For the past month we have been discussing Catholicism in our Sunday night small group. It has been approached from the perspective of our differences. We’ve used charts to show how our beliefs differ on many issues. This past Sunday I had the opportunity to facilitate the discussion and decided to focus in on our shared beliefs and how we can work together to proclaim the gospel of Jesus. It was an interesting discussion. Initially I thought it was going to be a short discussion without much progress. I felt uncomfortable and I thought it might have been a mistake because there are people in our group with some pretty strong negative feelings about Roman Catholicism. The conversation picked up and it had it’s highs and lows but by the end it was very refreshing to see some people in the group admit that some of the same things that had been portrayed as negatives about the RC church could also be applied to our church and many evangelical protestant churches in general. Several came to the conclusion that our worship has become just as ritualistic in a less formal fashion. We also talked about denominationalism and how it is a grave threat to unity in the Body of Christ. I brought up something that I heard Dr. Sanders say during a classroom discussion. He said that God will always raise up a “holy remnant”, a group of people who are committed to living out a life of authentic discipleship. He used this in referring to Bresee leaving the Methodist church to found the Nazarene church. I think the time for division and abandonment is through. Now is the time for unity and reform. I always understood the holy remnant to be a group that breaks off to start something closer to what Christ intended. Now I think that the holy remnant is a group of people who stand up and hold out their arms and unite the church. It is not about leaving but rather it is about believing in the power of the gospel to cut through the divisions to create a unified body of believers. This can happen now and I believe it is happening now, but it can only continue as we let the spirit guide us to new understandings of love and acceptance. God be with us.
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3 comments:
Good post. Its refreshing to find an article like yours which doesn't resort to Catholic bashing.
Amazing how much all Christian churches have in common with Catholicism, isn't it. The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.
Regarding those with anti-Catholic feelings:
"There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church, which is, of course, quite a different thing." - Fulton Sheen
Also, G.K. Chesterton had some words for you as well:
"I had no more idea of becoming a Catholic than of becoming a cannibal. I imagined that I was merely pointing out that justice should be done even to cannibals . . . [but] it is impossible to be just to the Catholic Church. The moment men cease to pull against it they feel a tug towards it. The moment they cease to shout it down they begin to listen to it with pleasure. The moment they try to be fair to it they begin to be fond of it . . ."
May God bless you and all your church on your journey Home...
- Timothy
I fully agree that "...denominationalism...is a grave threat to unity in the Body of Christ." The things that divide are petty at best. The heart of Christianity is the Christ died on the cross for our sins. That is fundamental in any Christian denomination. If Christians were to unite under that one belief, regardless of theological, political, or social differences....who knows what could happen.
No wonder the world has such a poor view on Christianity when Christians, for the most part, are at odds with other Christians.
Good thoughts!
Ben Windoffer
Thank you both for your comments.
It is encouraging to see that others desire to walk the narrow road.
grace and peace
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