Archbishop: Put aside your principles and remember: All you need is love

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, writing in "Put aside your principles and remember: All you need is love," in the London Daily Telegraph Dec. 21, 2008.

Free love

"The God of the Christmas story (and the rest of the Gospels) doesn't relate to us on the basis of any theory, but on the basis of unconditional love and welcome. That act of free love towards the entire human race changed things - even for those who didn't and don't share all the beliefs and doctrines of Christianity. And for those who do share those convictions, loving God and one another is a defiance of all programs and principles designed to preserve only the well-being of people like us.

"All of us, Christians most definitely included, have problems living up to this. But that's one reason why we tell this story repeatedly, the story of the 'unprincipled' God who values what others don't notice, who relates to people we'd all rather forget, whose appeal is to everyone because He has made everyone capable of loving response. At least once a year we all - Christians or non-Christians - need to hear again that permission to be free from principles so that we can ask the question about specific human lives and destinies, about the unacceptable cost of programs and systems when they are only about me and people like me.

"And when that question is asked, says [Swiss theologian] Karl Barth in his sermon, what begins to come through is 'the eternal light that requires neither fuel nor candlestick.'"  Reference

Archbishop attacks the UK Govt. for their fiscal policies in his Christmas Message

Archbishop attacks Downing St for 'Nazi' attitude

• December 23, 2008

THE war of words between church and the British state has escalated with the Archbishop of Canterbury likening Downing Street's response to the economic downturn to that of Nazi Germany.

In a pre-Christmas article written for The Daily Telegraph, Dr Rowan Williams, the Church of England's senior cleric, argues that the Christmas message is one of unconditional love and that some of the economic principles designed to cushion the impact of the financial crisis can fail to take into account the human cost.

Quoting religious philosopher and intellectual Karl Barth, Dr Williams said the great thinker had courageously expressed open defiance against the Third Reich and, at Christmas in 1931, preached that one of the greatest freedoms was to understand that while one should be able to live with principles, it is also important to be able to "live without them".

"The 20th century built up quite a list of casualties around 'principles' in Barth's sense," he writes. "Various philosophies solemnly assured us that the human cost is really worth it, because history will vindicate the sufferings … of the present. Keep your nerve, don't be distracted by the human face of suffering, because it will be all right in the end; we know it will because the principles are clear.

"Fortunately the Western world has not for a long time seen the real horrors that this entails in terms of brutality and devastation. Yet we are not completely immune from appealing to 'principles' in order to help us avoid some of the harsher consequences of our policies and preferences."

Suggesting a comparison between British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's fiscal stimulus package and the Third Reich, Dr Williams writes that the "principle" might have worked but in the end it required acceptance of the notion that "a lot of people that you might have thought mattered as human beings actually didn't".

He said the fiscal strategy failed to factor in the impact on the most vulnerable: "What about the unique concerns and crises of the pensioner whose savings have disappeared, the Woolworths employee, the hopeful young executive, let alone the helpless producer of goods in some Third-world environment where prices are determined thousands of miles away?" he asks.

In his article, he warns of the dangers of "unconditional loyalty to a system" that turned into a "nightmare" under Hitler in Germany.

Dr Williams uses the same language used by Mr Brown, arguing that without thought for these doubts about the human cost "we've lost the essential moral compass" — the same reference to a moral compass used by the Prime Minister last week.

On Friday, the Archbishop likened the British Government's policy fiscal stimulus package as a strategy similar to "an addict returning to a drug".

This sparked Mr Brown to respond in biblical terms, relating the Good Samaritan parable and insisting that the Government could not ignore the suffering of its people and just "walk by on the other side".

"The Archbishop would also agree with me that every time someone becomes unemployed or loses their home or a small business fails it is our duty to act and we should not walk by on the other side when people are facing problems," he said.

The British Government has promised to encourage spending, hiking the level of public borrowing and embarking on a record £20 billion ($A44 billion) emergency package to kick start the economy, as well as other big spending measures.

But with the number of jobless forecast to reach two million next year and the property market pushing thousands into negative equity, Dr Williams suggested that the downturn may provide a reason for the modern, Western world to rethink its obsession with accumulating material wealth.

Dr Williams' comments may be perceived as a further attack on Mr Brown's economic strategy and risk damaging the relationship between the Church and Downing Street.

"It threatens a return to the 1980s, when the Conservative Government came under fierce attack from the Church over its social policies, which were said to exclude the poor deliberately," the newspaper warned.source

Religion Becomes a Political Weapon in Obama's America.

For inauguration prayer, Obama splits ticket

By RACHEL ZOLL 

The clergy chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to pray at his inauguration fill separate symbolic roles: One is a nod to the civil rights activists who made Obama's election possible. The other is an overture to conservative Christians who rankles some Obama supporters.

The Rev. Rick Warren, who will give the invocation, is the most influential pastor in the United States, and a choice that has already caused problems for Obama.

Warren is a Southern Baptist who holds traditional religious beliefs and endorsed California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage. But he also wants to broaden the evangelical agenda to include fighting global warming, poverty and AIDS.

The Rev. Joseph Lowery, 87, is considered the dean of the civil rights movement. For the benediction at the Jan. 20 swearing-in, he says he will pray that the "spirit of fellowship and oneness" at the inauguration endures throughout Obama's presidency.

"He gets a lot with these choices," said David Domke, author of "The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America."

"Here's a guy who wants to run a progressive administration getting a substantial lift in his wings from the nation's most popular evangelical," Domke said. "But he balances that with Joseph Lowery, who speaks to the more liberal, social justice and African-American heritage."  more

repentance means getting a new perspective

Archbishop Rowan Williams welcomes credit crunch 'reality check'
..............
Dr Williams went on: "I would like to think that in this sort of crisis people would be reflecting more on how you develop a volunteer culture, how you develop a culture of people willing to put their services at the needs of others so that there can be a more active, a more vital civil society."

The archbishop called on the Government to give more of a lead on "how the civil society is created".

Dr Williams expressed concerns over the Prime Minister's "fiscal stimulus" package, which included cutting VAT to get the public spending again.

Questioned on whether increased spending was the right way to tackle the downturn, he said: "It seems a little bit like the addict returning to the drug.

"When the Bible uses the word 'repentance', it doesn't just mean beating your breast , it means getting a new perspective, and that is perhaps what we are shrinking away from."

The archbishop added: "It is about what is sustainable in the long term and if this is going to drive us back into the same spin, I do not think that is going to help us."

He said people should not "spend to save the economy", but instead spend for "human reasons" - to provide for their own needs. read it all

Vicar bans Christmas carol O Little Town of Bethlehem

A vicar has banned the Christmas carol O Little Town of Bethlehem because it does not represent the modern-day reality of the war-torn city.

 

By Ben Leach 
Last Updated: 11:12AM GMT 12 Dec 2008

Mr Coulter also showed the congregation a nativity scene carved by one of his guides which he had smuggled out of Palestine Photo: MEN

The Rev Stephen Coulter told parishioners not to sing the carol after he visited the West Bank.

He told them the words 'How still we see thee lie' were too far removed from life in Bethlehem.

He said where shepherds once used to watch over flocks by night now security guards watched over the people living there.

As a result the carol has been banned from all festive services in his Dorset parish of Blandford Forum.

Mr Coulter told the congregation at North Dorset District Council's civic carol service that he had visited the city in a recent pilgrimage to Israel and the West Bank and was shocked by the devastation he witnessed.

He said the Arab-Israeli conflict had destroyed its population and tourism and that he would not join in the singing of the carol.

He added: "My parishioners know why we will not be singing O Little Town in church this year."

Mr Coulter also showed the congregation a nativity scene carved by one of his guides which he had smuggled out of the West Bank.

He described how the guide's family was prohibited from leaving the town, which is surrounded by the fence which separates the crib from the wise men in the carving.

And he highlighted reports that the Israeli government was prohibiting the movement of communion wine from Bethlehem this Christmas because it was deemed a security risk. courtesy

RC Cardinal Cormac Murphy O' Connor's book on Multiculturalism in Britain

Immigrants will have to adjust to an 'unfriendly' for religious people UK: Cardinal

Sun, Dec 7 11:45 AM

London, Dec.7 (ANI): The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O' Connor, has said that while Britain has become an "unfriendly" place for religious people to live in, immigrant groups still have an obligation to understand, respect and adjust to "the ethos of the society they are opting to join."

"Our society has a corresponding obligation to encourage and help them to do so," The Telegraph quotes Murphy-O'Connor as saying further while blaming the rise of secularism as the key factor behind a British society that is liberal and is hostile to Christian morals and values.

Religious belief is viewed as "a private eccentricity" and the voice of faith groups is marginalized, he says.

Britain, the cardinal adds, is now showing signs of degenerating into a country free of morals, because of its rejection of traditional values and its new emphasis on the rights of the individual.

In a book on multiculturalism, to be published on Monday, he argues that immigrants have a duty to adjust to British life, but expresses concern that they are faced with a culture that is increasingly repressive and intolerant.

The book, called Faith in the Nation, is published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), with the backing of Prime Minister Gordon Brown. more

Russian Patricarh dies

Double life of Russia's patriarch

Patriarch Alexiy II, who died on Friday, had an extraordinary career, in which he switched from suppressing the Russian Orthodox Church to being its champion. Patriarch Alexiy II was popular among fellow churchmen A favourite of the KGB, he was promoted rapidly through the Church hierarchy, doing the Kremlin's bidding at a time when dissident priests were thrown into jail. As the Church's effective foreign minister, he helped cover up the repression of Russian Christians, defending the Soviet system to the outside world. He rose quickly through the ranks, being elected head of the Russian Orthodox Church at a crucial time, in 1990, with the Soviet Union on the path to collapse. Surprisingly, perhaps, he seized the moment, and went on to oversee the revival and flowering of the Church, exuding moral authority and inspiring devotion among his followers.  more

Episcopal Church Splits

Episcopal Split as Conservatives Form New Group

Sally Ryan for The New York Times

A group of conservative bishops met on Wednesday at the Resurrection Anglican Church in West Chicago, Ill.

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Published: December 3, 2008

WHEATON, Ill. — Conservatives alienated from the Episcopal Church announced on Wednesday that they were founding their own rival denomination, the biggest challenge yet to the authority of the Episcopal Church since it ordained an openly gay bishop five years ago.

The move threatens the fragile unity of the Anglican Communion, the world’s third-largest Christian body, made up of 38 provinces around the world that trace their roots to the Church of England and its spiritual leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

...........

“We’re going through Reformation times, and in Reformation times things aren’t neat and clean,” Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, a conservative who led his diocese out of the Episcopal Church in October, said in an interview. “In Reformation times, new structures are emerging.”

Bishop Duncan will be named the archbishop and primate of the North American church, which says it would have 100,000 members, compared with 2.3 million in the Episcopal Church.

The conservatives contend that the American and Canadian churches have broken with traditional Christianity in many ways, but their resolve to form a unified breakaway church was precipitated by the decision to ordain an openly gay bishop and to bless gay unions.  read it all

Vatican 'forgives' John Lennon

By David Willey  BBC News, Rome At the time radio stations banned their music and concerts were cancelled A Vatican newspaper has forgiven the late English singer John Lennon for saying four decades ago that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. In an article praising The Beatles, L'Osservatore Romano said Lennon had just been showing off. Lennon told a British newspaper in 1966 - at the height of Beatlemania - that he did not know which would die out first, Christianity or rock and roll. At the time, the comparison sparked controversy in the US. The semi-official Vatican newspaper marked the 40th anniversary of The Beatles' "White Album" with an article praising Lennon and the Fab Four from Liverpool. Youthful joke The paper dismissed Lennon's much-criticised remark that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ as a youthful joke.  more

George Barna: the days of the institutional church are over.

 Evangelical marketer George Barna, similar to the findings of  the Willow Creek study, says that what individual believers do on their own is more important than what the church does for them. Barna, however, takes Finney's legacy to the next logical step. A leading marketing consultant to megachurches as well as the Disney Corporation, he has recently gone so far as to suggest that the days of the institutional church are over. Barna celebrates a rising demographic of what he calls "Revolutionaries"-"millions of believers" who "have moved beyond the established church and chosen to be the church instead." (2) Since "being the church" is a matter of individual choice and effort, all people need are resources for their own work of personal and social transformation. "Based on our research," Barna relates, "I have projected that by the year 2010, 10 to 20 percent of Americans will derive all their spiritual input (and output) through the Internet." (3) Who needs the church when you have an iPod? Like any service provider, the church needs to figure out what business it's in, says Barna:

Ours is not the business of organized religion, corporate worship, or Bible teaching. If we dedicate ourselves to such a business we will be left by the wayside as the culture moves forward. Those are fragments of a larger purpose to which we have been called by God's Word. We are in the business of life transformation. (4)
Of course, Barna does not believe that Christians should abandon all religious practices, but the only ones he still thinks are essential are those that can be done by individuals in private, or at most in families or informal public gatherings. But by eliminating the public means of grace, Barna (like Willow Creek) directs us away from God's lavish feast to a self-serve buffet.

Addressing his readers in terms similar to the conclusions of the Willow Creek study cited above, Barna writes, "Whether you choose to remain involved in the congregational mold or to venture into the spiritual unknown, to experience the competing dynamics of independence and responsibility, move ahead boldly. God's perspective is that the structures and routines you engage with matter much less than the character and commitments that define you." Believers need not find a good church, but they should "get a good coach." If the gospel is good advice rather than good news, obviously the church is simply "a resource" for our personal development, as Barna suggests. (5)

If the local church is to survive, says Barna, authority must shift from being centralized to decentralized; leadership from "pastor-driven" to "lay-driven," which means that the sheep are primarily servers rather than served by the ministry. Further, ministry must shift from "resistance" to change to "acceptance," from "tradition and order" to "mission and vision," from an "all-purpose" to a "specialized" approach to ministry, "tradition bound" to "relevance bound," from a view of the people's role as receivers to actors, from "knowledge" to "transformation." (6)

"In just a few years," Barna predicts, "we will see that millions of people will never travel physically to a church, but will instead roam the Internet in search of meaningful spiritual experiences." (7) After all, he adds, the heart of Jesus' ministry was "the development of people's character." (8) "If we rise to the challenge," says Barna, America will witness a "moral resurgence," new leadership, and the Christian message "will regain respect" in our culture. (9) Intimate worship, says Barna, does "not require a 'worship service,'" just a personal commitment to the Bible, prayer, and discipleship. (10) His book concludes with the warning of the last judgment: "What report of your commitment to practical, holy, life-transforming service will you be able to give Him?" (11) The Revolutionaries have found that in order to pursue an authentic faith they had to abandon the church. (12)

This is finally where American spirituality leaves us: alone, surfing the Internet, casting about for coaches and teammates, trying to save ourselves from captivity to this present age by finding those "excitements" that will induce a transformed life. Increasingly, the examples I have referred to are what people mean by the adjective "missional."

Like the nineteenth-century revivalist Charles Finney, George Barna asserts that the Bible offers "almost no restrictions on structures and methods" for the church. (13) In fact, as we have seen, he does not even think that the visible church itself is divinely established. Nature abhors a vacuum and where Barna imagines that the Bible prescribes no particular structures or methods, the invisible hand of the market fills the void. He even recognizes that the shift from the institutional church to "alternative faith communities" is largely due to market forces: "Whether you examine the changes in broadcasting, clothing, music, investing, or automobiles, producers of such consumables realize that Americans want control over their lives. The result has been the 'niching' of America-creating highly refined categories that serve smaller numbers of people, but can command greater loyalty (and profits)." The same thing is happening to the church, Barna notes, as if it were a fate to be embraced rather than an apostasy to be resisted. (14)

However thin, there is a theology behind Barna's interpretation of Jesus as the paradigmatic "Revolutionary," and it is basically that of Finney. "So if you are a Revolutionary," says Barna, "it is because you have sensed and responded to God's calling to be such an imitator of Christ. It is not a church's responsibility to make you into this mold....The choice to become a Revolutionary-and it is a choice-is a covenant you make with God alone." (15) In this way, however, the work of the people displaces the work of God. 

 read it all 

Father Roy Bourge facing excommunication for advocating Ordination of women

U.S. priest facing ouster to appeal

ALBANY: An American priest facing excommunication for supporting the ordination of women said he plans to visit the Vatican with a contingent of fellow priests and a bishop to appeal the decision.

Father Roy Bourgeois, 69, a peace activist, ran afoul of Vatican doctrine by participating in an August 9 ceremony in Kentucky to ordain Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a member of a group called Roman Catholic Womenpriests. Recent Popes have said the Roman Catholic Church cannot ordain women because Christ chose only males as apostles.

“Who are we as men to say to women that our call to the priesthood is valid, but yours is not?” Father Bourgeois asked. “As Catholics we profess that the invitation to priesthood comes from God, and I believe that we are hampering with the sacred when we say that women must be excluded from being priests. That invitation is from God.”   more

525th anniversary of Luther's baptism

Celebrations mark 525th anniversary of Luther's baptism

by Ethan Cole, Christian Post

Posted: Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 22:59 (GMT)

Lutheran congregations worldwide are joining in celebrations today for the 525th anniversary of the baptism of protestant reformation founder Martin Luther.

The worldwide “Baptism Festival” on Tuesday, the day after the anniversary of Martin Luther’s birthday on November 10, 1483, will see at least 270 baptisms in 249 congregations celebrating baptismal remembrances in 13 countries.

“A developed theology of baptism is a central part of our Lutheran heritage and this festival is a way to emphasise that importance in our home congregations and worldwide,” said the Rev Scott A. Moore, an ELCA pastor serving St Andreas-Nicolai-Petri in Lutherstadt Eisleben and Saints Peter and Paul Church in Volkstedt, Germany.

Martin Luther was born in Eisleben and was brought by his parents to be baptised in St Peter Church the day after he was born, according to the customs of the time.

He grew up to become a monk, theologian, university professor, church reformer and the father of the Protestant Reformation. Luther gave his last sermon at St Peter Church before he died February 18, 1546, in Eisleben.  more 

Diocese of Pittsburgh Re-Elects Bishop Robert Duncan 50 days after deposition

Diocese Re-Elects Bishop Robert Duncan

Document Actions

•  
• 

Bishop Robert Duncan is once again the diocesan bishop of The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. 

Clergy and lay deputies to a special convention of the diocese on November 7 voted to invite Bishop Duncan back into leadership of the diocese the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church voted to remove ("depose") him.

"It is good to be back.  God has clearly watched over the diocese and watched over me and Nara as we have walked through these challenging days together.  God willing, I look forward to many years together sharing the good news of Jesus Christ," said Bishop Duncan.

Leaders representing a majority of the world's Anglican Christians, as well as many inside and outside The Episcopal Church in North America, never accepted the validity of The House of Bishops' decision to remove Bishop Duncan from leadership.  In spite of the decision's deep defects, Bishop Duncan and the diocese elected to submit to the purported "deposition," so long as the diocese was part of that denomination. 

Theology Reader: Evolution of Fundamentalists

Emergingg.Emergent churches Theology Reader

Emerging vs. Emergent Churches

Reflections on the emerging and emergent church

 

While I would never offer a blanket endorsement of all things “emerging”, the evangelically inclined emerging church movement can generally be viewed as a positive force within the church.  Wherever we find emerging churches remaining faithful to the authority and truths of Scripture, the wider evangelical community should embrace and support them as co-laborers for the Kingdom.  The goal of spreading the gospel to the entire world, including the postmodern world, is a clear biblical mandate and the emerging church movement is helping to carryout this task.

 

The church must recognize that throughout history the tactics we’ve used in communicating the gospel message have regularly changed.  The medium for delivering the message, as long as it does not clearly violate biblical norms, should not be our primary concern.  Rather, the advancement of the message of the gospel should be paramount.  When sharing this goal, the emerging church movement can be viewed as an ally of traditional evangelicalism.

 

The emergent church movement, on the other hand, has given traditional evangelicals more cause for concern.  As I have observed the evolution of the emergent church over the past few years, I have noticed an increasing trend towards theological revisionism, theological liberalism, and an open embrace of postmodern philosophy.

 

The emergent church has moved beyond the practice of simply adapting the methods we use in order to reach the postmodern world for Jesus Christ.  By and large the emergent church has adopted an uncritical embrace of the postmodern worldview.  And postmodernism is a worldview that in many regards is antithetical to biblical Christianity. Prominent leaders within the emergent church are on record denying objective truth, promoting relativism, and questioning a number of the core doctrines of biblical Christianity. All of these facts greatly disturb me and should concern all discerning believers. 

more

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IDEA OF DIALOGUE IN THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IDEA OF DIALOGUE IN

THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT

Ecclesiology Bibliography 


SJ Samartha on Globalization and its cultural consequences 

A Wisdom Archive on Ecclesiology

Archaeological digs on sites where Martin Luther lived.

The dirt on is out

Kate Connolly
Scientists trawl through his household waste

The ex-monk’s claim of poverty stand dismissed

Berlin: German scientists have reconstructed an extraordinarily detailed picture of the domestic life of Martin Luther, the 16th-century reformer and father of Protestantism. This they did by trawling through his household waste uncovered during archaeological digs

Beer tankards, grains of corn, cooking pots, even his toilet are among the finds dug up during the five-year project in the three places in Germany he spent his life. The items include his wife’s golden wedding band, a collection of 250 silver coins and the medicines used to treat his various ailments from angina to constipation.

Some of the finds have upset the Protestant church in Wittenberg where the ex-monk lived with his wife, the ex-nun Katharina von Bora, and their six children. It has termed “religiously irrelevant” evidence that the family used to throw dead cats into the rubbish bin and that the nails Luther used to secure his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, which led to his ex-communication from the Catholic Church and launched the Reformation, were in fact drawing pins.

Protestants from around the world are expected to flock to an exhibition at the history museum in Halle, where some of the discoveries will go on display.

Despite the widespread belief that Luther lived in poverty, evidence suggests he was a well-fed man weighing in at a hefty 150 kg when he died in 1546 at the age of 63. A search through the kitchen waste offers proof that the family ate well. There are clues that they regularly dined on roast goose and the tender meat of piglets, while during fasting periods they tucked into expensive fish including herring, cod, and plaice. Partridge and song-birds often graced the Luthers’ dinner table.

The claim by historians which will arguably be most upsetting for followers is the recently uncovered written evidence that it was not, as thought, a lightning bolt which led to the then 21-year-old’s spontaneous declaration he wanted to become a monk. Rather, it was his desperation to escape an impending arranged marriage. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

source

The Birth of Modern Missions

David Brainerd was born on April 20, 1718, in Haddam, Connecticut, 43 years before William Carey was born in Paulerspury, England. Brainerd became a missionary to the Indians in New England but died at the age of 29. He spent the last 19 weeks of his life in the home of the great Jonathan Edwards in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Edwards was so deeply moved by the missionary labor and faith and courage of young Brainerd that he edited and published his Life and Diary in 1749. Forty years later a young English pastor, William Carey, was stung by the story of Brainerd's sacrifices as a young missionary.

When he was 31 years old, Carey published a little book entitled, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use means for the Conversion of the Heathens. Repeatedly in this book he refers to the great example of Brainerd. A year later, as he sailed to India in 1793 on the Kron Princess Maria, Carey wrote in his journal about how the sermons of Jonathan Edwards were giving him strength. For example: June 24, 1793—"Saw a number of flying-fish. Have begun to write Bengali, and read Edwards' Sermons and Cowper's Poems. Mind tranquil and serene . . . "

Carey's book, plus his own amazing 40-year career in India have immortalized him as the "father of modern missions." And the reason that I point out his connection with Edwards and Brainerd is to show that the great era of modern missions was born in the soil of sovereign grace. It was born in the hearts of men and women who believed in the doctrines of unconditional election and predestination and effectual calling and definite atonement and the perseverance of the saints—the great truths that we have been teaching for the past four weeks from Romans 8:28-30.

more

ECCLESIOLOGY
INTRODUCTION

The Doctrine of Ecclesiology is the Doctrine of the Church. It is the study of its origin, its nature, its constitution, its ordinances and its activities. We shall confine our consideration to four topics. The origin of the church, the organism of the church, the organization of the church and the ordinances of the church. There is always in the popular mind the hazy conception of the church as a club, a mutual society of kindred minds and a continual confusing of the church with the kingdom of Heaven. How often is the aim of the church stated as, "Advancing the kingdom" and "bringing in the kingdom," "establishing the kingdom." Many times making the church a political thing. Men lose sight of the primary nature of the church as a "called out" body of people "for His name", a heavenly people, one body separate from all other men of the world as a unique heavenly bride of Christ. Ignorance of its true nature is also displayed in classifying all the saved of all the ages as "members of the church." And some would even out all the sinners who, like the "mixed multitude" which followed Israel, fasten themselves for one reason or another like parasites to the church, as bonified members of the church. We must always see the distinctive nature of the church both as to dispensations and as to its membership as containing only the born-again. Not an earthly organization but a heavenly organism


more

Discipleship - A Space for Women’s Leadership? By Pauline Chakkalakal

Discipleship - A Space for Women’s Leadership? By Pauline Chakkalakal. Mumbai: Pauline Publications. 394 pp. Rs. 265.

Until the birth of liberation theology in South America, with the newfound openness of the Second Vatican Council, the Bible was read and theology was created mostly from the perspective of European male clerics and this was universally accepted as normative for all. With new challenges from numerous socio cultural contexts, traditional biblical hermeneutics has been uncomfortably challenged and remarkably broadened. Liberation theology, black theology, feminist theology, Dalit theology, tribal theology, etc. are fruits of new ways of doing theology, where the context and text are mutually challenged as well as reinterpreted. Among these, feminist theology seems to have the broadest scope, with empowerment of half of humankind as its objective.

Pauline Chakkalakal’s book is a revised and modified version of her doctoral thesis. It is undoubtedly a major contribution to the ongoing contemporary global debate on women’s dignity and equality, with special focus on ecclesiastical leadership in a patriarchal church where women are unfortunately marginalised against the gospel vision. A special feature of the volume is a well-balanced blending of social analysis, feminist hermeneutics and theological reflection on the theory and praxis of leadership in the Indian Catholic Church. The author’s powerful critique of existing hierarchical and patriarchal leadership pattern might elicit strong reactions from those who are inclined to hold that traditional western theology is normative for all places and times.

Chapter 1 begins with the statement and analysis of the problem. Although the Vatican Council II and subsequent documents, including those of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, are creatively responding to emerging consciousness of a democratic society which demands equality for women, still they are viewed as far from being satisfactory. The caste-ridden Indian society is male-dominated and women play second fiddle. (The book fails to mention a few exceptional communities that are matriarchal and matrilineal with certain influences on the Catholic Church). The church tradition, starting from the fathers of the church like Tertulian and St. Augustine with powerful impact on the whole Christian theology and spirituality, is profoundly anti women and in general continue to influence the church’s current leadership. According to St. Augustine the ultimate cause of the fall of humankind and original sin (Genesis 3) is Eve. So Tertulian condemned women, “you are the devil’s gateway” (p. 62). St. Paul’s injunctions to women to cover their heads and keep silence in the church (1 Cor. 11:2 16; 14:26 40) accentuate the problem if they are not interpreted as culturally-bound norms of behaviour.

The author’s uncompromising position on patriarchy, sin of sexism and exclusion of women from decision-making bodies in the church are supported by findings of empirical investigations in Chapter 2. The analysis of data from around 350 respondents to questionnaires and interviews, mostly from urban areas, confirm male domination in family life, society and church. Because leadership in the Catholic Church is intrinsically linked to ministerial priesthood, exclusion of women from ministerial priesthood logically leads to their exclusion from sharing leadership at every level of the church. The root cause of the unjust structure of authority is identified with this theological issue, according to the writer. “Matters requiring the exercise of power of governance be reserved to those on holy orders” reiterates Pope John Paul II (p. 40).

Critical investigation into the legitimization of socio religious order based on biblical authority is the focus of Chapter 3. A critical enquiry into women’s leadership in the biblical tradition, this chapter examines the creation account of man and woman (Genesis 1:26 27; 2:7 8, 18 25). After showing their equality as images of God, this chapter studies the role of women in the Jesus’ movement. Jesus’ style of dealing with women disciples, including women at the foot of the cross, broke the Jewish patriarchal and rabbinical model. Contemporary Mariology challenges the distorted image of Mary of the traditional catholic popular devotions. “The Magnificat (Lk. 1:46 55) is a powerful testimony to this counter cultural action of God” (p. 133). After his resurrection which is the foundation of Christian faith, women, not the male disciples, had the privilege to be chosen by Jesus to be the first missionaries. Women at Pentecost (Acts, 1:14; 2:1 4), Priscilla and Aquilla (Acts 18:23; 18:26), Mary, mother of John Mark (Acts 12:12 17) are subjected to scholarly examination to establish women’s leadership in the early church. Yet I wonder why the hermeneutics of the crucial text (Acts 2:17 18), the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel (2:28 29), whereby the creation of the new Israel, the church, is missing. Radical equality of the members of the new Israel is founded on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh—sons and daughters, young and old, menservants and maidservants.

The “role of feminist theology and hermeneutics” to enhance feminist leadership in the church is the concern of Chapter 4. Since all theological articulations are based on particular understanding of biblical texts, feminist theologians, in contrast to an androcentric and kyriarchal interpretation, propose their own hermeneutics, e.g. of suspicion, remembrance, proclamation, and liberative vision and imagination. Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza is quoted as saying “the locus of divine revelation and grace is not simply the Bible or the tradition of a patriarchal church but the ‘church of women’ in the past and present” thus, feminist theology has for its point of departure women’s experiences in their struggle for liberation” (p. 216). Feminist theology is a type of liberation theology that hopes to liberate, transform and create communities of ‘disciples of equals’. This logically leads to a feminist ecclesiology. Since ecclesiastical power and authority are at present intimately linked to ministerial priesthood, debate on ordination of women is inevitable even if it is forbidden. The Women’s Ordination Conference in Dublin in 2001 is cited as a case in question (p. 242). What is the essence of Jesus’ priesthood? Did Jesus rule out women priests? These questions are elaborately deliberated from the feminist perspective. Revision of exclusivist God-language is a logical necessity of feminist theology. Apart from feminist theologians, many who struggle for a new way of being church are inclined to believe that by the fourth century, with the Edict of Milan (313), the church lost sight of Jesus’ vision of a community of discipleship of equals (Mt. 23:1-12) as it developed into a clerical sacerdotal hierarchy.

“In search of a relevant model of church leadership” is the fifth and final chapter. Feminist leadership is described as relational, flexible, intimate and passionate. The ultimate norm and example for it is the leadership of Jesus, which is prophetic, conflictual, and contextual, and in solidarity with the poor. The chapter concludes with two specific recommendations, among others, in the exercise of authority: (1) shift from authoritarian to participatory model; (2) dialogue and partnership. The author argues that women have a unique role in liberating church structure from sexism, clericalism and other forms of discrimination against women and laity in general. New ecclesiology, underlying equality, justice and dignity of women, is impossible without reconstructing traditional Christology that emphasizes his maleness over his new humanity. New Christology and new ecclesiology should be pneumatocentric where criteria for a new model of leadership is neither maleness nor femaleness but the Spirit-filled life (Gal. 3:28).

The book is scholarly, critical, creative and thought-provoking. It also breaks new grounds in methodology for theologizing in India. The author’s commitment and passion for a new vision for alternative model of leadership in the Catholic Church in India distinguishes her as a pioneer of Indian feminist theology.

Dr. Augustine Kanjamala, SVD holds a Doctorate in Sociology of Religion. He was Director of Ishvani Kendra (Missiological Institute), Pune, India, of which Streevani (Women's Voice) is a Research & Publication wing. He has served as Secretary to the CBCI (Catholic Bishops' Conference of India) Commission for Evangelisation. Author of several articles and books, Kanjamala is presently the Director of "Institute of Indian Culture", affiliated to the University of Mumbai.

source





Copyright ©

Introduction to Ecclesiology By Veli-Matti Karkkainen

An Introduction to Ecclesiology By Veli-Matti Karkkainen


Buy this book
InterVarsity Press
Amazon.com
Barnes&Noble.com - $20.00

What is the church?What makes the church church?In this volume, theologian Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen provides an up-to-date survey and analysis of the major ecclesiological traditions, the most important theologians, and a number of contextual approaches that attempt to answer these essential questions.Drawing on his international experience, global research and ecumenical awareness, Kärkkäinen presents an overview of both traditional and contemporary expressions of the Christian church. An Introduction to Ecclesiology will richly reward the student, pastor or layperson who is looking for a comprehensive and insightful overview of the unity and diversity of understandings and practices within the one church of Jesus Christ.

More details
An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical & Global Perspectives
By Veli-Matti Karkkainen
Published by InterVarsity Press, 2002
ISBN 0830826882, 9780830826889
238 pages

Add to my library
Write review
Contents
The Role of Ecdesiology in Systematic Theology
7
ecclesiology, Systematic Theology, Miroslav Volf
ECCLESIOLOGICAL TRADITIONS
15
Roman Catholicism, Free churches, ecumenical movement ecclesiologies
Eastern Orthodox Ecdesiology
17
ecclesiology, Eucharist, Vladimir Lossky
Roman Catholic Ecdesiology
26
Lumen Gentium, Vatican II, Ut Unum Sint
Lutheran Ecdesiology
39
Augsburg Confession, Book of Concord, Martin Luther
Reformed Ecdesiology
50
Ecclesiology, John Calvin, Zwingli
Free Church Ecdesiologies
59
Anabaptists, Free churches, Miroslav Volf
PentecostalCharismatic Ecdesiologies
68
Pentecostal, Charismatic Movements, Peter Hocken
The Ecumenical Movement Ecdesiologies
79
Ecclesiology, ecumenical movement, Unitatis Redintegratio
LEADING CONTEMPORARY ECCLESIOLOGISTS
93
ecumenical, theology, Zizioulas
Communion Ecdesiology
95
pneumatology, John Zizioulas, eschatological
Charismatic Ecdesiology
103
charism, Second Vatican Council, body of Christ
Universal Ecdesiology
113
Wolfhart Pannenberg, eschatological, christological
Messianic Ecdesiology
126
trinitarian, Moltmann, Glossolalia
Participatory Ecdesiology
134
laity, Tertullian, charismata
Baptist Ecdesiology
142
McClendon, Mennonite, Jews
Missionary Ecdesiology
151
Lesslie Newbigin, Protestantism, Protestant Reformation
Concluding Reflections on Leading Ecclesiologists
160
Mukyokai, Kanzo Uchimura, Non-Church Movement
Base Ecclesial Communities in Latin America
175
Leonardo Boff, feminist theology, Maryknoll
African Independent ChurchesEcclesiology
194
Shepherding movement, African Independent Churches, AICs
A World Church
211
postmodern, Donovan, George Lindbeck
Ecclesiological Challenges for the Third Millennium
231
Emil Brunner, Christian theology, Roman Catholic


Key terms
ecclesiology, pneumatology, Pentecostal, Shepherding movement, Eucharist, Lumen Gentium, Christology, Holy Spirit, Charismatic movement, Vatican II, Mukyokai, sacraments, Roman Catholic Church, Systematic Theology, Miroslav Volf, baptism, Lesslie Newbigin, eschatological, John Zizioulas, ecumenical movement

source

Newbigin’s missionary ecclesiology

3. FROM A CHRISTOCENTRIC TO ATRINITARIAN MISSIONARY ECCLESIOLOGY:(1959-1998) 3.1. I NTRODUCTION This chapter traces the historical development of Newbigin’s missionary ecclesiologyfrom the time he became the General Secretary of the International Missionary Councilin 1959 until his death in 1998. Newbigin’s 1958 publication One Body, One Gospel,One World marked a consensus in ecumenical thinking on the church and mission thathad developed from the time of the IMC meeting in Tambaram in 1938. However, thisagreement was already under attack. Within three years Newbigin himself would beginto see the inadequacy of his ecclesiology. A Christocentric ecclesiology must bereplaced by a Christocentric-Trinitarian ecclesiology. His first halting attempt toarticulate this new ecclesiology is found in The Relevance of Trinitarian Doctrine forToday’s Mission (1963g). Many other publications would follow in which the detailsof a Trinitarian ecclesiology would be expanded more

PDF Format

An Orthodox, Indian perspective on ecclesiology - Jacob Kurien

An “invitation” on the ecclesiology statement from an Orthodox, Indian perspective


There is a proverbial statement in the Harare Report: “Any vision which does not inspire new forms of acting remains a distant utopia”. The strength, of the Ecclesiology statement entitled “Called to be the One Church”, is an inspiring vision and a new form of acting for the manifestation of Christian unity.

As an Oriental Orthodox, I am delighted to notice a Trinitarian image of unity and an emphasis on the Faith of the early undivided Church as embodied in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. As an Indian Christian living in a multi-religious and dominantly non-christian background, I see in the text a commitment for inter-religious dialogue as integral to the unity we seek. A theological self-understanding on religious plurality and a common stance against religious extremism and violence are central to our vision of Christian unity. more

Mission and Ecclesiology

Jesudas M. Athyal, Identity And Mission: Towards A New Ecclesiology"
Excerpts

Indigenous Forms of Mission


There is a tradition in India of permeation at the deeply spiritual level of relating faith in Christ to the pluralistic context as well. In his article: ‘The Church – The Fellowship of the Baptised and the Unbaptised?’, M. M. Thomas says that in the history of the modern neo-Hindu movements, the person of Jesus was a strong component. There were many Hindus who kept themselves in spiritual fellowship with other Christians without joining the church by baptism. Kandasamy Chetty of the Madras Christian College, who was one such, stated: ‘There is nothing essentially sinful in Hindu society any more than there is anything essentially pure in the Christian society - for that is what the Christian church amounts to – so that one should hasten from the one to the other…So long as the believer’s testimony for Christ is open and as long as his attitude towards the Hindu society in general is critical, and his attitude towards social and religious practices inconsistent with the spirit of Christ is protestant and practically protestant, I would allow him to struggle his way to the light with some failure here and some failure there perhaps, but with progress and success on the whole’.[xi]

There were several other forms of Christian witness, by individuals and local worshipping and witnessing communities, outside the established churches. Sattampillai, a man of high intellectual calibre and extraordinary qualities, founded the Hindu-Christian Church of Lord Jesus at Prakasapuram near Tirunelveli in 1857. He evolved the agenda of the Hindu-Christian Church to negotiate the contradictory impacts of conversion by developing at one level a critique of western Christianity as practised by the missionaries, in the context raising questions such as “What is real Christianity”?[xii] In his recent book, Christianity is Indian: The Emergence of an Indigenous Community, Roger Hedlund of the Mylapore Institute for Indigenous Studies, identifies and describes several such “little traditions” of Indian Christianity – movements largely unstudied and unknown.

Within the framework of the mainline churches too, there were small, yet definite, forms of indigenous expressions of mission and witness in India. Much before dialogue was officially recognised as a form of Christian witness, several theologians and church leaders like Keshub Chandra Sen and Bishop Appasamy here practised a dialogical form of mission. The itinerant evangelist Sadhu Sunder Singh and organisations like the National Missionary Society too represent indigenous patterns of mission and evangelism. The grave situation in our country today might require a more rigorous articulation of a theology of mission in comparison to the earlier indigenous forms of mission, though as forms of mission rooted in our soil, these patterns will continue ‘to be challengingly relevant’ at all times.

Any attempt to identify and define viable patterns of mission and evangelism today need to be placed firmly within a definite historical context. The search for patterns of church and Christian witness sensitive to the cultural and religious settings of India is not only a theological discussion of the last generation but a pertinent question in our current context. M. M. Thomas says: ‘The crucial question for evangelistic mission today is how in a changed post-colonial situation the forms of church and its evangelistic proclamation of Christ, the call to conversion and invitation to join the fellowship of the church may take place within the context of the recognition of religious and cultural plurality and common participation in building a new just society and state’.[xiii]

Our societies today are experiencing changes that are unprecedented and historic. It is therefore important that the traditional patterns of mission and evangelism be drastically reviewed in a search for more relevant patterns. It has often been pointed out that the aggressive evangelistic campaigns of most churches do not adequately reflect the holistic mission of Christ and are often insensitive to the delicate pluralistic framework of our societies. While critically reviewing our existing structures, we however, also recognise the search by small Christ-inspired groups at various levels – within the churches as well as outside - for authentic and relevant patterns of Christian witness in today’s pluralistic context. Such groups are not however, always a rejection of our existing church structures. What is central to our discussion is that the challenge of the gospel demands us to repeatedly relate God’s mission to the context, which is central to our affirmation that, at the cutting edge of the mission, the church meets the world. The Church is defined by the necessity of proclaiming the saving activity of God through Christ in history. The central ecclesiological concern in pluralistic societies like India therefore, is the search for contextual forms of proclamation - evangelisation.


IV


A New Ecclesiology


The link between the renewal of the church and her missionary mandate is crucial. T. V. Philip says that in the history of the Church, it has been the people engaged in mission in the world who have often raised fundamental questions about the nature of the church, its catholicity and unity.[xiv] In recent times, theologians have been re-interpreting the identity and function of the church not so much as a given and unchanging reality but as a movement of the Holy Spirit and in response to the major concerns of the period. Accordingly, Wesley Ariarajah, in his book, Not Without My Neighbour, outlines dialogue as a paradigm for ecclesiology. He asks the pertinent question: ‘Why are we in mission? Is it because God is present with our neighbour or because God is absent?’[xv] M. M. Thomas, in his Chavara Lectures (1994), on the other hand, discusses a diaconal approach to Indian Ecclesiology aimed at the re-structuring of the church of Christ in modern religiously and ideologically pluralistic India in ways more relevant to the discharging of its humanizing mission.[xvi] The underlying concern in these attempts to re-articulate the identity and role of the church, is the growing awareness that the traditional understanding of the functions of the church as teaching the Word of God and administering the sacraments, is in urgent need of revision. A serious challenge for the church today is the gulf between its life and mission. In the words of Abraham Kuruvilla, ‘When the liturgy itself was degraded to the level of a sacramental act, the character of the ordained ministry became significantly altered….The ministry of the Word of God was not merely a matter of preaching sermons; ‘it meant equipping the church to live in orthodoxy and orthopraxis. But preaching and the sacraments got divorced from witnessing to the marvelous acts of God and participating in God’s continuing work in history’.[xvii]

read it all