Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community

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and Christ is common to all three traditions, no matter how different thepreparatory road to conversion is in all three. The Protestant Evangelicalemphasis on personal conversion is well attested, from Calvin’s ‘subitaconversione’ and John Wesley’s heart being ‘strangely warmed’ in the meetingplace in Aldersgate Street to Billy Graham’s call to ‘get out of your seat’ todeclare faith in Christ at his mass rallies.But, equally, the Orthodox tradition, as expressed by Bishop Alfeyev, stronglystresses personal turning to Christ in order to be an authentic Christian. RogerCrosthwaite, writing in the magazine Anglo-Orthodoxy in 1984 on OrthodoxEvangelism, gives three features of Evangelism: the ‘Sacramental’, 9 the‘Ecclesial’ and the ‘Personal’. It is sacramental evangelism in that through thesacrament a person enters ‘into the Body of Christ and the fullness of the HolySpirit.’ It is ecclesial in that on conversion a person enters into the fellowship ofthe whole Church. On personal conversion he writes, ‘We believe in personalconversion to a personal Christ,’ and quoting Derwas J Chitty he adds that tobe converted ‘is not just to gaze on him (Christ) as from outside, but to haveour life taken into his Sonship, by the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry,“Abba, Father”.’Crosthwaite goes on to say that to speak today of a ‘personal’ entering intoChrist and of ‘personal’ faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour is not popular. But, hebelieves, Orthodox evangelism must preach for personal decision, for apersonal living experience of a living God which has a firm basis in biblical andpatristic theology. He issues a challenge to his readers. As Billy Graham’sMission England was about to be launched, he wrote, ‘…how many Anglo-Orthodox persons are involved with Mission England? Billy Graham may not bean Anglican – but he is an evangelist.’ 10Orthodox evangelism is also ecclesial; converts must become part of the bodyof Christ, the Church, by baptism as well as by personal decision to trust Christ.But this is only what Protestant evangelists have also insisted.9Sacrament: In the Catholic and Orthodox use of this word, a sacrament is a religious act(ceremony) that conveys grace to the recipient by the very action of the ceremony (ex opereoperato). In Protestantism, while the word is often used of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, itis by some regarded more as an ordinance (an act commanded by the Lord Jesus) than an actwhich conveys spiritual blessing in itself.10Crosthwaite, Roger, Orthodox Evangelism in Anglo-Orthodoxy, Vol 3, No 1, Easter 1984.Page 11
When John Wesley said that Christianity knew nothing of a solitary religion, hewas underlining a fundamental fact about the Christian faith. Just a cursoryreading of the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus and the NewTestament writers thought of true religion as primarily a corporate matter.Jesus’ pattern prayer, the ‘Lord’s Prayer’, is not meant to be said in anindividualistic way. Jesus spoke of fulfilling one’s mission in life within the bodyof the Kingdom: ‘Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness’(Matthew 6.33 NRSV). Many of Jesus’ parables are kingdom parables, likeningthe kingdom of God to a harvest, the leaven in bread, a wedding feast and soon.James sees pure and undefiled religion as having a corporate expression(James 1.27). Paul’s concept of the Church is of its being the Bride of Christ(Ephesians 5.25-27), a Building (1 Corinthians 3.10ff), or a Body (1 Corinthians12.13). Peter speaks of believers as being ‘living stones’ built together aspriests into a ‘spiritual house’ for the worship of God (1 Peter 2.5). The ApostleJohn uses the word koinōnia, a sharing in common, when he describes theessence of the Christian life: ‘Truly our fellowship (koinōnia) is with the Fatherand with his Son Jesus Christ’ (1 John 1.3 NRSV). John in his vision of heavensees the Church as a city, the ‘new Jerusalem, coming down out of heavenfrom God, prepared as a Bride adorned for her husband’ (Revelation 21.2NRSV).But the New Testament concept of the Church is that of a unity having within itdiversity. Paul speaks of the Church as having many members gifted in manyways. There is not here in his thinking a monolithic concept of the Church;individuality in the Body is not despised or ignored, but celebrated. The greatchallenge to the Church has always been how to manifest this unity withoutstifling individuality and how to encourage this diversity without causing it tofragment the Church.The great model and inspiration for the Church in this quest for diversity withinunity is the Triune Godhead, in which the diversity of the three personscelebrates and enhances the unity of the One Godhead. Mankind finds itimpossible to have complete unity within itself: the story of the Fall of Manshows how rebellion against God leads to division within the human race.History is a continuous record of empires, nations, cities, dynasties and familiesfighting amongst themselves and consequently losing any unity they mighthave had.Page 12
Page 11 and 12: Can Christian Unity be expressed ac
Page 13 and 14: ‘In the Trinity the three are one
Page 15: Protestants, equally, have to be ab
Page 19 and 20: (Geneva) Agreed Statement was issue
Page 21 and 22: While organised Christian endeavour
Page 23 and 24: Christian Unity consist?’ We shal
Page 25 and 26: CHAPTER 1CHRISTIAN UNITY IN THE EAR
Page 27 and 28: Almost all the heresies in the Earl
Page 29 and 30: interpreted as being against the la
Page 31 and 32: was raised by the Novatian schism.
Page 33 and 34: ArianismArianism was the most impor
Page 35 and 36: the Person of Christ. This was the
Page 37 and 38: Nicaea (325 AD), which asserted, ag
Page 39 and 40: He wrote:‘The ancient doctrines o
Page 41 and 42: agreement into the terms and ethics
Page 43 and 44: authority of the local bishop; Cypr
Page 45 and 46: Protestants. He was born in Tagaste
Page 47 and 48: guide the affairs of men: the Papac
Page 49 and 50: The distinction between laity and c
Page 51 and 52: ule. Christians were allowed to be
Page 53 and 54: fallen corruption and mortality but
Page 55 and 56: During the 1917 Communist Revolutio
Page 57 and 58: his repentance and restoration. The
Page 59 and 60: just before death, they might recei
Page 61 and 62: In both the East and the West heres
Page 63 and 64: The Waldensians were so named after
Page 65 and 66: CHAPTER 4THE SECOND GREAT SPLIT: WE
Page 67 and 68:
Far more serious criticisms of the
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and the sacraments. He was tried by
Page 71 and 72:
and his discovering that the Script
Page 73 and 74:
denominational allegiances: confess
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aptism and substituting for it bapt
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Vincent de Lérins’ threefold bas
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Charles de Guise, Cardinal of Lorra
Page 81 and 82:
CHAPTER 5QUOTATIONS ON THE THEME OF
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Dr Charles Malik - 20 th Century:
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Nicholas Zernov - 20 th Century:‘
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The restoration of the universal Ch
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Timothy Ware - 20 th Century:‘It
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Basilea Schlink - 20 th Century:‘
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Cardinal Basil Hume - 20 th Century
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Keith A Fournier - 20 th Century:
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concept of a contract between a rul
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harmoniously ordered society of pea
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interesting to note that the disput
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• In the Eucharist, Komensky main
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The Conference opened with much pom
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a growing unity among Christians at
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We cannot leave the 17 th Century w
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CHAPTER 7CHRISTIAN UNITY AND THE EV
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In Dr Woodward’s account of the r
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for Whitefield’s work in America,
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the West, the North and the South.
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‘John Wesley, displeased at not b
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formally, though it may have helped
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In view of all this, Charles Wesley
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Some of the refugees were persuaded
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Isaac Watts (1647-1748), the pionee
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CHAPTER 8VISIONS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY
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hymns and Eastern orthodox spiritua
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eplied with a series of Eirenicons
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positively wrote on grace and love
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hand that pours out sorrow’ and t
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He died in England in 1853 an ‘ec
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assembly, without much hesitation r
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‘Loving all whom Christ loves bec
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says, the Broad Church was ‘a moo
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far greater part for the laity in t
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ehind some of the criticism of the
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came together with the clear purpos
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In subsequent missionary conference
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university formed by a federation o
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credo-baptists to accept the provis
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Horton Davies 137 points out in his
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However, since New Delhi, the WCC s
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(b) The Church of Christ in China (
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the Scriptures as the supreme autho
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In 1970 a similar scheme to that of
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indulgences, were all confirmed str
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however, at a lower level, manifest
Page 173 and 174:
In her study of the Evolution of th
Page 175 and 176:
Even within the Reformed Protestant
Page 177 and 178:
the publisher’s foreword to Gee
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and so I have some golden opportuni
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CHAPTER 10 THESE BRIDGES CAN’T BE
Page 183 and 184:
‘Only he - only Christ - was able
Page 185 and 186:
c) Justification by Faith and Works
Page 187 and 188:
However, in the Credo of the People
Page 189 and 190:
f) Purgatory‘Purgatory’ is a na
Page 191 and 192:
The Catechism of the Catholic Churc
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who love and trust the Lord Jesus C
Page 195 and 196:
However, there is a growing awarene
Page 197 and 198:
encouraged to receive a blessing al
Page 199 and 200:
c) Traduction Œcumenique de la Bib
Page 201 and 202:
witness. There is one such Sisterho
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Practically all para-church groups
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s) Missions and CampaignsMissions a
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My Protestant friends say to me tha
Page 209 and 210:
Most Christians, in all three tradi
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of God may be complete, equipped fo
Page 213 and 214:
CHAPTER 12NOW WHAT?This book began
Page 215 and 216:
c) For some Protestants ecumenism m
Page 217 and 218:
The church at Corinth was full of C
Page 219 and 220:
) It has become clear that, realist
Page 221 and 222:
Christians who believe a Catholic d
Page 223 and 224:
There are three confessions that ha
Page 225 and 226:
‘The solution to the ecumenical i
Page 227 and 228:
k) Christ has left us an example -
Page 229 and 230:
day’, the Niceno-Constantinopolit
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APPENDIX 2FOUR BIBLICAL TEXTS ON TH
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of the common good, and when one’
Page 235 and 236:
eaten, as idols did not exist anywa
Page 237 and 238:
14. That to continue in any known s
Page 239 and 240:
What all three traditions have in c
Page 241 and 242:
Calvin held that the Gospel of Jesu
Page 243 and 244:
Relations between Protestantism, Ca
Page 245 and 246:
Brandreth, Henry, R T, The Oecumeni
Page 247 and 248:
Hopko, Thomas, All the Fullness of
Page 249 and 250:
Rupp, E G and Drewery, Benjamin, Ma
Page 251 and 252:
INDEXAAct of Uniformity, 114aggiorn
Page 253 and 254:
Frame, John M, 91, 187Francis of As
Page 255 and 256:
Richardson, Paul, 239Roman Catholic
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