L'A. traite de l'oecumenisme tel qu'il se pratique a l'heure actuelle aux Etats-U... more L'A. traite de l'oecumenisme tel qu'il se pratique a l'heure actuelle aux Etats-Unis entre les lutheriens (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) les catholiques et d'autres Eglises reformees; plus particulierement entre les lutheriens et les anglicans (Episcopal Church USA). Une declaration commune (A Concordat of agreement) entre ces deux Eglises n'a pas ete adoptee. L'A., apres avoir decrit les rapports entre lutheriens et anglicans aux Etats-Unis, relate les debats ayant eu lieu autour de ce Concordat et cherche a expliquer pourquoi il n'a pas ete adopte.
To assess the present state and future possibilities of personal and ecclesial ecumenism between ... more To assess the present state and future possibilities of personal and ecclesial ecumenism between Protestant and Catholic Christians is a difficult task. On the one hand, the diversity among Protestants is so great few generalities hold for all of them. The challenges involved in Catholic relations with the Church of England are quite different than those involved in relations with the Southern Baptist Convention, and different in yet other ways from those involved in relations with a Pentecostal church in South Africa. In a broad sense, one can think of a spectrum of Protestant churches, some with whom Catholic relations might be close, and then a series of churches at a greater distance from Catholicism with whom relations would be more limited. That picture is only partially true, however. On many social issues, Catholics can work more closely with Evangelicals, with whom there are deep differences over sacraments and ecclesiology, than they can with more socially liberal represen...
an evolutionary biologist, speaks on behalf of warfare. The claims of science and religion confli... more an evolutionary biologist, speaks on behalf of warfare. The claims of science and religion conflict with one another and the battle has long since been won by scientists. M. Rudge, a History and Philosophy of Science professor and an agnostic, affirms independence instead, noting that the proper spheres of science and religion seldom overlap. The Rev. H. Wallace, pastor of a Southern Baptist megachurch, affirms dialogue between science and religion. (As he is a young-earth creationist who disparages all talk of evolution, however, his sincerity is repeatedly called into question.) Finally, the Rev. E. Matthews, an Episcopalian priest and process theologian, affirms integration, endorsing a holistic approach to both science and religion. Rife with historical and scientific facts, as well as useful philosophical distinctions, this book is sure to be a valuable tool in the classroom. Those who hold more conventional scientific views and also embrace relatively orthodox theism (i.e., the common core of the Abrahamic traditions) will not, however, find themselves represented in this discussion. This is surely a shortcoming.
Tolle, lege. Tolle, lege. "Take up, read." Few such simple words have had such a crucial impact o... more Tolle, lege. Tolle, lege. "Take up, read." Few such simple words have had such a crucial impact on the history of Christian theology. In the summer of 386, Augustine of Hippo was a torn man. He had come to believe the Gospel, but he could not bring himself to break with sinful habits, habits so ingrained he called them "necessities." His soul was torn between two wills within him, he said, each pointing in a di erent direction. Nothing seemed able to be able to break the interior logjam. He says that he willed that he would will the good, but not with a complete will, and so he remained paralyzed. A er hearing a friend and mentor describe the conversion of Victorinus, a famous Roman teacher of rhetoric, and another friend speak of the monastic retreat of St. Anthony, the spiritual con ict within Augustine reached a fever pitch and he retreated to a corner of the garden in the house he was staying at. Suddenly, from over the wall, he heard a child chanting the words tolle, lege: "take up, read." He could not think of any childhood rhyme or chant that involved those words-they must be a sign from God. So, he rushed over to where a copy of St. Paul's letters was lying, opened it, and read at random. His eye fell on Romans 13:13: "Let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy." As he himself puts in his Confessions: "No further wished I to read, nor was there need to do so. Instantly, in truth, at the end of this sentence, as if before a peaceful light streaming into my heart, all the dark shadows of doubt ed away" (8.12.29).
Heirs is thus recommended for the general reader as well as the scholar. It should be in all acad... more Heirs is thus recommended for the general reader as well as the scholar. It should be in all academy and college libraries and would constitute an interesting supplement to courses in denominational history.
Every parent is also a child. This truism of kinship is not as obvious as it might seem. A very y... more Every parent is also a child. This truism of kinship is not as obvious as it might seem. A very young nephew of mine once insisted I could not be his grandmother's son because I was not a son but an uncle. He had not grasped the possibility that I could be both.
Jesus of Nazareth would be an important book, regardless of who wrote it. 1 It is not just a prof... more Jesus of Nazareth would be an important book, regardless of who wrote it. 1 It is not just a profound narrative Christology. It also raises signifi cant questions about how the theologian reads the Bible and interrelates faith and historical scholarship. Unlike most of what Benedict published while heading the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, this vol ume is not about ecclesiology from a Catholic viewpoint. It addresses a question every Christian asks: Who is Jesus? Rightly enough, it will be read by many non-Catholics. In this reflection, I will not take up the many theological and historical questions that will undoubtedly engage the book's commentators, but focus instead on the book's ecumenical significance. THE PAPACY Has any other pope of recent memory written a book such as /N? John Paul Π published Crossing the Threshold of Hope, but that book consisted of per sonal meditations on various subjects in response to questions from an inter-Pro/. Michael Root, Professor of Systematic Theology and Dean, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary,
In this essay, a Lutheran understanding of the development of doctrine is developed, in contrast ... more In this essay, a Lutheran understanding of the development of doctrine is developed, in contrast with what George Lindbeck calls 'historical situationalism', the limitations of which are analysed. While the final authority of doctrine is a function of its evangelical content, a particular historical development of church teaching can possess a subordinate, distinct, formal authority as an authoritative sign of the material authority of its content. Such developments of doctrine can be irreversible. This understanding is placed in relation to the most prominent doctrine on the development of doctrine, the Catholic teaching on papal infallibility. The comprehensive narrative of the Western church's struggle over authority since the late Middle Ages should be seen as including both Catholic and non-Catholic developments and as still unresolved. A n essential concept for ecumenical dialogue is the concept of the development of doctrine. Those involved in ecumenical dialogue speak out of and speak about doctrines in specific historical forms. The hope in ecumenical dialogue is that disputes over doctrines in specific historical forms can be resolved by seeing how the disputes can be sublimated in some other developed form of the doctrine in question, or by seeing how the differing forms are all authentic historical developments of some shared commitment, or by seeing how the dispute need not be church-dividing when we see how both forms can co-exist within the communion of the church. Such ecumenical strategies (and there are certainly others) may not require an explicit and sophisticated theory of the development of doctrine, but they do require some means of handling the historical development of doctrine against some larger horizon against which specific developments can be evaluated, contextualized, or relativized. A full-blown method for addressing historical developments may not be necessary, but a collection of conceptual tools needs to be developed and deployed.
In Theology and Dialogue: Essays in Conversation with George Lindbeck, edited by Bruce D. Marshal... more In Theology and Dialogue: Essays in Conversation with George Lindbeck, edited by Bruce D. Marshall, 165-190. Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame Press, 1990.
On 12 May 1999, the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission released its most recent agr... more On 12 May 1999, the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission released its most recent agreed statement, The Gift of Authority: Authority in the Church III (hereafter GA)} This statement takes up one of the most difficult ecumenical topics-the authority within the church of official teaching-and addresses some of its most difficult aspects, from the role of the laity in teaching to the special teaching role of the bishop of Rome. The commission makes large claims for its work: "We believe that if this statement about the nature of authority and the manner of its exercise is accepted and acted upon, this issue will no longer be a cause of continued breach of communion between our two churches" (GA §51). How does the commission reach this conclusion? What does it have to say about authority in the church? How does what it says relate to discussions in the wider ecumenical world, especially within the Faith and Order movement? In addressing these questions, I shall limit myself to the text of GA and not comment on what I observed within the work of the commission as the Faith and Order observer from the World Council of Churches. While seeing the text develop certainly aids in understanding it, what is said here does not depend on "inside information". (I must add that the commission was unfailingly gracious in its welcome to me.) Moreover, I will relate this report to the wider ecumenical concerns of Faith and Order, although my own Lutheran perspective will undoubtedly shape what I have to say. A bilateral dialogue, especially between churches as closely related as the Anglican and Catholic churches, naturally can agree in greater detail than is possible in the multilateral discussions typical of Faith and Order. We who are neither Catholic nor Anglican need both to ask ourselves what aspects of this text can be taken up into the wider discussion and to let ourselves be challenged by the specificity of what Anglicans and Catholics can say together.
One cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, or so I was told as a child. Embodied in this sa... more One cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, or so I was told as a child. Embodied in this saying is an important point for theologians that perhaps is forgotten in this day of hermeneutical relativism. A text may be interpreted many ways, but most texts do have a specificity that excludes some interpretations. Many interpretations of an ambiguous text, such as Moby Dick, might fall within the limits of the credible, but Moby Dick is not about numerical patterns in the 1983 Columbia, South Carolina, phonebook. The text limits the bounds of acceptable interpretation. How might the Bible limit theological positions that claim to be, among other things, interpretations of the Christian message normatively embodied in the Biblical text? This essay is not a comprehensive answer to that question, but an argument about one particular way the specific-ity of the Bible, in particular, the New Testament, limits what can be said by any theology that makes the interpretive claim alluded to. Such an argument has three steps. First, certain aspects of the New Testament text must be delineated. In sections I and II, I will analyze certain patterns in the way Jesus is depicted as redeemer in the New Testament. Second, the significance of these patterns must be shown. In section III, I will describe how these patterns embody a particular understanding of Jesus as redeemer. Finally, one must explore the limitations placed by these patterns on theological positions that claim to be interpretations of the Christian message as normed by the New Testament. These limitations turn out to be highly significant, for they should influence the comprehensive shape any theological position can take. I What patterns can be found in the way the New Testament speaks of the redemptive significance of Jesus? New Testament texts use a variety of literary means to depict Jesus as the one who decisively overcomes evil. I am here interested in two such means, image and narrative. As I am
L'A. traite de l'oecumenisme tel qu'il se pratique a l'heure actuelle aux Etats-U... more L'A. traite de l'oecumenisme tel qu'il se pratique a l'heure actuelle aux Etats-Unis entre les lutheriens (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) les catholiques et d'autres Eglises reformees; plus particulierement entre les lutheriens et les anglicans (Episcopal Church USA). Une declaration commune (A Concordat of agreement) entre ces deux Eglises n'a pas ete adoptee. L'A., apres avoir decrit les rapports entre lutheriens et anglicans aux Etats-Unis, relate les debats ayant eu lieu autour de ce Concordat et cherche a expliquer pourquoi il n'a pas ete adopte.
To assess the present state and future possibilities of personal and ecclesial ecumenism between ... more To assess the present state and future possibilities of personal and ecclesial ecumenism between Protestant and Catholic Christians is a difficult task. On the one hand, the diversity among Protestants is so great few generalities hold for all of them. The challenges involved in Catholic relations with the Church of England are quite different than those involved in relations with the Southern Baptist Convention, and different in yet other ways from those involved in relations with a Pentecostal church in South Africa. In a broad sense, one can think of a spectrum of Protestant churches, some with whom Catholic relations might be close, and then a series of churches at a greater distance from Catholicism with whom relations would be more limited. That picture is only partially true, however. On many social issues, Catholics can work more closely with Evangelicals, with whom there are deep differences over sacraments and ecclesiology, than they can with more socially liberal represen...
an evolutionary biologist, speaks on behalf of warfare. The claims of science and religion confli... more an evolutionary biologist, speaks on behalf of warfare. The claims of science and religion conflict with one another and the battle has long since been won by scientists. M. Rudge, a History and Philosophy of Science professor and an agnostic, affirms independence instead, noting that the proper spheres of science and religion seldom overlap. The Rev. H. Wallace, pastor of a Southern Baptist megachurch, affirms dialogue between science and religion. (As he is a young-earth creationist who disparages all talk of evolution, however, his sincerity is repeatedly called into question.) Finally, the Rev. E. Matthews, an Episcopalian priest and process theologian, affirms integration, endorsing a holistic approach to both science and religion. Rife with historical and scientific facts, as well as useful philosophical distinctions, this book is sure to be a valuable tool in the classroom. Those who hold more conventional scientific views and also embrace relatively orthodox theism (i.e., the common core of the Abrahamic traditions) will not, however, find themselves represented in this discussion. This is surely a shortcoming.
Tolle, lege. Tolle, lege. "Take up, read." Few such simple words have had such a crucial impact o... more Tolle, lege. Tolle, lege. "Take up, read." Few such simple words have had such a crucial impact on the history of Christian theology. In the summer of 386, Augustine of Hippo was a torn man. He had come to believe the Gospel, but he could not bring himself to break with sinful habits, habits so ingrained he called them "necessities." His soul was torn between two wills within him, he said, each pointing in a di erent direction. Nothing seemed able to be able to break the interior logjam. He says that he willed that he would will the good, but not with a complete will, and so he remained paralyzed. A er hearing a friend and mentor describe the conversion of Victorinus, a famous Roman teacher of rhetoric, and another friend speak of the monastic retreat of St. Anthony, the spiritual con ict within Augustine reached a fever pitch and he retreated to a corner of the garden in the house he was staying at. Suddenly, from over the wall, he heard a child chanting the words tolle, lege: "take up, read." He could not think of any childhood rhyme or chant that involved those words-they must be a sign from God. So, he rushed over to where a copy of St. Paul's letters was lying, opened it, and read at random. His eye fell on Romans 13:13: "Let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy." As he himself puts in his Confessions: "No further wished I to read, nor was there need to do so. Instantly, in truth, at the end of this sentence, as if before a peaceful light streaming into my heart, all the dark shadows of doubt ed away" (8.12.29).
Heirs is thus recommended for the general reader as well as the scholar. It should be in all acad... more Heirs is thus recommended for the general reader as well as the scholar. It should be in all academy and college libraries and would constitute an interesting supplement to courses in denominational history.
Every parent is also a child. This truism of kinship is not as obvious as it might seem. A very y... more Every parent is also a child. This truism of kinship is not as obvious as it might seem. A very young nephew of mine once insisted I could not be his grandmother's son because I was not a son but an uncle. He had not grasped the possibility that I could be both.
Jesus of Nazareth would be an important book, regardless of who wrote it. 1 It is not just a prof... more Jesus of Nazareth would be an important book, regardless of who wrote it. 1 It is not just a profound narrative Christology. It also raises signifi cant questions about how the theologian reads the Bible and interrelates faith and historical scholarship. Unlike most of what Benedict published while heading the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, this vol ume is not about ecclesiology from a Catholic viewpoint. It addresses a question every Christian asks: Who is Jesus? Rightly enough, it will be read by many non-Catholics. In this reflection, I will not take up the many theological and historical questions that will undoubtedly engage the book's commentators, but focus instead on the book's ecumenical significance. THE PAPACY Has any other pope of recent memory written a book such as /N? John Paul Π published Crossing the Threshold of Hope, but that book consisted of per sonal meditations on various subjects in response to questions from an inter-Pro/. Michael Root, Professor of Systematic Theology and Dean, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary,
In this essay, a Lutheran understanding of the development of doctrine is developed, in contrast ... more In this essay, a Lutheran understanding of the development of doctrine is developed, in contrast with what George Lindbeck calls 'historical situationalism', the limitations of which are analysed. While the final authority of doctrine is a function of its evangelical content, a particular historical development of church teaching can possess a subordinate, distinct, formal authority as an authoritative sign of the material authority of its content. Such developments of doctrine can be irreversible. This understanding is placed in relation to the most prominent doctrine on the development of doctrine, the Catholic teaching on papal infallibility. The comprehensive narrative of the Western church's struggle over authority since the late Middle Ages should be seen as including both Catholic and non-Catholic developments and as still unresolved. A n essential concept for ecumenical dialogue is the concept of the development of doctrine. Those involved in ecumenical dialogue speak out of and speak about doctrines in specific historical forms. The hope in ecumenical dialogue is that disputes over doctrines in specific historical forms can be resolved by seeing how the disputes can be sublimated in some other developed form of the doctrine in question, or by seeing how the differing forms are all authentic historical developments of some shared commitment, or by seeing how the dispute need not be church-dividing when we see how both forms can co-exist within the communion of the church. Such ecumenical strategies (and there are certainly others) may not require an explicit and sophisticated theory of the development of doctrine, but they do require some means of handling the historical development of doctrine against some larger horizon against which specific developments can be evaluated, contextualized, or relativized. A full-blown method for addressing historical developments may not be necessary, but a collection of conceptual tools needs to be developed and deployed.
In Theology and Dialogue: Essays in Conversation with George Lindbeck, edited by Bruce D. Marshal... more In Theology and Dialogue: Essays in Conversation with George Lindbeck, edited by Bruce D. Marshall, 165-190. Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame Press, 1990.
On 12 May 1999, the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission released its most recent agr... more On 12 May 1999, the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission released its most recent agreed statement, The Gift of Authority: Authority in the Church III (hereafter GA)} This statement takes up one of the most difficult ecumenical topics-the authority within the church of official teaching-and addresses some of its most difficult aspects, from the role of the laity in teaching to the special teaching role of the bishop of Rome. The commission makes large claims for its work: "We believe that if this statement about the nature of authority and the manner of its exercise is accepted and acted upon, this issue will no longer be a cause of continued breach of communion between our two churches" (GA §51). How does the commission reach this conclusion? What does it have to say about authority in the church? How does what it says relate to discussions in the wider ecumenical world, especially within the Faith and Order movement? In addressing these questions, I shall limit myself to the text of GA and not comment on what I observed within the work of the commission as the Faith and Order observer from the World Council of Churches. While seeing the text develop certainly aids in understanding it, what is said here does not depend on "inside information". (I must add that the commission was unfailingly gracious in its welcome to me.) Moreover, I will relate this report to the wider ecumenical concerns of Faith and Order, although my own Lutheran perspective will undoubtedly shape what I have to say. A bilateral dialogue, especially between churches as closely related as the Anglican and Catholic churches, naturally can agree in greater detail than is possible in the multilateral discussions typical of Faith and Order. We who are neither Catholic nor Anglican need both to ask ourselves what aspects of this text can be taken up into the wider discussion and to let ourselves be challenged by the specificity of what Anglicans and Catholics can say together.
One cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, or so I was told as a child. Embodied in this sa... more One cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, or so I was told as a child. Embodied in this saying is an important point for theologians that perhaps is forgotten in this day of hermeneutical relativism. A text may be interpreted many ways, but most texts do have a specificity that excludes some interpretations. Many interpretations of an ambiguous text, such as Moby Dick, might fall within the limits of the credible, but Moby Dick is not about numerical patterns in the 1983 Columbia, South Carolina, phonebook. The text limits the bounds of acceptable interpretation. How might the Bible limit theological positions that claim to be, among other things, interpretations of the Christian message normatively embodied in the Biblical text? This essay is not a comprehensive answer to that question, but an argument about one particular way the specific-ity of the Bible, in particular, the New Testament, limits what can be said by any theology that makes the interpretive claim alluded to. Such an argument has three steps. First, certain aspects of the New Testament text must be delineated. In sections I and II, I will analyze certain patterns in the way Jesus is depicted as redeemer in the New Testament. Second, the significance of these patterns must be shown. In section III, I will describe how these patterns embody a particular understanding of Jesus as redeemer. Finally, one must explore the limitations placed by these patterns on theological positions that claim to be interpretations of the Christian message as normed by the New Testament. These limitations turn out to be highly significant, for they should influence the comprehensive shape any theological position can take. I What patterns can be found in the way the New Testament speaks of the redemptive significance of Jesus? New Testament texts use a variety of literary means to depict Jesus as the one who decisively overcomes evil. I am here interested in two such means, image and narrative. As I am
This is a comprehensive history of ecumenical dialogue in the US since 1900. A much shorter versi... more This is a comprehensive history of ecumenical dialogue in the US since 1900. A much shorter version will appear in Alberto Melloni and Luca Ferracci, ed., A History of the Desire for Christian Unity: Ecumenism in the Churches (XIX-XXI Century), Vol. 3 (Leiden: Brill,), which should appear in 2023. I hope to expand this into a short book some day. If you know of dialogues at the national level I have missed. I would greatly appreciate knowing about them. You can contact me at my email address given on the Catholic University of America website.
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