OK, everyone. Hi. Today was the final week of the Understanding Catholicism at my Presbyterian church. It's been a fascinating ride, not least to watch the, um, interesting, reactions to official Catholic teaching on a plethora of issues. Frankly, I didn't expect to find so many ex-Catholics here. And I don't think it will wash to say that people leave the Catholic Church because they want to sin, at least not these people, it would appear. And as a semi-official Friend of the Catholic Church, it breaks my heart. Not that my community is any less with their addition, but I would tell any Catholic that he or she is sitting on a gold mine if you happen to notice. [Isn't that a little friendly to an organization that has perverted the gospel?--ed.] As soon as you figure out what 'the gospel' is, I'll let you know. But if that term means something close to, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" then I must issue an emphatic "No!" The Catholic Church believes and teaches faithfully the revelation of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. And He is to be received by grace, through faith, not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, so that no one may boast. Are there legitimate contentions between us, and even potential problems in Catholic theology (or even practice)? Of course. But let me continue to explain.
If we chiefly understand 'the gospel' as something chiefly personal or soteriological, we have almost no chance to see the faithfulness of God poured out across the centuries, in the stories and lives of those before us, and those in communions other than our own. It is not to say we are not correct, nor is it to say that the disputations of systematic theology are unimportant. But it is to say that the ground we Christians stand on is the person and work of Jesus Christ, and to further understand that those disputations concern the application of that redemption won on Calvary, not its fullness, nor the one in whom it originates. The gravest evils of the Reformation, it seems to me, were and are forgetfulness, and a certain pride which makes peace with division. It may be objected that the visible unity offered by Rome (and the lesser sort offered by Constantinople) is no panacea; this is true. But I also know that the Reformers even dared to claim that they were the faithful heirs of the ancient Fathers. Someone understood acutely that legitimacy was found in continuity. It is not my purpose here to confirm or refute that claim. Rather, it is to underscore that we have indeed fallen far if either we fail to earnestly seek that continuity, or worse, if our gospel proclamation in fact rests and depends on discontinuity. I personally reside in an intellectual hamlet that does not allow for the uncritical assumption that the disputants in the 16th century in the West were justified (pardon the pun) in what they did and believed. Neither do I assume Roman dogmas and prerogatives out of convenience. But it seems the toughest questions I am asking swirl around subjectivity and autonomy, which ominously appear to be at the heart of the Protestant project itself.
Still, if all of us desire holiness and the glory of Christ in the world in which we live, the first step is quite clear: we must join Christ in the Upper Room; we must strive to do theology with them there in the final hours, to hear those intimate words He spoke to them as words to us. We must remember that the world that hated Christ hates us too, and if we fail to stay close to him, the world will devour us. He prayed that we would be one, and he did so as our high priest. Therefore, we will not be wasting our lives or time praying for, and working toward the same unity that Christ saw fit to request! And we may find that those who seemed to be our fellow-travelers were not so; some, by reason of ignorance, and some by malice. Nevertheless, if it is the Word we follow, we will not be ashamed.
If we chiefly understand 'the gospel' as something chiefly personal or soteriological, we have almost no chance to see the faithfulness of God poured out across the centuries, in the stories and lives of those before us, and those in communions other than our own. It is not to say we are not correct, nor is it to say that the disputations of systematic theology are unimportant. But it is to say that the ground we Christians stand on is the person and work of Jesus Christ, and to further understand that those disputations concern the application of that redemption won on Calvary, not its fullness, nor the one in whom it originates. The gravest evils of the Reformation, it seems to me, were and are forgetfulness, and a certain pride which makes peace with division. It may be objected that the visible unity offered by Rome (and the lesser sort offered by Constantinople) is no panacea; this is true. But I also know that the Reformers even dared to claim that they were the faithful heirs of the ancient Fathers. Someone understood acutely that legitimacy was found in continuity. It is not my purpose here to confirm or refute that claim. Rather, it is to underscore that we have indeed fallen far if either we fail to earnestly seek that continuity, or worse, if our gospel proclamation in fact rests and depends on discontinuity. I personally reside in an intellectual hamlet that does not allow for the uncritical assumption that the disputants in the 16th century in the West were justified (pardon the pun) in what they did and believed. Neither do I assume Roman dogmas and prerogatives out of convenience. But it seems the toughest questions I am asking swirl around subjectivity and autonomy, which ominously appear to be at the heart of the Protestant project itself.
Still, if all of us desire holiness and the glory of Christ in the world in which we live, the first step is quite clear: we must join Christ in the Upper Room; we must strive to do theology with them there in the final hours, to hear those intimate words He spoke to them as words to us. We must remember that the world that hated Christ hates us too, and if we fail to stay close to him, the world will devour us. He prayed that we would be one, and he did so as our high priest. Therefore, we will not be wasting our lives or time praying for, and working toward the same unity that Christ saw fit to request! And we may find that those who seemed to be our fellow-travelers were not so; some, by reason of ignorance, and some by malice. Nevertheless, if it is the Word we follow, we will not be ashamed.
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