Digging Out the Embedded Church - The Maranatha Community

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unity held in this book urges Christians to be loyal to their denominations but to constantly look beyond the borders of their denomination to enter an extra-denominational fellowship. This will seem a precarious basis of unity for those who hold that churchmanship entails submission to the authority of one Church. A most hopeful sign of the growing unity between Catholics and Protestants can be found in Vatican Dei Verbum („Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation‟). The Roman Church now urges the frequent reading of the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, and especially the Gospels, for all its people, not just for the clergy and the religious. It also commends cooperation with „separated brethren‟ in Biblical scholarship. This is a long way from the Church‟s attitude in the fairly recent past when cooperation with non-Catholics in matters of theology and Biblical studies was opposed and there was little encouragement for ordinary church members to read the Scriptures daily for themselves. So it is remarkable how both Catholics and Protestants today can freely meet together to study the Bible and encourage one another in its truths. Dei Verbum, however, is clear that the Tradition of the Church complements Scripture, and it argues strongly that through the apostolic succession, God has placed in its bishops the means of authenticating the Tradition. Most Protestants (and many Orthodox believers) would feel that some aspects of the Catholic tradition have added to the content of Scripture rather than having merely interpreted it. Where „facts‟ are put forward, as in the case of the Immaculate Conception and the Bodily Assumption of Mary, questions are raised as to where the authority for these claims to truth lies. Dei Verbum states: „The Christian economy – since it is the new and definitive covenant, will never pass away and no new revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord, Jesus Christ.‟ Many Protestants would consider these dogmas as „new public revelation‟ as far as the texts of Scripture are concerned. These could be an obstacle to Christian unity, but they need to be seen in the context of the vast areas where there are agreed interpretations of Scripture. Despite the above doctrinal differences between Catholics and Protestants, collaboration in witness and service is still possible. J I Packer, a Protestant theologian, has written: „Though Protestant and Catholic church systems stand opposed and official beliefs diverge on many aspects of the doctrine of salvation, those who love and trust the Lord Jesus Christ on both sides of the Reformation divide know that they are in a real sense united in him and are joint heirs of glory not only with him but with each other. Jesus‟ high-priestly prayer for the unity of his disciples as a visible reality in their life on earth (see John 17.20-23) therefore weighs heavily on their minds. This prayer clearly entails the thought that God‟s one international family should seek to look and sound like one family by speaking and acting as such, and that means aiming at togetherness wherever togetherness can be achieved. The alternative is to grieve the Lord. So where there is fellowship in personal faith, fellowship in service should fellow, and the cherishing of isolationism as the more comfortable and less Page 139
demanding way would be sin. The quest for togetherness in mission, up to the limit of what conscience on both sides allows, is thus both permissible and desirable.‟ 178 178 Packer, J I, Cross Currents among Evangelicals, Ch 5 in Evangelicals and Catholics Together, ed Colson, Charles and Neuhaus, R J, Hodder and Stoughton, 1996, p 171. Page 140
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Digging Out the Embedded Church Dis
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The Maranatha Community comprises t
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Introduction CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chr
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ead, nicely browned on top. He plac
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HOW DO WE DIG OUT THE EMBEDDED CHUR
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That the Church should express this
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For Alfeyev, „Faith is a gift, th
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„heresies„ of the Early Church
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Traditionally, the Church has made
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CHAPTER 1 CHRISTIAN UNITY IN THE EA
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A certain Docetic teacher, often id
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Novatianism When the persecutions o
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The fortunes of the Arian party in
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An attempt was made in 482 AD (29 y
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was development in the interpretati
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CYPRIAN AND AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO The
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position would see baptism as not t
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The Eastern Church‟s relationship
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insisted from the second Lateran Co
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There is so much that Orthodoxy sha
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we do not talk to each other. Our t
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The question of heresy does not com
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They were missionary-minded and the
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Lollard ideas lingered in English r
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CHAPTER 4 THE SECOND GREAT SPLIT: W
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unity‟s sake in subsequent centur
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Erasmus wrote he asserts, through o
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attle-cry, is perhaps the most famo
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Regulations for the good ordering o
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Eucharist was not just a commemorat
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CHAPTER 5 QUOTATIONS ON THE THEME O
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How rare then it is to meet a man w
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are often much bigger divisions bet
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St Germanus of Constantinople - 8 t
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manner. He declared that men could
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S L Greenslade - 20 th Century: „
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CHAPTER 6 HOPES FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
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imminent return of Christ (Komensky
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a concern that merchant adventurers
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also anti-Socinian. Calixtus himsel
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The Eastern Churches were not rent
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everyone - from outward forms to in
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Women were not usually members of t
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work in America, shows him, though
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The aim of the conference was to br
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From 1768 Harris‟s home at Talgar
Page 93 and 94: twice more to congregations of Whit
Page 95 and 96: denominations was not their distinc
Page 97 and 98: It was from the overseas Protestant
Page 99 and 100: THE OXFORD TRACTARIAN MOVEMENT Anot
Page 101 and 102: the Church of England‟s doctrinal
Page 103 and 104: „We pray that… all who desire t
Page 105 and 106: thereof, in prayer, in the remembra
Page 107 and 108: honours the Lord and his Word; the
Page 109 and 110: apostolic church enjoyed, and that
Page 111 and 112: episcopate were too radical for mos
Page 113 and 114: Denominations began to form their o
Page 115 and 116: In this Shanghai Conference‟s Rep
Page 117 and 118: With so much talk of unity and coop
Page 119 and 120: „The liturgical movement in weste
Page 121 and 122: • Sharing a corporate life of wit
Page 123 and 124: • Our acknowledgement of the Apos
Page 125 and 126: (h) The Evangelical Church in Germa
Page 127 and 128: It changed nothing in respect of do
Page 129 and 130: Some Evangelical Protestants want t
Page 131 and 132: • It is in continuity with the
Page 133 and 134: But things have changed. Richard Ma
Page 135 and 136: evangelism - (and) state what the r
Page 137 and 138: Repentance and faith are at the hea
Page 139 and 140: outcome of being justified. Agreeme
Page 141 and 142: Virgin‟s salutary influence on me
Page 143: h) Confession The sacrament of pena
Page 147 and 148: If the opportunity for the Church t
Page 149 and 150: Ministers, priests and laypeople in
Page 151 and 152: West Kirby, near to my home, the Si
Page 153 and 154: n) Shared Study Courses There is a
Page 155 and 156: Even some Protestant churches today
Page 157 and 158: Vincent de Lérins spoke of a „pr
Page 159 and 160: It is not likely, in the foreseeabl
Page 161 and 162: Christ and are trying their best to
Page 163 and 164: upon the name of our Lord Jesus Chr
Page 165 and 166: Perhaps this dying process is now b
Page 167 and 168: economic factors giving rise to suc
Page 169 and 170: deeper ecumenism, one that does not
Page 171 and 172: APPENDIX 1 THE NICENO-CONSTANTINOPO
Page 173 and 174: APPENDIX 2 FOUR BIBLICAL TEXTS ON T
Page 175 and 176: The „apostles and elders‟ of th
Page 177 and 178: „The purpose of the Reformation C
Page 179 and 180: What all three traditions have in c
Page 181 and 182: Cromwellian period, in a treatise o
Page 183 and 184: BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS AND DOCUMENTS
Page 185 and 186: Cullman, Oscar, The Earliest Christ
Page 187 and 188: McCarthy, Tim, The Catholic Traditi
Page 189 and 190: Letter concerning the civil princip
Page 191 and 192: Coptic Orthodox Church, 10 Council
Page 193 and 194: Parousia, 24, 68, 93 Paul VI, 10, 1
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Digging Out the Embedded Church - The Maranatha Community

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