Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community

More documents

Recommendations

Info

doctrine and worship. It is very difficult for Christians who believe theirs is theone true visible Church on earth to accept such diversity. Yet since the middleof the 20 th Century the hand of Christian fellowship has been offered by thoseholding such beliefs to those who do not. It is the great new fact of our time.Diversity allows us to be happy with each other’s ‘separateness’, when it nolonger has any hostility or threat about it. When Christians are seen visitingeach other in genuinely happy fellowship and celebrating another church’sdistinctive spiritual life as part of the richly-faceted wisdom of God (what Paulcalls a rainbow-coloured wisdom (Ephesians 3.10)), then the beginning of realChristian Unity will be being formed.j) We should recognise the larger unity in God’s purposes – to reconcile allthings in Christ.The unity of Christians should be a paradigm for the whole of humanity. Of allreligions, the Christian faith points to unity in diversity. Humanity is one (Acts17.26) as the Universe is one, as all creation is one, and one day all creationwill be summed up as One in Christ (Eph 1.10).So in the measure that Christians do not manifest unity, they are workingagainst the purpose of God for the whole universe. Unity in diversity is amiracle, and the world cannot attain it, and yet it is at the very heart of theuniverse, so incredibly diverse, but having all things interrelated. Atheisticcommunist and fascist regimes have tried to impose unity on their people andthey have failed. The Church’s inquisitions and Acts of Uniformity likewise didnot succeed in creating harmony among believers.It is no light matter to be indifferent to the unity of Christians. In the measurein which we work, here and now, towards the visible unity of all Christiansand are peacemakers in a divided and warring world, we are in tune withGod’s plan for the universe. In the measure in which we keep separated fromour fellow Christians and are indifferent to the disharmony of our world andgo our own ways, we are out of harmony with the Divine will, not only for theChurch, but for the whole of humanity.Page 221
k) Christ has left us an example – that we should love one another.In Romans 12.10 Paul writes: ‘Love each other with genuine affection, and takedelight in honouring each other.’Christians should not only accept one another but love one another deeply – asChrist commanded. This involves honouring one another by putting others infirst place and desiring their blessing and success before one’s own. There havebeen significant breakthroughs when clergy have prayed, ‘Lord bless me, butonly if you will bless my brother more.’ And even more significant blessing hasbeen seen when churches in a locality have deliberately chosen to pray, ‘Lordbless our church, but only if you will bless the other churches in this area first.’Such an attitude completely removes all sense of competition and replaces itwith a delight in all that God is doing in other fellowships and churches.l) Jesus Christ is the centre of Christian Unity.One of the perennial causes of disunity in the Church has been buildingchurches around personalities. It always needs to be guarded against. Oneguard against this tendency is to develop a strong sense of ‘spiritualecumenism’. With this sense, however singular a person’s expression of faith is(and pioneers of new churches are often singularly innovative), theforcefulness of the personality of the pioneer will be tempered by a desire notto cause divisions in the body of Christ.As the spokes of a wheel come closest together at the centre, the closer weare to Christ as our centre, the closer we will be to each other. When we meetas Christians we meet in the name which is above all other names – JesusChrist.Any other focus than Christ as our centre will hinder unity. We may have thehighest regard for our Church or tradition, but Christ must come first.Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work withinus, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesusthrough all generations forever and ever! Amen.Ephesians 3.20-21 NLTPage 222
Page 11 and 12:
Can Christian Unity be expressed ac
Page 13 and 14:
‘In the Trinity the three are one
Page 15 and 16:
Protestants, equally, have to be ab
Page 17 and 18:
When John Wesley said that Christia
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
Page 69 and 70:
and the sacraments. He was tried by
Page 71 and 72:
and his discovering that the Script
Page 73 and 74:
denominational allegiances: confess
Page 75 and 76:
aptism and substituting for it bapt
Page 77 and 78:
Vincent de Lérins’ threefold bas
Page 79 and 80:
Charles de Guise, Cardinal of Lorra
Page 81 and 82:
CHAPTER 5QUOTATIONS ON THE THEME OF
Page 83 and 84:
Dr Charles Malik - 20 th Century:
Page 85 and 86:
Nicholas Zernov - 20 th Century:‘
Page 87 and 88:
The restoration of the universal Ch
Page 89 and 90:
Timothy Ware - 20 th Century:‘It
Page 91 and 92:
Basilea Schlink - 20 th Century:‘
Page 93 and 94:
Cardinal Basil Hume - 20 th Century
Page 95 and 96:
Keith A Fournier - 20 th Century:
Page 97 and 98:
concept of a contract between a rul
Page 99 and 100:
harmoniously ordered society of pea
Page 101 and 102:
interesting to note that the disput
Page 103 and 104:
• In the Eucharist, Komensky main
Page 105 and 106:
The Conference opened with much pom
Page 107 and 108:
a growing unity among Christians at
Page 109 and 110:
We cannot leave the 17 th Century w
Page 111 and 112:
CHAPTER 7CHRISTIAN UNITY AND THE EV
Page 113 and 114:
In Dr Woodward’s account of the r
Page 115 and 116:
for Whitefield’s work in America,
Page 117 and 118:
the West, the North and the South.
Page 119 and 120:
‘John Wesley, displeased at not b
Page 121 and 122:
formally, though it may have helped
Page 123 and 124:
In view of all this, Charles Wesley
Page 125 and 126:
Some of the refugees were persuaded
Page 127 and 128:
Isaac Watts (1647-1748), the pionee
Page 129 and 130:
CHAPTER 8VISIONS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY
Page 131 and 132:
hymns and Eastern orthodox spiritua
Page 133 and 134:
eplied with a series of Eirenicons
Page 135 and 136:
positively wrote on grace and love
Page 137 and 138:
hand that pours out sorrow’ and t
Page 139 and 140:
He died in England in 1853 an ‘ec
Page 141 and 142:
assembly, without much hesitation r
Page 143 and 144:
‘Loving all whom Christ loves bec
Page 145 and 146:
says, the Broad Church was ‘a moo
Page 147 and 148:
far greater part for the laity in t
Page 149 and 150:
ehind some of the criticism of the
Page 151 and 152:
came together with the clear purpos
Page 153 and 154:
In subsequent missionary conference
Page 155 and 156:
university formed by a federation o
Page 157 and 158:
credo-baptists to accept the provis
Page 159 and 160:
Horton Davies 137 points out in his
Page 161 and 162:
However, since New Delhi, the WCC s
Page 163 and 164:
(b) The Church of Christ in China (
Page 165 and 166:
the Scriptures as the supreme autho
Page 167 and 168:
In 1970 a similar scheme to that of
Page 169 and 170:
indulgences, were all confirmed str
Page 171 and 172:
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
Page 179 and 180: and so I have some golden opportuni
Page 181 and 182: 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
Page 193 and 194: 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
Page 203 and 204: Practically all para-church groups
Page 205 and 206: s) Missions and CampaignsMissions a
Page 207 and 208: My Protestant friends say to me tha
Page 209 and 210: Most Christians, in all three tradi
Page 211 and 212: 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: ‘The solution to the ecumenical i
Page 229 and 230: day’, the Niceno-Constantinopolit
Page 231 and 232: APPENDIX 2FOUR BIBLICAL TEXTS ON TH
Page 233 and 234: 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
show all

Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?