Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community
Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community
Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community
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says, <strong>the</strong> Broad Church was ‘a mood ra<strong>the</strong>r than a party, and was, in factsuspicious of parties.’ 113This was particularly true of Frederick Denison Maurice (1805-1872), whosefa<strong>the</strong>r was a Unitarian minister and saw most of his family reject Unitarianismto embrace Trinitarian doctrine, including ‘F D’ himself, but <strong>the</strong> hurt of divisionnever left him. During his time at university, Maurice refused to subscribe to<strong>the</strong> Thirty-nine Articles of <strong>the</strong> Church of England, <strong>the</strong>reby forfeiting his chanceto take a degree and fellowship.In an age of sharp doctrinal disputes Maurice is remarkable for his trying toshow that <strong>Christian</strong>ity is bigger than any of its factions. In his <strong>book</strong> <strong>The</strong>Kingdom of Christ he reflects on three ‘systems’ in <strong>the</strong> religious life of Britain inhis day, <strong>the</strong> ‘Liberal’, <strong>the</strong> ‘Evangelical‘ and <strong>the</strong> ‘Catholic‘.He shows sympathy for all three viewpoints but notes <strong>the</strong>ir weaknesses. <strong>The</strong>Liberals want <strong>the</strong> unity of <strong>the</strong> Church but only by rejecting much of <strong>the</strong>Church’s heritage, liturgy, and articles of faith. <strong>The</strong> Evangelicals want a heartreligion of personal faith instead of a reliance on <strong>the</strong> rite of infant baptism tobring <strong>the</strong>m into <strong>the</strong> Kingdom of God. Catholics offer <strong>the</strong> comfort of having <strong>the</strong>one true Church but can only hope that her authority is sound.None of <strong>the</strong>se, to Maurice, are truly spiritual positions; he is against systembuilding,he will adhere to no party. God has set up <strong>the</strong> Church to be <strong>the</strong> oneunifier of all humanity.Maurice held several eminent academic positions: 1840, Professor of EnglishLiterature and History at King’s College in London; 1846, Chaplain in Lincoln’sInn; and in <strong>the</strong> same year, Professor of <strong>The</strong>ology in King’s College. With o<strong>the</strong>rshe founded <strong>the</strong> <strong>Christian</strong> Socialists in 1848 and a Working Men’s College in1854. In one of his <strong>the</strong>ological essays he doubted <strong>the</strong> endlessness of after-lifepunishment.It is hard to know whe<strong>the</strong>r or not to class Maurice as a Broad Church man, butin stressing <strong>the</strong> value of <strong>the</strong> Incarnation for man ra<strong>the</strong>r than making <strong>the</strong> Fall<strong>the</strong> starting point of his <strong>the</strong>ology as <strong>the</strong> Evangelicals tended to do, he wasregarded as a ‘Liberal’.113Worrall, B G, <strong>The</strong> making of <strong>the</strong> modern Church, SPCK, 1988, pp 96-97.Page 140