Obviously this is a pretty moving video. No question there. And also obviously I have a place in my heart for evangelical Christians because I used to be one. And who doesn't want unity? We need it now more than ever.
It's interesting studying the reactions to this video. All manner of points of view have been expressed. Some Pentecostals have questioned why they should seek unity with statue-worshiping idolaters like the Catholic Church. I've even seen a few Catholics unintentionally confess they didn't know there's such a thing as Charismatic Catholicism. You may not like the fact that they exist. But exist they do. And they've received no rebuke from the Church so it's not my business or yours to criticize them.
There are some challenges here though. It's well and good to cheer for "unity" as an abstract concept but sooner or later we have to work to achieve unity if we're to be taken seriously. How do we define "unity"? If we mean that in the sense of one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church, things get sticky.
Putting aside the differences between your average Southern Baptist church and your average Pentecostal church, one key issue that evangelicals at large agree about is the illegitimacy of the papal office. Sure, there are other dogmas peculiar to the Catholic faith that evangelicals object to but the mere existence of the papacy is probably the most obvious.
For the Church to reunite with any evangelical denomination, one side or the other will have to do something drastic when it comes to the papacy. Probably to the entire concept of ordained clergy but, most obviously, the Pope. Either the Pentecostals will have to fully accept the Church's authority and teachings (which seems unlikely) or else the Church will have to abandon those things (which seems unlikelier).
One side or the other will have to effectively knuckle under to the other.
Now, I've studied a lot of history and, most recently, the writings of the Church Fathers. Their theology, beliefs and religious practices sound suspiciously like a fairly primitive, less nuanced and less developed version of the Catholic Church. Several key issues and doctrines may not have been fully hammered out just then but they were essentially Catholic. This is one of the main reasons I made the decision to join the Catholic Church last year.
Unity between the Church and evangelicals in the form of visible reunification means one side or the other has to put aside some of their most deeply held convictions. And I know where of I speak because it wasn't long ago I had to do that very thing myself. That's why I firmly believe that visible, institutional reunification is, humanly speaking, unlikely. Pride, if nothing else, will keep other evangelicals from even considering accepting Catholic doctrines.
And might I say that Tony Palmer is part of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches? The CEEC is part of the Convergence Movement, which seeks to unify charismatic worship with liturgical sources like the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. The purpose is to ultimately move Catholics, evangelicals and charismatics more closely together.
On the surface that seems admirable enough, right? Like I said, who doesn't want unity? But it's like the old software programmer joke. You have two programmers sitting together when one of them complains about there being 12 different "standards" for a certain programming method. "TWELVE standards?! That's just INSANE! There should only be one! Let's you and me develop a perfect, unified standard that EVERYBODY can use to replace those twelve."
And thus is born the 13th "standard".
In CEEC's case, they're not connected to the worldwide Anglican Communion but they are connected to schism groups such as the Anglican Movement in America and the Anglican Church in North America. And those two groups aren't connected to the Anglican Communion either but they are in communion with certain member provinces of the Anglican Communion?
Confused yet?
Also, did I mention that the CEEC ordains women to the diaconate and the priesthood? And so do AMiA and ACNA? So IF unity is the intended outcome, what happens to those "female clergy"? The Church has taught infallibly that ordination is for men. Will the CEEC give way on that? Or is this another thing the Church would have to compromise on?
Now, I give the Holy Father kudos in the extreme for reaching out. His video message in essence is saying that the Church is keeping the door open for them. I'm not impugning his motives. But I do question the evangelicals who scream so loudly for unity. They're all "13th standards" waiting to happen... and they have a "13th standard" leading the charge in the form of Tony Palmer.
I actually find this more confusing and slightly offensive as a Catholic an RCIA Inquirer than I did as an evangelical. Maybe it's related to my political orientation but back in the old days, I didn't see the problem with having more varieties of Christianity in the religious marketplace. What's the harm? We're all worshiping the same God, depending upon the same Christ and praying in the same Spirit. Our unity is spiritual more than it is visible or physical.
But these days it bothers me inasmuch as I have been willing to put my ego aside and admit that I was wrong about the Catholic Church my entire life. So I wonder what makes my former-fellows think special exception should be made for them? What, the ancient Church should change just to accommodate THEM? Their mentality just strikes me as very American.
Anyway. And just think, the original topic I had in mind for today was Messianic Judaism. And one Messianic Jew in particular. Guess I'll save that for another time.
More to follow.
No comments:
Post a Comment