Exploring Ecumenism

Elements of Mission 1: Community

Over the next few posts I will comment upon the three elements of mission Timothy Radcliffe suggested at the CTE Forum recently.  Here they are:

1. Community
2. Doctrine
3. Morality

Radcliffe had a great deal to say about the second two and virtually nothing to say about the first because it presents no problem for our culture.  So, that is where I will start.

On the Ecumenical Nature of Trees

Timothy Radcliffe at the CTE Forum last week likened the Christian faith to a Whitebeam, outside his window.  As always I develop the points he made and so not all that follows is Radcliffe's.

Arguments For and Against Ecumenism

I received a comment the other day which asked for positives and negatives about ecumenism to enable the reader to come to a conclusion.  I'm not sure I can achieve the last part because ecumenism is in its nature something we all have to make a decision about.  The aim of this post is simply to suggest some things you may wish to consider if you are unsure about ecumenism.

Ecumenical Ethics

It is odd that Christianity has a moralistic public image.  One of the problems St Paul faced in his letters was to explain the impossibility of adherence to every detail of the law.  Indeed, the law does not save people, it shows us what is right and wrong but it is not possible for anyone to practice it in full.  The Christian faith replaces law with spirit.  Non-Christians are prisoners of the law; Christians are freed by the spirit.  We would therefore expect Christians to be, whilst not uninterested in morals, at least distinguishable from those whose faiths prescribe precise moral positions.

Nothing Evolves on its Own

Survival of the Fittest focuses on the evolution of single species.  Competition is expressed in terms of what happens within each species.  The fittest individuals survive to breed.  Relationships with other species are of interest solely in terms of any influence they have upon natural selection within a particular species.  So if we focus on rabbits their survival might depend upon foxes and grass and a few other species but the focus is on rabbits bravely evolving away.

Neoliberalism and the Decline in Diversity

I want to return today to an old theme, the global economic problems.  I came across an article, A last chance, in an old edition of the New Statesman, dated 10 November 2008.  The article, by Paul Mason, was written in anticipation of a meeting of the G20 leaders on 15 November 2008.  He argues that the issue facing the G20 was not a simple debate about neoliberalism's rights and wrongs, matters have gone beyond that - neoliberalism has 'brought the world to the brink of an economic nuclear winter'.  This is not an accident but a flaw in its central mechanism. 

Ecumenism Re-imagined as Diversity

In this my last reflection for now on Kim's book, Christ's Body in Corinth, I want to ask what the implications are for ecumenism and particularly transformational reception, that is the conversation churches together have with the wider world. 

Ecumenism: Unity or Reconciliation?

According to Kim it depends upon how you read Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.  If you see the world from the perspective of the church, as hegemonic hierarchy, then you will understand ecumenism to be about unity.  The Body of Christ is defined by belief, and boundaries are drawn between believers and non-believers.

For Paul though, according to Kim, the problem is not disunity but conflict between factions.  His solution to power conflicts is reconciliation  between diverse groups.  This is achieved by living the life of Christ crucified rather than through belonging to a church. 

The Cross

Returning to the theme of the Body of Christ.  Fundamental to our understanding of what Paul means by this is, according to KIm, the cross.  Crucifixion was for slaves, the marginalised and the poor.  Through Jesus God identified with them.  This is why Kim argues Paul cannot mean hierarchical or hegemonic unity.  Jesus' death identifies God with the lowest in society.  The problem in Corinth was the patronage system and the resultant perception of unity as between leadership, rather than in the solidarity of the most marginal people.

Apocalyptic Community

Each of Kim's three interpretations of community correspond to ways of understanding the term 'Body of Christ'.

• 'Body of Christ' is most commonly understood as a boundary condition for the Christian community.  The Christian community is defined as the 'Body of Christ'.  Those who do not conform to the community's interpretation of truth are not a part of the 'Body of Christ' and so, not heard.
• Alternatively, the boundary can be drawn to be all-inclusive.  The whole of humanity is the 'Body of Christ'.  Whilst this addresses some of the issues raised by the first, it is not an adequate response to hegemonic power.  Ultimately, the decision to draw the boundary as all-inclusive is without the consent of everyone included in it.  This effectively marginalises the powerless.
• The first two focus upon the articulate, powerful individual.  Kim's third option is to identify with the marginalised.