Yeah, the excommunication has me curious. I'm sure it had more to do with internal politics than anything else, but it would be funny if it turned out to be dogmatic differences, like maybe one side just didn't hate fags enough for the other.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell