Monday, August 29, 2011

Baptists and the church as "vehicle of authority"

Lately I’ve been working through the joint reports from the international bilateral ecumenical conversations in which the Baptist World Alliance has been involved during the past four decades in connection with a current book project. One surprise thus far has been the manner in which the 1989-1992 dialogue between the Baptist World Alliance and the Mennonite World Conference, co-chaired by William H. Brackney (Baptist) and Ross T. Bender (Mennonite), characterized Baptist and Mennonite perspectives on sources of authority for faith and practice.

Baptists are routinely stereotyped as holding to a radicalized version of the sola scriptura hermeneutic of the Reformation that amounts to nuda scriptura. Yet in the context of international ecumenical dialogue Baptists have consistently affirmed that the Bible functions in a pattern of authority in which Christ as the revelation of the Triune God is the ultimate source of authority, Scripture is the supreme earthly source of authority that discloses the ultimate authority of Christ for Christian faith and faithfulness, and the traditioned teaching of the church in its diachronic continuity along with the mind and experience of the church in its synchronic solidarity are indispensable guides for discerning Christ’s Lordship through the practice of reading Scripture. In other words, as the report of the conversations between the BWA and the Anglican Consultative Council puts it, “it would be more accurate to regard the Baptist view of Scripture as suprema scriptura rather than sola scriptura” (Anglican Consultative Council and Baptist World Alliance, Conversations Around the World: The Report of the International Conversations between the Anglican Communion and the Baptist World Alliance 2000-2005 [London: Anglican Communion Office, 2005], § 26 [p. 36]).

One might expect to encounter less explicit distancing of Baptist theology from an unqualified adherence to sola scriptura in the dialogue with the close free church kindred of Baptists in the Mennonite World Conference. Indeed, the section articulating “Baptist Perspectives on Authority” in the report of those conversations includes this statement: “Baptists therefore have no difficulty in embracing the Reformation dictum of sola scriptura: in contrast to many Reformation churches, Baptists do not accord any official authority to creeds” (Baptist World Alliance and Mennonite World Conference, “Theological Conversations, 1989-1992,” in Growth in Agreement III: International Dialogue Texts and Agreed Statements, 1998-2005, ed. Jeffrey Gros, Thomas F. Best, and Lorelei F. Fuchs [Geneva: WCC Publications; Grand Rapids MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2007], p. 434).

In light of two related statements in the same section, however, this seeming reiteration of the stereotype in fact points in the direction of a thick ecclesial embodiment of a suprema scriptura pattern of authority. First, immediately prior to the affirmation of sola scriptura is an acknowledgment that “Scripture is also an important source of authority for Baptists” (note the indefinite article). It is important because of its relationship to the ultimate source of authority: “Thoroughly trinitarian, Baptists affirm in all matters of faith and practice the Lordship of Christ,” which is “revealed in Scripture and present in the church” (GA-III, p. 433).

Second, the presence of Christ in the church means that there is an ecclesial embodiment of authority beyond the text of Scripture. Two paragraphs after the affirmation of sola scriptura is the insistence on the part of the Baptist delegation that an “emphasis among Baptists is the church’s role as a vehicle of authority” (GA-III, p. 434). This description of how ecclesial authority functions for Baptists then follows:

"Among Baptists, the mind of Christ is sought through prayerful submission of the individual to the community which seeks the will of the Spirit through scripture. The commanding impulse is personal but never private. Liberty of conscience, a vital plan in Baptist doctrine, is never meant to imply privatized religion....Liberty of conscience is sometimes misconstrued as freedom from the church rather than freedom in the church" (GA-III, p. 434).

That specifically Baptist perspective on authority is subsequently reaffirmed as something Baptists were able to affirm together with Mennonites: a summary of convergences on authority includes “‘the gathered congregation’ as [the] primary locus of discernment and decision-making” (GA-III, p. 435). Not exactly what one might expect to discover in this report—but then, if there’s anything that’s consistently typical of Baptists, it’s the Baptist resistance to conformity to stereotypes of Baptists.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Denomination: Assessing an Ecclesiological Category available in North America

Denomination: Assessing an Ecclesiological Category, ed. Paul M. Collins and Barry Ensign-George (Ecclesiological Investigations, vol. 11; T & T Clark International, 2011), a book to which I contributed the chapter written from a Baptist perspective ("The Ecumenical Dimensions of Baptist Denominational Identity") is now available in North America (the book was released June 16 in the U.K.). The book description, table of contents, and reviews from the book's page on the Continnum / T & T Clark International web site appear below.

Description

The term "denomination" is now widely used to describe a Christian community or church. But what is a ‘denomination’? In this highly creative collection of essays representatives of all major Christian traditions give an answer to this question. What does the term mean in their own tradition? And does that tradition understand itself to be a ‘denomination’? If so, what is that understanding of ‘denomination’; and if not, how does the tradition understand itself vis à vis those churches which do and those churches which do not understand themselves as ‘denominations’? In dialogue with the argument and ideas set forth in Barry Ensign-George’s essay each essay offers a response from the perspective of a particular church (tradition). Each essay also considers questions concerning the current landscape of ecumenical dialogue; ecumenical method and the goals of the ecumenical movement; also questions of Christian identity and belonging.

Table of Contents

Introduction Paul M. Collins

'Denomination as Ecclesiological Category: Sketching an Assessment' Barry Ensign-George (Reformed/Presbyterian)

Anglican 'Denomination: An Anglican Appraisal' Paul Avis

Baptist: 'The Ecumenical Dimensions of Baptist Denominational Identity' Steven R. Harmon

Lutheran: 'The Lutheran Church: Church, Confession, Congregation, Denomination' Gesa Thiessen

Methodist: 'United Methodism: Its Identity as Denomination' Russell Richey

Orthodox: 'The Orthodox Church on Denomination' Elena Vishnevskaya

Pentecostal: 'The Denomination in Classical and Global Pentecostal Ecclesiology: A Historical and Theological Contribution' Wolfgang Vondey

Quaker: 'Denomination beyond the North Atlantic Ecclesial World' Ann Riggs

Reformed/Presbyterian: 'Presbyterianism and Denomination' Amy Plantinga Pauw

'Is there a future for denominationalism? Reflections from the perspective of Roman Catholic ecclesiology and from the perspective of the future of the ecumenical movement' Peter de Mey

'Afterword: A Global Perspective' Kirsteen Kim

Editors

Revd Dr Paul M. Collins, formerly Reader in Theology at the University of Chichester, is Parish Priest on Holy Island, Northumberland, England.

Barry Ensign-George is a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which he serves as Associate for Theology in the denomination’s Office of Theology & Worship. His reaserch is focused on ecclesiology, particularly on formulating a theological assessment of denomination as an ecclesiological category.

Reviews

‘With the collapse of classical ecumenism and the emergence of new divisions in the church, the time is ripe for a fresh theological look at the contentious issue of denominationalism. This volume tackles the thorny issues cleanly and forthrightly. Both those who are repelled by the whole idea of denominationalism and those who want to retrieve and fix it will find this splendid volume invaluable in thinking through their positions.’ - William J. Abraham, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, USA.

‘What is a denomination? Does it differ from a convention, fellowship, synod, or church? Is it primarily a sociological or a theological term? Denominational consciousness stands for particularity relative to the whole church. The premier ecclesiologists who discuss the nature, function, and relevance this term in an ecumenical age display the diversity of their denominational points of view. As denominations wane in the West and never quite take hold in cultures that do not share the history that generated them, will the gifts that each preserves for the whole church be lost? These analysts throw distinctive light on these issues and by so doing relativize the narrowness of denominational consciousness and help expand the vision of the larger church in which the denominations participate. This topic and these superb treatments of it provide a unique entrée into the ecumenical vision that people from all the denominations will appreciate. As a whole the book represents a quiet, conversational but brilliant essay in comparative ecclesiology that no course in ecumenism can neglect.’ - Roger Haight, S. J., Scholar in Residence, Union Theological Seminary, USA.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Review & Expositor reviews Christianity and the Soul of the University

The current issue of Review and Expositor (vol. 108, no. 2 [Spring 2011], pp. 328-30) includes a review of Christianity and the Soul of the University: Faith as a Foundation for Intellectual Community, ed. Douglas V. Henry and Michael D. Beaty (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2006), a book to which I contributed chapter 8, "Communal Conflict in the Postmodern Christian University."

Reviewer T. Perry Hildreth, Associate Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, engages each of the book's ten chapters and offers this concluding commendation: "As Christian scholars continue to reflect about the defining marks of a Christian university and the role of Christian scholars in the larger academic community, this book will prove to be a helpful resource. Anyone associated with a Christian university and committed to maintaining fidelity to a Christian vision of higher education would be enriched by this collection of essays."

I'm glad to see this review appear in this journal and in this particular issue. I previously served from 2002 through 2006 as Associate Editor of the Review and Expositor, a journal founded by The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and now published by a consortium of Baptist theological schools that includes Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity where I currently teach. GWU School of Divinity Associate Dean Gerald Keown serves as the journal's recording secretary, and this issue of the journal includes other reviews by Gardner-Webb faculty in addition to Hildreth's review: James R. McConnell, Assistant Professor of New Testament Interpretation in the School of Divinity, reviews Anthony C. Thiselton, Hermeneutics: An Introduction (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2009), and Jeff L. Hensley, an adjunct professor in the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy and pastor of Kings Mountain Baptist Church in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, reviews Constance M. Cherry, The Worship Architect: A Blueprint for Designing Culturally Relevant and Biblical Faithful Services (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2010).

Monday, August 22, 2011

Called Together: Identity, Accountability, Hospitality (North American Academy of Ecumenists 2011 Annual Conference)

The North American Academy of Ecumenists will hold its next annual conference September 23-25, 2011 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The conference theme "Called Together: Identity, Accountability, Hospitality" is rooted in the World Council of Churches Faith and Order paper Called to be the One Church (Porto Alegre, 2006), which calls churches to acknowledge their mutual responsibility to one another. "Yet," the conference announcement on the NAAE web site observes, "churches continue to act independently and to seek renewal by accenting distinctive identities. The call to mutual responsibility is challenged in substantial ways: pressures for organizational survival, growing cultural disenchantment with religion, and wide diversity in decision-making procedures that can address current questions of faith and life in contravening ways.The 2011 NAAE Conference will study possibilities for mutual accountability, analyze specific forms of ecclesial identity and query the habit of hospitality toward one another as a means for realizing how 'The Church's oneness is an image of the unity of the Triune God in the communion of the divine Persons' [Called to Be the One Church II.3]."

Registration information and additional materials related to this upcoming conference are available on the NAAE web site.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

More on Baptist commemoration of the saints

Baptist Saints window, Highland Baptist
Church, Louisville, KY (John Smyth,
William Carey, John Bunyan, Dr.
Zhidkov, John Oncken, C. H. Spurgeon)
Yet more ruminations on the possibility of a Baptist practice of the commemoration of saints Baptist and ecumenical from elsewhere in the blogosphere and social media posts:

First, Facebook friends Beth Maynard (Episcopal priest, leader of the Boston-area intentional community Mill Street House, and adjunct professor of Anglican/Episcopal studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, author of the U2sermons blog--and, just coincidentally, provider of a back-cover commendation blurb for Ecumenism Means You, Too) and J. David Waugh (interim pastor, Madison Chapel [Baptist] in Madison, MS) have pointed out that the Standing Commission on Music and Liturgy of the Episcopal Church U.S.A. has produced an updated trial calendar, "Holy Women, Holy Men," which includes entries for Martin Luther King, Jr. (April 4), Walter Rauschenbusch (July 2), William Carey (October 19), and Lottie Moon (December 22). As I replied to Beth and David, it seems that the Episcopalians are ahead of the Baptists in their recognition of exemplary Baptist saints!

Second, Keith G. Jones, Rector of the International Baptist Seminary in Prague, Czech Republic, has continued the discussion related to previous Ecclesial Theology posts on "The Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin" and "Towards a Baptist Commemoration of the Saints" by posting on the IBTS community blog a post titled "Baptist Saints?" in which he proposes his own list of often-overlooked exemplary Baptist saints. I was especially delighted to see British Baptist ecumenical pioneers J. H. Shakespeare and Ernest Payne listed, as well as a number of otherwise overlooked exemplars of "ordinary" faithfulness.

Third, Stan Dotson, founding director of In Our Elements, offers on his own blog the post "Oh When the Saints," a reflection on the significance of the saints, known and unknown, for the living of the Christian life that kindly references what I've posted here at Ecclesial Theology.

I'm glad to see this conversation continuing.

Related posts:

More on Baptist commemoration of the saints

Towards a Baptist commemoration of the saints

The Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin

A Baptist commemoration of the saints

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Towards a Baptist commemoration of the saints

Icon of Martin Luther King, Jr.
In my 2006 book Towards Baptist Catholicity I proposed a more intentional Baptist practice of commemorating the lives of exemplary Christians who might help us learn what it means to embody the Christian life faithfully:

"If Baptist historians were to propose additional exemplary Christians from the Baptist tradition to add to such calendars [of other communions that commemorate the saints} in producing a sanctoral that is both distinctively Baptist and broadly ecumenical, Baptist congregations might be able to include in their own weekly worship a few moments for telling the stories of men and women who have provided worthy examples of lives lived in the service of God and humanity. When the life of the model Christian being commemorated on [or near] a given Sunday serves to illustrate the living of the stories told in the lectionary texts for the day, the lives of the saints would serve as ideal sermon illustrations--lived biblical stories rather than anecdotes that parallel sermonic ideas" (Towards Baptist Catholicity, p. 170).

Stimulated in part by yesterday's Ecclesial Theology post on the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin, Andy Goodliff, pastor of Belle Vue Baptist Church in Southchurch, Southend on Sea, Essex, U.K., and Stephen Holmes, a Baptist minister who serves as Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, have each written thoughtful blog posts contemplating the possibilities for a Baptist sanctoral cycle.  I encourage readers of Ecclesial Theology to follow the links to their posts below and, if so inclined, to comment with their own observations and suggestions:

"A Baptist Sanctoral Cycle?" on Shored Fragments (Stephen Holmes)

"Creating a list of Baptist 'saints'" on andygoodliff: church, world and the christian life (Andy Goodliff)

Related posts:

More on Baptist commemoration of the saints

Towards a Baptist commemoration of the saints

The Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin

A Baptist commemoration of the saints

Monday, August 15, 2011

The Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin

The Catacombe Paintings:
Icon Mary by Greg Tricker
 Today (August 15) is one of many feast days associated with the Virgin Mary in the church. In the Anglican communion, the sanctoral (annual cycle of saints' feast days) makes August 15 the principal feast day for Mary; in the Eastern Orthodox churches the day marks the Dormition ("falling asleep," i.e., death) of Mary, and in the Catholic Church it is the celebration of the Assumption of Mary (i.e., the bodily reception of Mary into heaven following her death).

It goes without saying that all Christians do not agree on the status and role of the Virgin Mary. Much recent ecumenical dialogue has addressed these Marian disagreements fruitfully, notably the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission agreed statement Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ (2004). All Christians can agree, however, that Mary is a model for discipleship worthy of emulation by all Christians--a model for discipleship for men as well as for women--and therefore it is good and proper for all Christians to consider and be shaped by her example today and every day. In addition, even if all Christians do not ask Mary to pray for them, all Christians can pray along with Mary in the communion of saints to which all Christians past and present belong. As we pray today, then, let us remember that we do so with Mary.

Related posts:

More on Baptist commemoration of the saints

Towards a Baptist commemoration of the saints

The Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin

A Baptist commemoration of the saints

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Towards Baptist Catholicity reviews

In the list of book reviews below, reviews available online appear in blue type and are hyperlinked. For reviews available via the ATLA (American Theological Library Association) Religion Database with ATLA Serials accessible to those with institutional privileges, the EBSCOhost permalink to the ATLA detailed record (which will link to PDF full text, if available) appears in brackets. (Students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Gardner-Webb University will be authenticated through the Dover Library EBSCOhost server; others with institutional access elsewhere will need to log in through their own institutions and do a book title search of the ATLA Religion Database for Towards Baptist Catholicity.)

Pacific Journal of Baptist Research 2, no. 2 (2006): 73-76 (reviewed by Myk Habets).

Ministry Today 38 (November 2006) (reviewed by Paul Beasley-Murray with Alun Brookfield).

Journal of European Baptist Studies 7, no. 2 (January 2007): 51-52 (reviewed by Keith G. Jones) [ATLA permalink].

Western Recorder 181, no. 11 (March 3, 2007): 13 (reviewed by Jim Holladay).

Journal of Ecumenical Studies 42, no. 3 (Summer 2007): 474-75 (reviewed by David Wilhite) [ATLA permalink].

Review and Expositor 104, no. 3 (Summer 2007): 677-678 (reviewed by Andrew Smith) [ATLA permalink].

First Things 180 (February 2008: 43-45 (reviewed by Curtis W. Freeman) [ATLA permalink].

Stone-Campbell Journal 11, no. 1 (Spring 2008): 100-02 (reviewed by Chris Criminger) [ATLA permalink].

Baptist History and Heritage 43, no. 3 (Summer-Fall 2008): 105-07 (reviewed by Doug Weaver) [ATLA permalink].

Perspectives in Religious Studies 35, no. 4 (Winter 2008): 433-35 (reviewed by Charles Scalise) [ATLA permalink].

Perspectives in Religious Studies 35, no. 4 (Winter 2008): 435-37 (reviewed by Michael Root) [ATLA permalink].

Southwestern Journal of Theology 51,  no. 1 (Fall 2008): 117-119 (reviewed by John Ashley Nixon) [ATLA permalink].

Baptist World: A Magazine of the Baptist World Alliance 56, no. 2 (April-June 2009): 25.

In addition, the Fall 2009 issue of the journal Pro Ecclesia featured "A Book Symposium on Steven R. Harmon's Towards Baptist Catholicity: Essays in Tradition and the Baptist Vision," which included the following review articles plus an author's response:

Richard Crane, "Explosive Devices and Rhetorical Strategies: Appreciation for Steven R. Harmon's Towards Baptist Catholicity," Pro Ecclesia 18,  no. 4 (Fall 2009): 367-70 [ATLA permalink].

Nicholas M. Healy, "Traditions, Authorities, and the Individual Christian," Pro Ecclesia 18,  no. 4 (Fall 2009): 371-74 [ATLA permalink].

Elizabeth Newman, "Remembering How to Remember: Harmon's Subversive Orthodoxy," Pro Ecclesia 18,  no. 4 (Fall 2009): 375-80 [ATLA permalink].

Maureen H. O'Connell, "Towards a Baptist (and Roman Catholic) Catholicity," Pro Ecclesia 18,  no. 4 (Fall 2009): 381-85 [ATLA permalink].

Steven R. Harmon, "Why Baptist Catholicity, and by What Authority?" Pro Ecclesia 18,  no. 4 (Fall 2009): 386-92 [ATLA permalink].

Interested in Towards Baptist Catholicity? Order the book from Amazon.

Posts in this series:

Towards Baptist Catholicity's fifth anniversary

Towards Baptist Catholicity book description

Towards Baptist Catholicity endorsements

Towards Baptist Catholicity contents

Towards Baptist Catholicity reviews

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Towards Baptist Catholicity contents

Foreword by Paul Avis • xvii
Preface • ix
Abbreviations • xxiii

Chapter 1, ‘Catholic Baptists’ and the New Horizon of Tradition in Baptist Theology • 1
Baptist Theology and the Horizon of Tradition • 3
The New Horizon of Tradition and the Emergence of ‘Catholic Baptist’ Theologians • 6
Tradition as Source of Authority • 7
Place for Creeds in Liturgy and Catechesis • 8
Liturgy as Context for Formation by Tradition • 10
Community as Locus of Authority • 11
Sacramental Theology • 13
Constructive Retrieval of Tradition • 15
Thick Ecumenism • 16
Towards Baptist Catholicity: Seeking a Place for Tradition in the Baptist Vision • 17

Chapter 2, Baptist Understandings of Theological Authority: A North American Perspective • 23
The Baptist Ecclesial Location of the Perspective • 25
Ultimate Authority: The Triune God • 27
Derivative Authority: The Supremacy of the Scriptures • 28
Divergent Understandings of Biblical Authority • 29
Other Sources of Authority? • 32
Baptists, Tradition, and Creeds • 34
Towards a Baptist Rethinking of Authority • 36

Chapter 3, The Authority of the Community (of All the Saints): Towards a Postmodern Baptist Hermeneutic of Tradition • 39
The Hermeneutics of Suspicion and Baptist Suspicion of Tradition • 40
Reevaluating the A-Traditional Baptist ‘Tradition’ • 43
Paradigms for Postmodern Retrieval of Tradition: Some Non-Baptist Dialogue Partners • 46
Thomas Oden: Postmodern Paleo-Orthodoxy • 47
Karl Barth: Beginning with the Community of Faith • 49
La Nouvelle Théologie: Renewal through Ressourcement • 51
Alasdair MacIntyre: Tradition, Community, and Rationality • 53
Paul Ricoeur: Tradition in the Second Naïvité • 55
John Milbank, Catherine Pickstock, and Company: Radical Orthodoxy • 56
Leonardo Boff and Catherine Mowry LaCugna: Traditional Resources for Liberation • 58
Geoffrey Wainwright: The Liturgical Locus of Tradition • 59
George Lindbeck and the ‘New Yale Theology’: Tradition as Communal Narrative • 61
A Postmodern Baptist Hermeneutic of Tradition • 63
The Normative Function of Tradition: The Authority of the Community (of All the Saints) • 63
The Vehicle of Tradition: The Story of the Community • 65
The Critical Function of Tradition: The Argument of the Community • 66

Chapter 4, Baptist Confessions of Faith and the Patristic Tradition • 71
Vestiges of the Patristic Tradition in Baptist Confessions • 72
First Historical Thesis • 72
Second Historical Thesis • 77
Third Historical Thesis • 80
Constructive Proposals for Interaction with the Patristic Tradition in Future Baptist Confessions • 81
First Constructive Proposal • 81
Second Constructive Proposal • 83
Third Constructive Proposal • 86

Chapter 5, From Triadic Narrative to Narrating the Triune God: Towards a Baptist Appreciation of Trinitarian Catholicity • 89
The Economic Legacy of the Triadic Narrative: Ignatius of Antioch • 91
The Trinity in the New Testament Traditions • 92
The Trinity in the Ignatian Correspondence • 95
Narrating the Triune God: Ecclesial Shaping of the Story • 100
Explaining the Narrative to Outsiders: The Greek Apologists • 101
Problematic Versions of the Narrative: Monarchianism and Its Opponents • 102
Contesting the Plot: The Arian Controversy • 104
Refining Liturgical Narration: The Pneumatomachian Controversy • 106
Character Development: The Clarification of Trinitarian Relations • 108

Chapter 6, Hebrews in Patristic Perspective: Benefits of Catholicity for Baptist Biblical Interpretation • 111
Patristic Homilies and Commentaries on Hebrews • 115
The Place of Hebrews in the Development of Patristic Theology • 117
Alexandrian Christology • 118
Antiochene Christology • 118
Hebrews 2.10-18 and the Suffering of Christ • 118
Patristic Resources for Teaching and Preaching Hebrews Today • 121
Hebrews 6.1-8 and Apostasy • 122
Patristic Exegesis and Baptist Proclamation of Hebrews • 127

Chapter 7, Hearing the Voice of the Community: Karl Barth’s Conversation with the Fathers as a Paradigm for Baptist and Evangelical Ressourcement • 129
Biographical Evidence of Barth’s Interest in the Fathers • 132
The Shape of Patristic Retrieval in the Church Dogmatics • 137
Patristic Conversation Partners • 137
Augustine of Hippo • 138
Eastern Conversation Partners • 139
Communal Expressions of Patristic Theology • 140
Doctrinal Loci of the Conversation • 141
Agenda of the Conversation • 141
Barthian Possibilities for Baptist and Evangelical Retrieval of Patristic Theology • 142
Returning Ad Fontes • 142
Collaborating in the Conversation • 144
Discerning the Voice of the Community • 144
Baptist Systematic Theology and Patristic Retrieval • 146
Listening Eastwards and Westwards • 147
Catholicity Beyond Trinitarian and Christological Orthodoxy • 148
Listening Critically • 149

Chapter 8, Praying and Believing: Retrieving the Patristic Interdependence of Worship and Theology • 151
The Interdependence of Worship and Theology in Patristic Practice: A Narrative Interpretation • 153
Rehearsal of the Divine Story in Typical Baptist Worship • 157
Theologically Formative Patterns and Practices from Patristic Worship: Resources for Retrieval • 159
Calendar • 159
Lectionary • 161
Word and Table • 162
Creed • 163
Prayer • 165
Confession and Pardon • 168
Passing of the Peace • 169
Lives of the Saints • 170
Hymns • 171
Implementing Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi in Baptist Congregations • 172

Chapter 9, Contesting Our Story: Catholicity and Communal Conflict in Baptist Higher Education • 179
Sources of Communal Conflict over Faith-and-Learning Proposals • 181
Theological Controversies • 181
Political Polarization • 181
Mutual Suspicion • 183
Embracing Conflict as Contested Catholicity • 183
The Contested Character of the Christian Tradition • 184
The Narrative Shape of the Christian Tradition • 185
The Liturgical Locus of the Christian Tradition • 187
The Importance of Intra-Faculty Theological Education • 189

Chapter 10, ‘What Keeps You from Becoming a Catholic?’A Personal Epilogue • 193
Precedents for ‘Conversion’ • 194
Why Not Rome, Constantinople, or Canterbury? • 198
Negligible Reservations • 198
Ecclesial and Ecumenical Responsibility • 201
A More Precise Definition of ‘Catholicity’ • 202
Precedents for Catholic Renewal within Protestant Denominations • 205
The Oxford Movement • 206
The Mercersburg Theology • 207
The Berneuchener Movement • 209
An Invitation to a Conversation • 211

Appendix 1: Re-Envisioning Baptist Identity: A Manifesto for Baptist Communities in North America • 215

Appendix 2: Confessing the Faith • 225

Bibliography • 231
Ancient Texts • 231
Modern Literature • 233
Index of Scripture References • 255
Index of Names • 257
Index of Subjects • 265

Interested in Towards Baptist Catholicity? Order the book from Amazon.

Posts in this series:

Towards Baptist Catholicity's fifth anniversary

Towards Baptist Catholicity book description

Towards Baptist Catholicity endorsements

Towards Baptist Catholicity contents

Towards Baptist Catholicity reviews

Friday, August 5, 2011

Towards Baptist Catholicity endorsements

“Steven Harmon has offered in this erudite study the perspective many thoughtful Baptists have been seeking. One overarching question shapes these essays: ‘Can Baptists be catholic?’ which Harmon answers with a resounding yes. Attentive to biblical authority, early Christian tradition, creeds, as well as the charism of Baptist life, this text pursues a reclamation project that honors the pre-Reformation commonality of western Christianity. Most significant is the author's dexterity in placing Trinitarian theology at the center of theological renewal for Baptists, weaving a nuanced understanding of biblical narrative with doctrinal construction. Rightly Harmon grounds an encompassing view of community within the communal life of God as Holy Trinity, an antidote to the endemic separatism of some forms of Baptist identity. Scholars and students will find rich construction and reflection in this collection, shaping the possibility of a new epoch of ‘catholic Baptists.’ I commend it highly.”
Molly T. Marshall, President and Professor of Theology and Spiritual Formation, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Kansas

“Harmon’s essays provide a welcome antidote to the poison of antitraditionalism imbibed by Christians influenced by the individualistic, anti-religious currents characteristic of modernity. Harmon not only shows how unacknowledged traditions covertly shape a Baptist tradition of anti-traditionalism, but also how critical and contstructive retrievals of ancient catholic theological, liturgical and exegetical traditions can illumine important elements of the Baptist vision now rather obscured. A must read in serious ecumenical theology for Christians concerned with living in and living out their faith traditions—whether Baptist, Catholic, or evangelical—in our era.”
Terrence W. Tilley, Professor and Chair, Theology Department, Fordham University, New York

“This is an extremely learned and important book by an author well-grounded in the history of theology. As a non-Baptist, I can only surmise its value and impact within the Baptist community. I should think its potential for re-thinking Baptist identity could be considerable. Speaking as an ecumenist, I would venture the opinion that Dr. Harmon's book could have a major role to play among all interested in the unity of the church. Its suggestion of a postmodern Baptist hermeneutic of tradition will interest many concerned about ecumenical advance.”
William G. Rusch, Executive Director, Foundation for a Conference on Faith and Order in North America and former Director of the Commission on Faith and Order of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

“Any book which concludes with a chapter entitled ‘What keeps you from becoming a Catholic?’ promises to be nothing if not intriguing. Such promise is not disappointed in this fine collection of essays which render both the question and its committed response both meaningful and pressing. Baptists ought, both by their ecclesiology and their commitment to liberty, to be good at listening. Sadly (and illegitimately) a commitment to the integrity of the local church has sometimes muffled Baptist hearing of the broader Christian tradition as it has been confessed through the centuries. Prof. Harmon here demonstrates that this was not always the case and ought not now to be the case. Moreover, his skill as a patristics scholar gives clear shape to the manner in which a truly ‘catholic’ Baptist theology can be rooted and can develop. Here is one of an increasing number of voices, from both sides of the Atlantic, drawing Baptists again back to their roots in the connectedness and continuity of the Christian tradition. One can but hope and pray that these voices are heard and heeded.”
John E. Colwell, Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics, Spurgeon’s College, London

“This is the best book I have read connecting ecclesiology, ecumenism, and the Baptist tradition with the Gospel imperative for Christian unity. Steven Harmon’s proposal for a Baptist version of the Oxford Movement has revolutionary possibilities, in the Copernican sense of the word, and deserves to be taken seriously. Well researched and well argued—a work of scholarly acumen and theological verve.”
Timothy George, Dean, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University and Executive Editor, Christianity Today

Towards Baptist Catholicity is a book for all Christians. This volume is evidence of the catholicising tendency in Christian theology that is informed and formed by the ecumenical movement and by the findings of interchurch dialogue. Ingredient to the ‘thick ecumenism’ of which Professor Steven Harmon speaks in the first chapter is the holistic interdisciplinary approach to the stand which a particular ecclesial community takes within the oikoumene. In so doing the author draws on tradition and scripture (in that order) to situate Baptist Christianity within the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Appeal is made to church fathers and mothers—past and present, formidably ecumenical—to support this stance. Attention is given to doctrine, worship, catechesis and discipleship. Towards Baptist Catholicity is not about one Christian denomination. It is about the church ecumenical, and the historical, theological and pastoral concerns which ensure the integrity to envision such a church and its faith, life and witness with and beyond confessional lines. To the question ‘What Keeps You from Becoming a Catholic?’ raised in the last chapter, this book is its own answer. One converts to the Lord, not to a denomination. The ‘ecclesial and ecumenical responsibility’ not only of Baptists but of all Christians is to be and become who we are in the Lord’s church.”
Sr. Lorelei F. Fuchs, SA, Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute, New York

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Thursday, August 4, 2011

Towards Baptist Catholicity book description

Towards Baptist Catholicity: Essays on Tradition and the Baptist Vision (Studies in Baptist History and Thought, vol. 27; Milton Keynes, U.K.: Paternoster, 2006 / Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, 2006) contends that the reconstruction of the Baptist vision in the wake of modernity’s dissolution requires a retrieval of the ancient ecumenical tradition that forms Christian identity through liturgical rehearsal and ecclesial practice. Themes explored include catholic identity as an emerging trend in Baptist theology, tradition as a theological category in Baptist perspective, the relationship between Baptist confessions of faith and the patristic tradition, the importance of Trinitarian catholicity for Baptist faith and practice, catholicity in biblical interpretation, Karl Barth as a paradigm for a Baptist and evangelical retrieval of the patristic theological tradition, worship as a principal bearer of tradition, and the role of Baptist higher education in shaping the Christian vision. This book submits that the proposed movement towards catholicity is neither a betrayal of cherished Baptist principles nor the introduction of alien elements into the Baptist tradition. Rather, the envisioned retrieval of catholicity in the liturgy, theology, and catechesis of Baptist churches is rooted in a recovery of the surprisingly catholic ecclesial outlook of the earliest Baptists, an outlook that has become obscured by more recent modern reinterpretations of the Baptist vision and that provides Baptist precedent for a more intentional movement towards Baptist catholicity today.

Steven R. Harmon teaches Christian Theology at the Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, having previously served on the faculties of Samford University's Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama and Campbell University Divinity School in Buies Creek, North Carolina and as visiting professor at Duke University Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina. A member of the Baptist World Alliance delegations to the international theological conversations with the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches and a plenary member of the World Council of Churches Commission on Faith and Order, he is the author of Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity (2010) and Every Knee Should Bow: Biblical Rationales for Universal Salvation in Early Christian Thought (2003).

Interested in Towards Baptist Catholicity? Order the book from Amazon.

Posts in this series:

Towards Baptist Catholicity's fifth anniversary

Towards Baptist Catholicity book description

Towards Baptist Catholicity endorsements

Towards Baptist Catholicity contents

Towards Baptist Catholicity reviews