among other things, details the many classical heresies espoused by Ms Schori. See http://tinyurl.com/AACreport .

It seems as though the author of this article has come under the sway of Gnosticism. Although not a very good Gnostic since its apparent she has not read the so called "Gospel of Thosmas [sic]. From verse 114
114. Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life."

Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven."

Perhaps this verse is one of the reasons why the early Church did not include it in the canon. As for the dating of the gospel of Thomas, it appears to be one of the earliest Gnostic texts ca. 200 AD, not 90 AD. The early Church Fathers knew of it and specifically argued against it.

I am rather shocked that an individual with a seminary degree could be so easily duped into believing Gnostic claims. Then again, perhaps this is why people are leaving the Episcopal Church in droves. Why go to church if the clergy know less about church history, the Bible, etc., than Richard Dawkins or his like? At least Dawkins read the Bible.

Have you looked at statistics showing the growth of the Catholic Church? It's about the same as world population growth. So at least for the RCC, where is the "shrinkage?"

Oh please !! How stupid can anyone be and still tie their shoes? All religions are not the same and their dissimilar gods contradict each other completely.This is nothing more than political correctness gone insane.

The problem with the metaphorical theologians is that cannot account for the historical accuracy of the Bible. What are we to make of accounts by Josephus, the findings of archeologists, scientists, and other ancient records that confirm a literal interpretation? It is only by refusing the abundance of physical evidence that such conclusions, like those of Anne Brower, can be reached. Most people call that ignorance or delusion.

Matt Kennedy+ of standfirminfaith.com points out that this woman seems to have gotten all her theological training by reading The Da Vinci Code a couple of times. And then he links to this wonderful disposal of Ms Brower's tripe.
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This screed is so ignorant that it’s not worth the time dealing with all the nonsense in it. The Rev. Brower knows less about the formation of the Bible, church history, and Christian theology than virtually anyone in my church plant core group, and seems to have gotten some of her talking points from the “On Faith” comments columns, but that’s not really the point. The point is that if people listened to her, and took her approach to religion, there would be absolutely no reason for them to have anything to do with any religious institution. When an Episcopal priest tells you that all religions “lead to the same end,” that pretty much anything you want to call “spiritual” is fine by Whoever (or Whatever) It (or She, or He/She) Is (or Isn’t) that’s in charge (or isn’t) of the universe, why have anything to do with religious institutions at all? Me, I’d just as soon sleep late on Sunday as have anything to do with, e.g., a Cathedral that would employ a person who has such little regard for the faith that she supposedly stands for.
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From http://reformedpastor.wordpress.com/

Don't let your friends near the Episcopal Cathedral!

Actually, as a person who left the faith of my birth (Catholicism) because I was disgusted with their treatment of women, I can attest that the author "gets it". People aren't necessarily giving up on belief in a Higher Power. They are just changing their view of that power to one that is more inclusive and immanent rather than one that is transcendent and exclusive. (The whole "Sky God" thing). Our connection to the Divine is within ourselves. Religion is just a set of rules set down for people to follow to make that connection. Somewhere along the line, it became "my way is the ONLY way". As Humans are coming into contact with each other via travel and the Internet, we are discovering that other religions aren't quite so different after all.

As for "primitive beliefs", we need to go BACK to those primitive beliefs - not forget them. We've had Earth Goddesses and Sky Gods. Humanity is moving into our adolescence, so to speak. We need to integrate what we've learned from Mommy and Daddy into what we've learned about ourselves and the Universe.

"Wow, yet another "On Faith" chaplain reads the ARIS survey and interprets the growing number of people who have no religion as really meaning people are more religious than ever. I may die of shock."

Actually, the ARIS survey is about *religions identification,* not belief, per se, ...atheists and agnostics who identify as, say, Presbyterian, count under there. Likewise, the 'No Religion' category subdivides those who identify as atheist or agnostic, the Eastern Religions encompasses Buddhists who believe in no Gods, etc.

"It does represent progress, I think, when even pastors lack the desire to defend their faith as anything other than just another way to the gods (Does that include the ancient Mayans and other religious cultures that practiced human sacrifice, or are they left out of this universal salvation?). "

See, here, there's a perfect case of some *religious authorities* people might do well to stop believing in. But, it's not any more necessary to perform human sacrifice for someone to believe in, say, Aztec Gods, than it's necessary to burn people at the stake to believe in Christian ones.

This survey's really about human institutions and identifications, whatever other conclusions one may draw from it.

I should really point out that disbelief in Gods doesn't *automatically, magically,* confer reasoning. Atheists still need to work on that like everyone else.

Wow, yet another "On Faith" chaplain reads the ARIS survey and interprets the growing number of people who have no religion as really meaning people are more religious than ever. I may die of shock.

It does represent progress, I think, when even pastors lack the desire to defend their faith as anything other than just another way to the gods (Does that include the ancient Mayans and other religious cultures that practiced human sacrifice, or are they left out of this universal salvation?). Religion is dying out not with a bang but a whimper as it dissolves into a generic, feel-good mush. This is a good thing, and I sincerely hope the it continues to spread.

More specifics as to why there are fewer Christians:

We are finally coming to the realization that:

Jesus was an illiterate Jewish peasant/carpenter/simple preacher man who suffered from hallucinations and who has been characterized anywhere from the Messiah from Nazareth to a mythical character from mythical Nazareth to a mamzer from Nazareth (Professor Bruce Chilton, in his book Rabbi Jesus). Analyses of Jesus’ life by many contemporary NT scholars (e.g. Professors Crossan, Borg and Fredriksen, On Faith panelists) via the NT and related documents have concluded that only about 30% of Jesus' sayings and ways noted in the NT were authentic. The rest being embellishments (e.g. miracles)/hallucinations made/had by the NT authors to impress various Christian, Jewish and Pagan sects.

The 30% of the NT that is "authentic Jesus" like everything in life was borrowed/plagiarized and/or improved from those who came before. In Jesus' case, it was the ways and sayings of the Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Hittites, Canaanites, OT, John the Baptizer and possibly the ways and sayings of traveling Greek Cynics.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html

For added "pizzazz", Catholic/Christian theologians divided god the singularity into three persons and invented atonement as an added guilt trip for the "pew people" to go along with this trinity of overseers. By doing so, they made god the padre into god the "filicider".

Current crises:

Pedophiliac priests, atonement theology and original sin!!!!

Luther, Calvin, Smith, Henry VIII, Wesley, Roger Williams et al, founders of Christian-based religions, also suffered from the belief in/hallucinations of "pretty wingie thingie" visits and "prophecies" for profits analogous to the myths of Catholicism (resurrections, apparitions, ascensions and immaculate conceptions).

Current crises:

Adulterous preachers, "propheteering/ profiteering" evangelicals and atonement theology.

Don't you think it's more likely that people are just less superstitious these days and find it difficult to believe in an actual invisible skygod who is up there somewhere - looking over us?
I mean that's the hard part, believing in the apparently absurd. Believing in a spooky ethereality of demons and gods and harp playing angels. I mean really. Who with any intelligence and education can actually believe this stuff anymore? And it's no stretch to go from there - to seventy two virgins for martyrdom.

There's no reason to believe there's anyone up there. It's just an ancient superstition that actually DEFIES reason. So, shouldn't we be moving on - and leaving primitive beliefs behind before we all get killed?