As theologian Alfred Loisy once quipped, "Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom, and what arrived was the Church." If nothing else gets people excited about theology, talk about the church usually does—though not always in a good way. The Nicene Creed's description of the church as "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic" seems more an exercise in wishful thinking than anything else.
Is the church a betrayal of Christianity or its proper expression? If the latter, what is the right expression of that expression? Does the church sin or only its members? Can you be a Christian without the church? After wading through a lot of ecclesiological pain, Dad and I conclude this episode with a testimony as to why we continue to "go to church."
Notes:
1. Healing Memories: Reconciling in Christ: Report of the Lutheran-Mennonite International Study Commission
2. A title so nice Dad used it twice: Luther and the Beloved Community (2010) and Beloved Community (2015)
3. Josiah Royce discusses "beloved community" in The Problem of Christianity
4. Tillich discusses "spiritual community" in vol. 3 of his Systematic Theology
5. Augustine, The City of God
6. Andy Crouch talks about singing involving love of God with heart, mind, soul, and strength in The Tech-Wise Family
8. Though I didn't mention it on the show, Charles Williams wrote a remarkable novel on the possibility of Christians bearing one another's burdens through time, Descent into Hell.
Technique and Propaganda with Jacques Ellul
John of Damascus
Chalcedon vs Luther
Legalism and Antinomianism
2024 Bonus 7: Crossover with All About Agatha
Fear and Phobias
The Lord's Prayer
2024 Bonus 6: Crossover with Art Life Faith
Seminex
2024 Bonus 5: Crossover with Doth Protest
Atonement
Confession and Absolution
2024 Bonus 4: Transfiguration with Freely Given, Part 2 of 2
2024 Bonus 3: Transfiguration with Freely Given, 1 of 2
2024 Bonus 2: Transfiguration with Fresh Text
2024 Bonus 1: Transfiguration with Crackers and Grape Juice
The Transfiguration
2023 Bonus 19: Crossover with Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Stories #3
2023 Bonus 18: Sarah at Australian Lutheran College
2023 Bonus 17: Crossover with Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Stories #2
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Hello Heaven Podcast
Cast The Word
Let Me Be Frank | Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Podcast | Diocese of Bridgeport, CT
The Kingdom Power Fellowship Podcast
The Bible Recap
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)