| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"John the Baptist Jr." |
| Date: |
21 Jan 2006 09:43:29 AM |
| Object: |
Christian ecumenism |
Why fundementalists reject this movement and its pluralistic beliefs.
--
Christian ecumenism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Christian movements
Christian ecumenism is the promotion of unity or cooperation between
distinct religious groups or denominations of the Christian religion,
more or less broadly defined. For the purposes of this article,
ecumenism in this sense is distinguished from interfaith pluralism, for
reasons discussed immediately below.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Distinguished from interfaith pluralism
* 2 The goal of Christian unity
* 3 Three approaches
o 3.1 Eastern Orthodoxy
o 3.2 Roman Catholicism
o 3.3 Protestantism
* 4 Contemporary developments
o 4.1 United and uniting churches
o 4.2 Ecumenical organisations
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
[edit]
Distinguished from interfaith pluralism
Because the meanings of "Christianity" are diverse, the description of
what is meant by "Christian ecumenism" can take any of several
directions.
On the one hand, ecumenism is "interfaith dialogue" between
representatives of diverse faiths, not necessarily with the intention of
reconciling the professors of other faiths into full, organic unity with
one another but simply to promote better relations. With some Christian
perspectives on ecumenism, there is no other principle of ecumenism than
this. They aim only toward the promotion of toleration, mutual respect
and cooperation, whether between Christian churches and denominations,
or between Christianity and other faiths. Thus, the World Council of
Churches is an instrument in both the Ecumenical Movement and the
Interfaith Movement. However, this is not the case for all Christian
ecumenical initiatives. It would be difficult if not impossible to
discuss them together, since much of the Christian world makes a
definite difference between the two ideas. Therefore, readers are
referred to the thorough discussion of ecumenism in the sense of the
promotion of mutual appreciation and improvement between diverse
religions, under the entry on religious pluralism.
On the other hand, ecumenism means the aim to reconcile all who profess
Christian faith, into a single, visible organization, for example,
through union with the Roman Catholic Church, or the Orthodox Church.
Ecumenism in this sense focuses on the special problem of the
relationship between Christian denominations, where Christianity is
dogmatically defined.
[edit]
The goal of Christian unity
For a significantly representative part of the Christian world, the
highest aim of the Christian faith is the reconciliation of all divided
humanity into a full and conscious union with one Christian Church,
visibly united in the sense of governmental accountability between all
of its parts and the whole. At a minimum, the desire is expressed in
many places by official Christendom, that all who profess faith in
Christ in sincerity, would be more fully cooperative and mutually
correcting of one another.
[edit]
Three approaches
Christian ecumenism can be described in terms of the three largest
divisions of Christianity: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and
Protestant. While this underemphasizes the complexity of these
divisions, it is a useful model.
[edit]
Eastern Orthodoxy
Ecumenism for the Eastern Orthodox did not begin with the Roman Catholic
Second Vatican Council. It is the Eastern Orthodox churches' work to
embrace estranged communions as (possibly former) beneficiaries of a
common gift, and simultaneously to guard against a promiscuous and false
union with them. The history of the relationship between Eastern
Orthodoxy and the Oriental Orthodox churches is a case in point.
Likewise, the Eastern Orthodox have been leaders in the Interfaith
movement, and some Orthodox patriarchs enlisted their communions as
charter members of the World Council of Churches. Nevertheless, the
Orthodox have not been willing to participate in any redefinition of the
Christian faith toward a reduced, minimal, anti-dogmatic and
anti-traditional Christianity. Christianity for the Eastern Orthodox is
the Church; and the Church is Orthodoxy -- nothing less and nothing
else. Therefore, while Orthodox ecumenism is "open to dialogue with the
devil himself", the goal is to reconcile all non-Orthodox back into
Orthodoxy.
One way to observe the attitude of the Orthodox Church towards
non-Orthodox is to see how they receive new members from other faiths.
Non-Christians, such as Buddhists or atheists, who wish to become
Orthodox Christians are accepted through the sacraments of baptism and
chrismation. Protestants and Roman Catholics are sometimes received
through chrismation only, provided they had received a trinitarian
baptism. Also Protestants and Roman Catholics are often referred to as
"heterodox", which simply means "other believing", rather than as
heretics ("other-choosing"), implying that they did not wilfully reject
the Church.
[edit]
Roman Catholicism
Until the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, the relationship between
Rome and other Christian traditions was basically in deadlock. The
traditional view of Roman Catholicism is that "there is no salvation
outside the (Catholic) Church". To be sure, such intransigence works
both ways, and as a result, ecumenism prior to this important council
was only different by degrees from evangelization. However, Vatican II
initiated a new era in the serious pursuit of unity between Rome and
other dogmatic traditions. This new initiative of ecumenism embraces
religious inclusivism as compatible with the ultimate aim of Catholic
ecumenism, and simultaneously distances itself from pluralism as the
ideal state of Christian unity. Two major documents outline the Roman
Catholic perspective on ecumenism:
* Unitatis Redintegratio (Restoration of Unity: Vatican II's Decree
on Ecumenism ‹ November 21, 1964, Pope Paul VI)
* Ut Unum Sint (That they may be one: Papal encyclical on Commitment
to Ecumenism ‹ May 25, 1995) Pope John Paul II
The ultimate objective toward which these documents direct the Catholic
ecumenical task, is nothing other than a complete, conscious communion
of all Christians, indeed, of all mankind, in a single faith and one
Christian Church, beginning with a conversion of the Catholic people.
Ecumenism is essentially Catholic renewal.
"6. Every renewal of the Church is essentially grounded in an
increase of fidelity to her own calling. Undoubtedly this is the basis
of the movement toward unity..." (UR)
"The unity of all divided humanity is the will of God. For this
reason he sent his Son, so that by dying and rising for us he might
bestow on us the Spirit of love. On the eve of his sacrifice on the
Cross, Jesus himself prayed to the Father for his disciples and for all
those who believe in him, that they might be one, a living communion.
This is the basis not only of the duty, but also of the responsibility
before God and his plan, which falls to those who through Baptism become
members of the Body of Christ, a Body in which the fullness of
reconciliation and communion must be made present." (UUS)
At the same time, the pursuit of renewal is not compatible with a
complacent settling into the very patterns of sin that must be removed
before renewal can take place.
"In a corresponding way, there is an increased sense of the need for
repentance: an awareness of certain exclusions which seriously harm
fraternal charity, of certain refusals to forgive, of a certain pride,
of an unevangelical insistence on condemning the "other side", of a
disdain born of an unhealthy presumption." (UUS)
7. There can be no ecumenism worthy of the name without a change of
heart. For it is from renewal of the inner life of our minds, from
self-denial and an unstinted love that desires of unity take their rise
and develop in a mature way ... The words of St. John hold good about
sins against unity: "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us". So we humbly beg pardon of God and of our
separated brethren, just as we forgive them that trespass against us."
(UR)
Therefore, ecumenism expresses a central concern of the whole Christian
life.
"How is it possible to remain divided, if we have been "buried"
through Baptism in the Lord's death, in the very act by which God,
through the death of his Son, has broken down the walls of division?
Division "openly contradicts the will of Christ, provides a stumbling
block to the world, and inflicts damage on the most holy cause of
proclaiming the Good News to every creature". (UUS quoting UR)
In the pursuit of this ultimate objective, it is necessary to reverse
past patterns of hostility, and place the Church in the service of those
who are alienated from it. This service cannot paradoxically aim at the
destruction of enemies through a deceitful conquest by flattery, but
must sincerely desire their benefit in terms that can be immediately
understood as such without first requiring the reconciliation of the
enemy. Thus, there is compatibility at least in principle, between
religious inclusivism, and the ultimate aim of full agreement in the
faith, as long as the principle of inclusivism to which the Church
adheres is not a contradiction of fidelity to her own calling, but in
fact, an expression of it. Therefore, Catholic ecumenism depicts itself
as the attempt of the Catholic church to repair a conflict within itself.
Main articles: Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and
Category:Catholic ecumenical and interfaith relations, and [[]], and
[[]], and [[]]
[edit]
Protestantism
Some Protestants, particularly those in the United States of America,
hold this Christian flag as a symbol of Christian unity.
Enlarge
Some Protestants, particularly those in the United States of America,
hold this Christian flag as a symbol of Christian unity.
The contemporary ecumenical movement for Protestants likely began in
1910, with the opening of the 1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference. Led
by Methodist layman John R. Mott, the conference marked the largest
Protestant gathering to that time, with the express purposes of working
across denominational lines for the sake of world missions. Eventually,
formal organizations were formed, including the World Council of
Churches, the National Council of Churches, and Churches Uniting in
Christ. Protestants have often been leaders of these and other similar
groups.
Since that time, Protestants have been involved in a variety of
ecumenical groups, working in some cases toward organic denominational
unity and in other cases for cooperative purposes alone. Because of the
wide spectrum of Protestant denominations and perspectives, full
cooperation has been difficult at times.
[edit]
Contemporary developments
Catholic and Orthodox bishops in North America are engaged in an ongoing
dialogue. They are meeting together periodically as the "North American
Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation". It has been meeting
semiannually since it was founded in 1965 under the auspices of the
Bishopsą Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Standing Conference
of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA). The Canadian
Conference of Catholic Bishops officially joined the Consultation as a
sponsor in 1997. The Consultation works in tandem with the Joint
Committee of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops which has been meeting
annually since 1981. Since 1999 the Consultation has been discussing the
filioque clause, with the hope of eventually reaching an agreed joint
statement.
The original anathemas (excommunications) that mark the "official" Great
Schism of 1054 between Catholics and Orthodox were mutually revoked in
1965 by the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople. But just as the
original schism developed over time rather than erupting overnight,
reconciliation is proceeding slowly.
Organizations such as the World Council of Churches, the National
Council of Churches and Churches Uniting in Christ, and Christian
Churches Together continue to encourage ecumenical cooperation among
Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, and, at times, Roman Catholics.
[edit]
United and uniting churches
Influenced by the ecumenical movement, the "scandal of separation" and
local developments a number of United and Uniting churches have formed,
there are also a range of mutual recognition strategies being practised
where union is not feasible.
--
John 1:6-9 There came a man who was sent from God;
his name was John. He came as a witness to testify
concerning that light, so that through him all men
might believe. He himself was not the light; he came
only as a witness to the light.
CERM-Church Education Resource Ministries
http://johnw.freeshell.org/bible/
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| User: "H.E. Eickleberry, Jr." |
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| Title: Re: Christian ecumenism |
21 Jan 2006 07:34:09 PM |
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"John the Baptist Jr." <johnw_94020@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:johnw_94020-DB3B91.07432921012006@News-West.newsfeeds.com...
[snip]
Because the meanings of "Christianity" are diverse, the description of
what is meant by "Christian ecumenism" can take any of several
directions.
The meaning of "Christianity" is not diverse.
However, the meaning of "heresy" is quite diverse.
Ike
www.eickleberrybooks.com
.
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