Understanding Ecclesiology

Ecclesiology Defined

• Ecclesiology is the theological study of the church's doctrine
• It is widely accepted that the church includes those who are saved through Jesus Christ
• The church is more than just a group of people; it's a community of believers united in Christ through the Holy Spirit

The Church as a Living Body

• Disciples are connected and share in each other's experiences as the "body of Christ"
• The church is both human and divinely inspired, participating in the Holy Trinity's life through worship
• Paul's letter to the Galatians states that God sent the Spirit, enabling believers to call God "Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6)

The Foundation of the Church

• Christ's grace, particularly His sacrifice and resurrection, unites Christ and His church
• Early practices like baptism and Communion emphasized the church's divine origin through Christ's grace
• The church consists of redeemed, Spirit-filled individuals who worship God and live according to His kingdom's values

Visible vs. Invisible Church

• The debate on the church's visibility concerns God's perspective, as He knows the true faith and intent of individuals
• While filled with the invisible Spirit, the church is meant to serve practically in the world

Church as Communion (Koinonia)

• Recent theological views (ecclesiology) emphasize the trinitarian understanding of the church, which gains broad acceptance
• The Eastern Orthodox tradition highlights the church's participation in divine life, especially through eucharistic worship
• John Zizioulas' "Being as Communion" emphasizes mutuality and love within the Trinity as central to the church's new life

Western Theological Perspectives

• Western theologians are embracing communal and participatory approaches, moving away from individualistic views
• Jürgen Moltmann's "Church in the Power of the Spirit" follows the Eastern trinitarian model
  • He emphasizes the divine persons' communal relationship as a pattern for the church
  • His ecclesiology differs from Zizioulas, who stresses the importance of bishops, while Moltmann favors pluralism

Koinonia in Practice

• The concept of koinonia, translated as communion, promotes local congregations' significance in ecumenical agreements
• The Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church shifted from strict clericalism to viewing the church as "the whole people of God" by focusing on communion with Christ
• The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) used koinonia to describe the spiritual connection among believers in local congregations, which ministers should protect and nurture

Church Leadership and Structure

• ARCIC describes church leadership as ministers representing local churches, with bishops and archbishops forming wider leadership structures; controversially, this would extend to a world leader
• The Reformed tradition aligns with the importance of ordained ministers but questions the need for regional and global leadership
• Eastern Orthodox churches view bishops as leaders of local churches and dioceses, rejecting papal jurisdiction
• Protestant churches emphasize the local congregation as the primary unit
• Despite structural differences, there is shared understanding of the church as communion with God through the Spirit

Divergent Views on Koinonia

• Miroslav Volf's "After Our Likeness, the Church as the Image of the Trinity" promotes a separatist view, emphasizing local congregations
• Volf engaged with Zizioulas and Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), who viewed koinonia as communion with Rome first, differing from the emphasis on local churches
• Anglicans and Protestant churches disagree with Rome's view that communion with the papacy is essential for being a church

Core Ecclesial Concept

• The core ecclesial concept is the church itself, rather than its ministry structures
• However, Orthodox and some Anglican views uphold the importance of episcopal structure
• Most non-episcopal churches favor regional or national leadership through groups of ministers (synods)
• The Brethren uniquely reject any formal ordained ministry

Key Aspects of the Church

• Unity of the church lies in Christ, a unity in diversity through the Holy Spirit
• The church is holy, set apart and redeemed by Christ
• It constantly seeks His will and understands its continuous need for repentance
• Catholicity of the church means its global scope, with local churches reflecting Christian life and worship while adapting to local cultures

Apostolicity and Authority

• Apostolicity focuses on loyalty to the apostles' teachings, found in the New Testament, which does not align with ideas like purgatory and indulgences
• The interpretation of texts arises as a question, with Roman Catholicism claiming a "magisterium" for accurate interpretations via apostolic succession from Peter; this is disputed by other traditions

Scripture and Interpretation

• The canon of Scripture emphasizes that the church recognized, but did not create, the texts’ authority
• The church operates under the authority of Scripture, interpreted through the Spirit
• Difficult texts are addressed through Christian attentiveness, but core messages like redemption and new life through Christ remain clear

Church Praxis: Models and Functions

• Avery Dulles' "Models of the Church" highlights the church as a servant, reflecting Jesus' ministry and redemptive love
• Love for others is an essential expression of the church's koinonia with Christ, evident in acts of service and compassion
• Figures like Wilberforce, Fry, and Shaftesbury exemplify this through their work against slavery, prison reform, and factory improvements

Liberation Theology

• Liberation theologians like Gustavo Gutiérrez and Leonard Boff advocate for the church to engage with societal structures to address poverty and powerlessness in Latin America
• This approach critiques an exclusive focus on "otherworldliness" and emphasizes the pursuit of justice through political action, reinterpreting eschatology to include institutions that oppress

Models of the Church

• Liberation theology is a model of the church that uses Marxist concepts while seeking to maintain Christian values
  • It emphasizes contextual and local aspects, often conflicting with centralized control systems like the Vatican
  • Praxis, or practical action following biblical reflection, is of utmost importance
• A potential criticism is a neglect of personal salvation
• Evangelical and Pentecostal movements offer alternative approaches, with the latter emphasizing collective worship and emotional expression

Church and State Interactions

• The church's relationship with the state is complex, ranging from persecution to integration
• The Barmen Declaration (1934) protested against the church’s coordination into state structures, as exemplified by Nazi policy
• Karl Barth rejected the state dictating the church's message, advocating for resistance to cultural Christianity and totalitarian regimes

Principles and Challenges

• Modern contexts require adherence to the principles of the Barmen Declaration
• The church is God's, not an organization guided by the state
• Radical Orthodoxy emphasizes the distinction between the church and state, viewing the church community as the presence of God
• Hauerwas stresses the unique lifestyle of the church, which should transform the world rather than conforming to it

The Church's Role

• It is essential for the church to be a place where reconciliation occurs, revealing itself as a pathway to being reconciled and reconciling others

Church as Mission

• Shaping the church’s message is harmful in a world that preaches the equivalence of all religions
• The church cannot dilute its gospel message to appease society because the cross is inherently provocative
• The church is called to manifest koinonia with God and proclaim its message in the world, even amidst pressure to conform
• The church is the body of Christ, redeemed to be in peace with the Father through the Spirit

Defining Faith

• In English, ‘faith’ signifies belief, trust, or reliance, while ‘faithfulness’ denotes consistent, dependable action
• Both meanings appear in the Hebrew word group ‘aman’
  • Abraham’s faith in God led to his faithfulness to God
  • Jewish writings later emphasized faithfulness
  • Meanings of trust and faithfulness exist within personal relationship contexts

Double Meaning in the New Testament

• James uses the double meaning, dismissing faith lacking faithful action
• Paul focuses on faith as trust in Jesus Christ’s word and character, using Habakkuk 2:4
  • He establishes that Abraham’s faith in God justifies the ungodly

Pauline Phrase

• Recent scholarship suggests "pistis Iesou Christou" should be understood as Christ’s faith and faithfulness to God
• Johannine writings define faith as trust in Christ
  • It is considered a personal acquaintance rather than abstract knowledge

Historical Views on Faith

• Early Church Fathers saw faith as belief, using other terms for faithful character
• As abstract ideas grew, faith was understood as belief in doctrine rather than trust in a person
  • Emphasis was placed on accepting true statements and creeds

Faith in Medieval Scholasticism

• Medieval scholastics distinguished between assensus (accepting doctrines) and fiducia (personal trust)
• More emphasis was placed on doctrine (fides quae creditur) than personal belief (fides qua creditur)

The Reformation: Revival of Faith

• The Reformation viewed faith as belief (fides qua creditur) and personal trust (fiducia), not just acceptance of doctrine (assensus)
• Luther saw faith as uniting believers with Christ
  • Salvation is achieved through faith in Christ, not by faithfulness or good works
  • By grace alone (sola gratia), as Augustine taught, salvation is obtained through faith alone (sola fide)
  • "Justification by faith" was essential doctrine for Reformers
  • According to Luther, it was the article of doctrine of which the Church subsists or falls

Understanding Faith

• Catholic theologians at the Council of Trent worried that Protestant doctrine would promote antinomianism while disregarding moral codes
• The reformers believed faith combines both faith in and faithfulness towards one another
• German Pietism and British/American revivals stressed a personal faith (fiducia) in Christ, countering Protestant orthodoxy

Role of Faith

• Along with the pietists, Wesley emphasized faith as expressing itself through love (Gal. 5:6)
• Faith can lead to both justification and sanctification

Faith in the Age of Enlightenment

• The Enlightenment philosophers polarized faith and knowledge, dismissing Christian faith rooted in Scripture
• Kierkegaard emphasized personal commitment to faith’s paradoxes, notably the incarnation
• 20th century existentialists influenced theologians like Bultmann and Tillich to see faith as an authentic decision

Christian Faith

• Pannenberg and evangelicals saw Christian faith as a rational belief in the Gospel
• Rahner proposed “implicit faith” for those not explicitly believing, aligning with Anonymous Christianity

Foundational Understanding

• Christian faith begins with Christ
• God's faithfulness to His promises is shown through Christ
• Salvation through faith in Christ transforms individuals into His faithful people

Religion: A Multifaceted Understanding

• A comprehensive understanding of religion requires considering various aspects
  • This includes definitions stemming from different approaches, varying types of religions, and modern expressions

Shifting Perspectives in Religious Studies

• Academic study of religion began with studying Christianity scientifically in the West
• Interest in other religions grew for various reasons
  • Christian missions collected data on diverse religious movements
  • The Enlightenment emphasized rationality and human, rather than divine, explanations

Approaches to Defining Religion

• Scientific study of religion led to diverse approaches and definitions
• The cognitive approach: Focuses on beliefs driving religious practices
  • James Frazer studied 'primitive religion' and animism, viewing religion as evolving from polytheism to monotheism
  • According to Frazer, religion is conciliating powers superior to humans that direct life and nature

Functional Approach

• The functional approach dismisses beliefs, instead examining religion's function for individuals and societies
• Émile Durkheim, the father of modern sociology, focused on the sacred and profane in totemism
• Durkheim defined religion as beliefs uniting a moral community (a Church)

Psychological and individual approach

• Weber, another academic, explored economic factors in religion

• William James, rather than examining it in a broader sense, shifted the focus to study religion in order to better understand individual men in a psychological sense:

  • He looks at mystical and religious experiences
  • James sees religion as feelings and experiences in relation to the divine

Approaching Religion

• Mircea Eliade investigated religion psychologically and phenomenologically:
  • This explores religious "symbols" and the "mythical" while contrasting everyday life with the sacred

Religion: A More Recent Approach

• A more recent approach, by anthropologist Clifford Geertz, involves an ethnographic study to analyse specific religions
  • "Thick description" examines religion as culture with shared meanings for symbols

Religion Through the Ages

• The "lived religion" is yet another method of study that looks moves past normal religious functions and explores daily routines
• It is also useful to categorise by type
  • For example, world religions evolved during the axial age
    • Hindu, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
      • They share common traits
      • They are old, big, and cross-cultural
  • Indigenous religions are local to certain groups

New Religious Movements

• New religious groups include:
  • Latter-Day Saints, Watchtower, Nation of Islam, Soka Gakkai, Transcendental Meditation, Paganism, Gnosticism, the New Age, Scientology, and Satanism
    • There are novel expressions that stray from the parent religion

Other Religious Types

• Hyperreal or fiction-based religions overlap with modern movements
• Simulacrum of religion- "created out of, or in symbiosis with popular culture"
• Matrixism, Jediism, and the Otherkin are further examples

Cultural Fluidity

• Affiliation with certain religions shifts in late modern, and postmodern contexts
• Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman refers to "modern fluidity" in liquid modernity
• People may practice religious switching, or have multiple religious identities simultaneously

Understanding Spirituality

• People understand spirituality differently, and some include most people's experience
• Within the Christian context, it emphasizes personal involvement while responding to God, also stressing community and reform
• Spirituality is concerned with Christianity, theology, and communion with God

Differing Spiritualities

• Spirituality includes critical review of experience and practice
• Apophatic: Rejects any kind of human image or idea for anything involving God
• Cataphatic: Associates God with symbols and imagery

Western vs Eastern Churches

• Western and Eastern churches have had different approaches
• As one unit, Early churches sought prayer, study and service (patristic theology)
• Hildegard of Bingen, Francis of Assisi, Eckhart and Julian of Norwich were all influential in integrating the mystical
  • Luther, Loyola, Teresa of Avila also contributed to understanding it

Reformation and Beyond

• During the Protestant Reformation, there was a tendency in the West, on the part of both Roman Catholic and Protestant leaders, to give precedence to the theological task and to see spirituality as subsidiary, having to do only with the practice of devotion
• With only a few exceptions, notable 17th-century English Puritans attempted to merge Godly living into a rigid doctrine
• In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, spirituality and corporate expression remained central

Pietism and Renewal

• Renewal movements rose in the 18th century during the rise of Protestantism -Philipp Spener wrote about desires and birthed Pietism and embodied Prodestant Spirituality, reaffirming Christian birth and reviving the priesthood
• Church instruction also improved for believers by holding class meetings within Pietism

Spiritual Theology

• Spiritual theology in Catholicism existed as a subset of theology and spiritual advice
• Bringing ascetic and mystical theology together became a goal for the Society of Jesus
• Ignatian Spirituality focused on real-world application of the Gospel study and self analysis

John Wesley's Protestant Experience

• On May 24th, 1738, John Wesley was transformed during a group session where the Preface to the Romans was read, and he realized Christ sacrificed all sins
• The episode described how John Wesley relied on Christ's grace for salvation

Evangelical Conversion

• The experience was later seen as one of evangelical beliefs
• Methodist and Catholic high praise gave Wesley inspiration from Kempis, Law, and Scougal
• Other things such as Perfection, Devout and Holy lives, Mystics and The soul of Man shaped Wesley's view over the years

Evangelical Spirituality

• Eighteenth-century theologian Jonathan Edwards helped make evangelical spirituality what it is today.
  • From fear to joy, Edwards placed religion in everything
  • Not all feelings were considered "fine" though and he believed there should be light in understanding as well as heart -He saw a head as storing notions like knowledge, and meditation was a practice of central importance

Modern Interpretation

• Newton, Simeon, Cooper, McCheyne and Spurgeon carried the flame
• In America, Finney influenced evangelists to be holy
• The Pentecostal and Charismatic movements emphasize the power of the Holy Spirit with gifts
• Now the community and Catholicism have seen exponential growth since, while also embracing experience

Early Foundations

• In the 70s and 80s the concept of "spiritual theology" transformed itself into something greater
  • Seminaries began offering courses that gave shape to the ingredients of what has become today