Questions of interpretation are always questions of authority: the authority of what is being interpreted; the authority of the interpreter and her methods; and, ultimately, the authority of the community of interpretation within which acts of interpretation take place. In this last regard, the authoritative base of an interpretative community becomes an urgent question when the community confronts a legitimation crisis. It is arguable that the Episcopal Church now faces such a crisis as it seeks to respond to what William James would call a "forced option." The "forced option" in question is the demand for resolution of a wide range of issues involving human sexuality. It is a central feature of forced options that persuasive arguments, based on different aspects of community tradition, can be made for opposing positions. Faced with this situation the Church is forced to ask itself how it understands relationships between the various norms through which Divine authority is mediated.