Exploring Ecumenism

Saturday, 23 April 2011

No Dissension Within the Body

This is part of a series of posts based on the Churches Together in England publication one light: one world. If you click on the link you will find the biblical texts. This post of the same name covers the purpose of this series.

1 Corinthians 12: 12 - 31

The 'more excellent way' is featured earlier in this series. Here I compared the various traditions to stepping stones. In this current passage we are invited to compare them to parts of the body.

But let's take care here. It's hardly credible that Paul was writing of institutions as members of the body.

I posted a series some time ago about Yung Suk Kim's thinking about the Body of Christ. Kim's point is, to paraphrase it, the united community of all the traditions would necessarily be exclusive of those who are on the margins. This would be a result of institutional unity.

But the image of the Body of Christ is of a body divided. This allows space for those who would otherwise be marginalised. The point is not that we all have something to offer but that in Christ's broken body there is room for all.

Maybe some traditions exclude those they don't approve of. If so, then the body is necessarily broken and it is broken because God accepts all, whether or not church leaders agree with God.

Posted at 06:00 PM in Diversity, Exegesis, Leadership | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Friday, 22 April 2011

Put Up with the Failings of the Weak

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Romans 15: 1 - 2

This passage follows on from Romans 14, dealt with in an earlier post in this series. There I drew parallels between the 'strong' and so-called liberal traditions and the 'weak' and fundamentalist Christians. I made the point this parallel seems counter-intuitive because we tend to see certainty as strong and doubt as weak.

I suppose those who doubt are strong because they hold to faith in spite of their doubts. For the weak, their faith is to some degree contingent because they believe it depends upon on their belief in propositions, some of which are threatened.

So, Paul is saying the strong, amongst whom he includes himself, have to put up with the failings of the weak. We have to put up with their poor theology and intolerance, even though we find it painful. Our aim should not be to please ourselves because the weak need to be built up.

I suppose, loss of faith can be devastating to a weak Christian. But it is at times of crisis we all find ourselves at a crossroads between despair or moving on to a deeper understanding of God. Therefore, a crisis always needs careful handling by other Christians, rather than mockery!

I can't say I'm thrilled by what Paul is saying here but the logic is hard to fault.

As far as Protestants are concerned there is possibly no greater division between Christians than those between fundamentalists and the rest of the churches. Paul's message in these chapters in Romans may well be helpful but I'm not sure they resolve the issue entirely. I have to ask myself whether some of the excesses of fundamentalist Christianity are in fact Christian. Beliefs in the rapture, the role of Israel, the acceptance of religious violence and creationism are so far outside of mainstream Christian theology they might invalidate any desire for unity. Whilst the advice to put up with the failings of the weak might be sound, we still face real issues about the limits of what it is to be Christian.

Posted at 06:00 PM in Diversity, Exegesis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Thursday, 21 April 2011

Bear One Another's Burdens

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Galatians 6: 1 - 2

Paul is writing to individuals rather than churches. When one transgresses, we are called to bear the resulting burden together. This is not about condemnation but supporting one another in love.

How does this apply to institutions? Is the Methodist Church called to bear the Roman Catholic Church's burdens over child abuse? It's difficult to work out what this might mean in practice but the principle is not difficult to grasp.

All institutions fall short of our own and God's expectations. Indeed, it is likely God is more tolerant of our failures than we are. We may not have any choice about bearing one another's trangressions, as many are only too willing to condemn the churches as a whole for the failings of the few. Indeed, the Islamic fundamentalists who flew into the twin towers have fuelled new atheist anti-religion, which somehow justifies their anti-Christian as well as anti-Islamic rants.

Perhaps what this passage implies is we should treat one another gently, whatever tradition or religion, and set an example as to how we deal with transgressions. We're not always terribly good at this type of thing but this passage is at least suggestive.

Posted at 06:00 PM in Ethics, Exegesis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Wednesday, 20 April 2011

They Signalled to Their Partners to Help

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Luke 5: 1 - 8

Oh dear, oh dear. A long passage, terminating in an ecumenical non-sequitur. Presumably the fish represent potential converts and we're supposed to summon our ecumenical partners, should we strike lucky!

This passage is not about evangelism. It is about economics. These are fishermen. If it hasn't escaped your notice, fishermen are interested in catching fish. Why? Because fish are valuable.

Here is a man who has the power to magic large numbers of fish from nowhere. But this same man has something he values more than fish. This is a story about discipleship, not evangelism.

The partners help with the catch, do they understand what is going on? Partners join in a common enterprise, even though they might do so for radically different reasons. This does not mean they cannot be trusted. It does mean it is important to understand why they are involved.

This story shows the benefits of Jesus are not restricted to the followers of Jesus. More important, it shows why the fishermen chose to follow Jesus.

Posted at 06:00 PM in Economics, Exegesis, Leadership, Participation | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Righteousness and Peace will Embrace

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Psalm 85: 10 - 11

So, our calling is to be united, not in the sense of establishing a single church under one authority but in the sense of us learning to love one another despite our differences. There are still intractable prejudices but the ecumenical movement's higher calling is to effect reconciliation in the Holy Spirit between all those who look to Christ as saviour. And of course this is a precursor to that greater Oikoumene, the reconciliation of all things to God.

This psalm is intriguing because it suggests, during the Old Testament period there were some who saw the need for reconciliaiton between God and humanity and the real possibility of effecting it.

We've come a long way since this psalm was written and to many it might seem we have moved further from this vision.

But the point is, we are not alone and despite the failure of our best efforts, we still experience God as prepared to meet us more than half way.

Posted at 06:00 PM in Diversity, Ethics, Exegesis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Monday, 18 April 2011

Welcome One Another

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Romans 15:7

Following on from what I wrote yesterday, something else needs to be spelled out. As far as other Christians go, we have no choice in the matter. We must welcome one another. This is what baptism means.

And this welcome means Christians must be welcomed as full members of the church, even if not of my particular tradition.

The tragedy is, there are some who are not accepted. I read somewhere the other day, why if a church is unable to ordain homosexuals, does it baptise them? The logic is that we do not baptise those we would not ordain. I hope most Christians would baulk at such a denial of baptism. For those who practice infant baptism, it would mean they would have to wait until the adult announced their sexuality. Baptism would no longer be a mark of unconditional acceptance into the faith.

It is shameful there is any group of baptised people not fully acceptable to some Christians. It seems for some it is essential to have other Christians we do not welcome.

At one time Catholics and Protestants excluded one another; exclusion has been, and perhaps in some places still is, on the basis of race. By and large, most prejudices have been outed and so those who need someone to hate have decided to hold fast to sexuality.

I wonder whether we will ever be free of such prejudice? Over 2000 years, our shameful divisions have also been the way the church has been learning its high calling, to be a place wherein the whole of humanity might be reconciled.

It is precisely those who live in the margins who need to be welcomed. Jesus died for the marginalised and we do well not to forget it. To understand ecumenism as reconciliation between mainstream Christian traditions, is to ignore the real pain of those who are rejected by these same churches. I suspect many homosexuals would argue the mainstream churches are united in who they choose to reject. Ecumenism cannot happen independently of justice.

Posted at 06:00 PM in Diversity, Ecclesiology, Ethics, Exegesis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Sunday, 17 April 2011

Pursue Peace with Everyone

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Hebrews 12: 14 - 15

I'm not sure what is meant by 'see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God'. Let us remember though, the idea that unity is the glory of God. Perhaps this is a specific steer towards ensuring God's grace is present in our relationships.

So, let's think for a moment about baptism. This passage is about the Christian community; it is not about how Christians relate to non-Christians.

We are all baptised (this is not 100% true but near enough for the purpose of this argument). Whilst baptism remains controversial in some respects, there is a significant degree of recognition of one another's baptisms. Baptism is once and for all in most traditions and most recognise each other's baptisms. There are exceptions but we need to and can accept a Christian is baptised whatever route they took to get there. Broadly, this is where the mainstream traditions are at.

We are according to this passage, to make the effort to ensure all the baptised receive the grace of God. That is our task and our success at that task is marked by our experience of the glory of God.

We cannot experience God's glory until we are able to welcome one another, despite our differences. It may be true that for example fundamentalists and liberals can't get on; our task is to see to it that we do, that there is no root of bitterness between us.

Failure to do this means many will become defiled.

We don't have to agree with one another but we must love one another.

Posted at 06:00 PM in Diversity, Ecclesiology, Exegesis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Saturday, 16 April 2011

Never Put a Hindrance in the Way of Another

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Romans 14: 13 - 18

It is worth reading the whole of Romans chapter 14. It seems to me this passage is far more significant for ecumenists than John 17, for example. Paul hits the nail on the head and drives it home.

The context is food sacrificed to idols. Some Christians will not touch it because it has been sacrificed to false gods; others argue that as these gods do not exist, there's no harm in eating the meat.

First, the use of the terms 'strong' and 'weak' to describes these two positions is counter-intuitive. It is the ones who eat meat who are strong and those who do not who are weak. Paul counts himself amongst the strong.

But then he drops his bombshell. The strong are not to despise the weak, nor are the weak to condemn the strong. Apparently the weak thought the strong would go to hell for eating meat, and the strong thought the weak stupid.

Amongst our most intractable present day divisions, is that between fundamentalists and non-fundamentalists. This is Paul's advice. It is incredibly difficult advice to follow! So, I shall restrain myself from elaborating on why fundamentalists are weak in honour of Paul's insight.

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Friday, 15 April 2011

Love One Another

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Romans 13: 8

Debt is one of the most destructive to human society. We have in recent years entered a recession, caused in part by billions of pounds of personal debt.

My father's advice to me as I set off for university was to avoid debt. Interest, he said, is of no use to you, you are simply giving money away to other people. I have found this to be good advice and apart from a few years with a mortgage, I have always lived within my means.

But how many people manage this, today? Debt was a source of great fear for Jesus' and Paul's contemporaries (and indeed control of debt a major concern of the Torah). If you owe money, you are in effect enslaved to your creditor. It messes up relationships; where money is owed it gets in the way of relationships.

This is, therefore, advice from Paul for Christians. Don't get into debt with one another, all you need is love.

It is interesting the churches can get into debt with one another through ecumenism. For example, where premises are shared and one tradition contributes to the development of another's property. A few years later, the ecumenical partnership ends and the property owner, under the Sharing Agreement, owes the other church for their contribution.

Should churches enter into this type of relationship? It is not an easy question to answer.

Posted at 06:00 PM in Current Affairs, Economics, Exegesis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Thursday, 14 April 2011

Be United in the Same Mind and Same Purpose

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1 Corinthians 1: 10 - 13

So, what can we do, where we find entrenched differences between traditions?

We need to work out how to be united despite our differences. We could say we'll be united in our mission and not dwell on the niceties of the differences church leaders argue about. That's certainly one way of setting about it. We all believe in the one Christ, of course.

But this is the point. Paul includes the claim 'I belong to Christ' amongst all the others. It's invidious, the way in which, during some argument, someone will claim they are for Christ. Indeed where churches claim superiority, it is often on the grounds that they are for Christ.

We need to face up to reality. We will always be divided and claims to unique revelations from Christ is one of the many things dividing us. The reality is, none of us is for Christ. We all fall short and are on a journey together. It is only through the narrow path of humility, we are likely to find the truth of Christ, let alone unity.