Exploring Ecumenism

Holy Communion: The Sacrament that Divides

I thought it might be helpful at this stage to write about communion.  Communion is possibly the most divisive practice between the churches, and so if we are to understand modern ecumenism we need to understand the problem we have all inherited.

A Seasonal Pause

There will be a pause for a week or so whilst I take a (well earned?) rest.  Please take this opportunity to explore this blog.  I have a lot of new ideas and will be announcing them soon after my return.

You may like to visit this post which is a request for material to share about ecumenism on this site.  But any thoughts or comments would be welcome and responded to upon my return.

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.

The Catholic Spirit

John Wesley in his sermon On A Catholic Spirit suggested that Christians when they relate to one another must get away from a focus upon differences in belief.  He starts with a verse from the Old Testament where one warrior, in a chariot, says to another, on foot, 'if you heart is right with my heart, climb up beside me'.

Inerrancy

I really don't want to spend a lot of time on this topic.  Is scripture inerrant?  Of course not.  Is it the word of God?  Of course it is.

The paradox is that to make Scripture inerrant is to take God out of it.  The canon is fixed, nothing can be added or taken away.  It is complete.  The big advantage of this is that it allows us to interpret it for every age and every place.  Whatever interpretation we make, the original is always there to return to. 

Political Correctness

It's a funny thing how do-gooders get such a bad press.  You would expect people who do good to meet with some approbation.  Considering the various terrorist, thugs, vandals, young people, criminals, hooligans, etc who populate the popular media, you would expect people setting out to do good would be a welcome change.

Hypocrisy and Humility

I want to develop something I mentioned yesterday.  Why is it Christians need to repent?  It is a question asked from the earliest days of the Christian faith.  Surely those who are saved do not need to repent? 

Indeed the temptation is for those who are saved to cover up their sins.  So often the cover-up is worse than the original sin.  We can all think of times when a politician has lied to cover up some mistake.  The gradual uncovering of the truth by the media is often far worse than the original action.

Hope in God's Future

It is easy to get frustrated at the churches' lack of urgency about climate change.  I have raised the issue a few times in ecumenical meetings and the sense I get is that many do not see the relevance of climate change to ecumenism or indeed church life in general.

It is most encouraging to find the Joint Public Issues Team of the Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed Churches have produced a report Hope in God’s Future: Christian Discipleship in the Context of Climate Change.

A Question of Christian Ethical Priorities

We're straining at gnats and swallowing camels.  As I've explored ethics over recent posts, it seems as if the churches will focus time and energy on any ethical issue so long as it is not about the use of wealth to exploit other people and the environment.  (The Eleventh Earl of Mar's photo says it all.)  Indeed, the appetite amongst some Christians for these peripheral ethics is to the extent that it sometimes feels as if issues are being invented as further distractions.  Whilst a few verses in the Bible about sexuality are blown up into a major issue that threatens the integrity of the churches, exploitation, an issue present on almost every page, can go unacknowledged in a month of sermons.

Hard Issues 6: Climate Change

Of course, this issue is well known and so I will not go into a lot of detail about the science.  In three posts I will attempt first to scope the issue, then reflect upon its theology and finally to look at what the churches might do to address it.  Many organisations and websites provide more detail; this is as always broad brush strokes.

This issue is born entirely out of affluence.  This affluence has been a great achievement.  For the first time in human history, millions of people can live in a degree of wealth undreamed of in the past.