Well the last angry man has spoken, I guess we can all turn out the lights now. Whenever a PCUSA staff person uses the 'P"  word, progressive in the positive and "C' term, conservative, in the negative I prepare myself for a long-winded lecture.  But a good lecture, he did make his points, could be little less shrill and dare I say, preachy, about it though. And yes, it's all that damn Roberts Rules of order that is the source of our angst. If we could all become Quakers ,like now.   Jupiter will align with Mars, and the age of Aquarius will be upon us.

     Interwoven in the fabric of American Protestantism is the yin and yang of pietism and activism/social engagement. It is not one is evil, the other good, one godly, the other not, just is what it is. Some eras of the church one is ascended over the other, My guess is after 60 years in the drivers seat of power, the activists/social engagement side is a bit long in the tooth, played out, crashed on the rocks of 5 decades of culture wars over sex and sexual minorities.  And in they end they achieved what they wanted. Enjoy the victory. The battle won, but the war lost.  
 
   The collapse, extinction of Christianity in Europe occurred when the social engagers in the faith became more evangelical and traditional in Biblical outlook, think "the Alpha Movement" from the UK and the more progressives had little to offer the continent but their own internal bickering and squabble. The same is afoot here.  As far as the two other P words the progressives cling too with a death grip, property and per capita, I have people in my graveyard going back to 1789. If I conjure them up again I think Mr. Robertson would be in for a lecture of his own.  But again, what is history if it only gets in the way of one's agenda. 

P.W. Gregory

chalfont. pa.