God, gays and Episcopalians

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-anglicans29sep29,0,1647768.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail

[Los Angelos Times] 1 Oct 2007--The U.S. Episcopal Church this week tried to appease conservative fellow Anglicans at home and abroad by reaffirming a promise to "exercise restraint" in approving sexually active gay bishops. The conciliatory statement, which followed some ecclesiastical shuttle diplomacy by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, fell on mostly deaf ears among conservatives. One dismissed it as a "delaying tactic."

Will conservative bishops formally defect from the Episcopal Church and align themselves with like-minded prelates overseas? Will Anglicans abroad break relations with the U.S. church? As this cliffhanger continues, it's tempting to see the dispute as an intramural argument about theology. Conservative Episcopalians cite Scripture that condemns homosexuality, liberal Episcopalians counter with their own deconstruction of the Bible, and members of other faiths (or none) watch from the sidelines.