Book Review: A Generous Orthodoxy Part 21 of ??
catholic
Yep, it's a small c (for now). With the small c, catholic means universal. McLaren argues for more than the invisible universality of the Church that most Christians accept, writing that the divisions in the visible Church, "though tragic, are superficial compared to Christianity's deep, though often unappreciated, unity."
Borrowing from the Nicene Creed, he also writes the Church is holy, which he defines as being devoted to a scared purpose; and apostolic, by which McLaren means missional and as not refering to the doctrine of apostolic succession that some groups believe.
McLaren also writes about Catholics with the big C, noting six things he appreciates about them.
1) "Catholicism is sacramental." McLaren says by learning that a few things can carry the sacred, we become open to the fact that all things can ultimately carry the sacred.
2) "Catholicism is liturgical." McLaren makes the point, valid I think, that all churches are liturgical, some just don't have it written down. He says that having gifted people write well-crafted sentences can be a marked improvement over impromptu speaking, which is often be filled with clichés and can be overly repetitive.
3) "Catholicism respects tradition." McLaren quotes from Chesterton to make his point that tradition is seen as the expansion of democracy to theology. Also, McLaren points out that most every group has their accepted tradition of scripture interpretation.
4) "Catholics celebrate Mary." This is done by venerating, not worshipping. McLaren then lost me with this, "How much we missed by failing to see the beauty of the incarnation through Mary - a beauty that magnifies the value of women, erases the shame of Eve…"
5) "Catholics know how to party." McLaren here quotes Chesterton, "These [Catholic] countries … are exactly the countries where there is still singing and dancing and art in the open-air."
6) "Catholics can't escape from its scandals." Noting that every group has its closets full of skeletons, McLaren writes that the unavoidable publicity of the Catholic scandals has allowed the church to become more humble.
Yep, it's a small c (for now). With the small c, catholic means universal. McLaren argues for more than the invisible universality of the Church that most Christians accept, writing that the divisions in the visible Church, "though tragic, are superficial compared to Christianity's deep, though often unappreciated, unity."
Borrowing from the Nicene Creed, he also writes the Church is holy, which he defines as being devoted to a scared purpose; and apostolic, by which McLaren means missional and as not refering to the doctrine of apostolic succession that some groups believe.
McLaren also writes about Catholics with the big C, noting six things he appreciates about them.
1) "Catholicism is sacramental." McLaren says by learning that a few things can carry the sacred, we become open to the fact that all things can ultimately carry the sacred.
2) "Catholicism is liturgical." McLaren makes the point, valid I think, that all churches are liturgical, some just don't have it written down. He says that having gifted people write well-crafted sentences can be a marked improvement over impromptu speaking, which is often be filled with clichés and can be overly repetitive.
3) "Catholicism respects tradition." McLaren quotes from Chesterton to make his point that tradition is seen as the expansion of democracy to theology. Also, McLaren points out that most every group has their accepted tradition of scripture interpretation.
4) "Catholics celebrate Mary." This is done by venerating, not worshipping. McLaren then lost me with this, "How much we missed by failing to see the beauty of the incarnation through Mary - a beauty that magnifies the value of women, erases the shame of Eve…"
5) "Catholics know how to party." McLaren here quotes Chesterton, "These [Catholic] countries … are exactly the countries where there is still singing and dancing and art in the open-air."
6) "Catholics can't escape from its scandals." Noting that every group has its closets full of skeletons, McLaren writes that the unavoidable publicity of the Catholic scandals has allowed the church to become more humble.
posted by Freethinker at 1:41:00 PM
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