Always Reforming

You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means. Inigo was, of course, referring to Vizzini's obsessive use of the word inconceivable , but we could just as accurately apply his famous quip to modern usage of the word catholic .   The 21st Century has found many Protestants, including myself, yearning for a sense of catholicity, and rightfully so.  Some Protestant bodies are actively trying to pursue this, whether institutionally, by creating formal bonds with other bodies, or informally, by fostering organic relationships with other Christians in their communities.  Some Reformed groups are using the term Reformed Catholic , while others, such as Evangelicals and Liberals, tend to use the word  ecumenical , but the idea or goal is the same--to realize the connection to the universal Church described in the New Testament and the Creeds.  An increasingly large number, however, feel that the only way to achieve true catholicity...

The  second installment in this series, wherein I discussed the Anglican balance between Word and Sacrament, also highlighted the diversity within Anglicanism on this and many other topics.  This time I would like to spend some time speaking specifically to this topic of diversity.  Diversity has become a buzzword in our culture, much like the words  tolerance and acceptance .  When you say diversity , many conservatives hear compromise, as if one chooses unity at the expense of truth.  That is not what I mean by diversity.  E cumenism  is probably a more helpful term.  The best, most traditional word to express this idea is  catholicity, but the Roman Catholics have ruined that word for many people.  Simply put, Anglicanism is a very diverse group, and most Anglicans are okay with that. Growing up in an obscure Reformed denomination, I grew accustomed to theological isolationism.  We loved to argue about who was really Re...

After seeing Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History  (get that edition! and read the footnotes!) referenced in, oh, just about every single book that deals with the history of the Early Church, I decided that I had to go back to the source and read it myself.  So I jumped on Amazon and bought it.  After it sat on my nightstand for about six months, I finally got around to reading it.  Here's 10 reasons why you should read it, too. #1: History has a way of humbling you.  It forces you to see that your perspective on any given topic is not only one of many, but is perhaps not even one that was considered at all in times past.  This was a particularly important lesson for me as a Presbyterian because too many of us a) think we know Church history (we actually only know post-Reformation Reformed history) and b) we think the Reformed perspective is the only valid one. #2: Eusebius preserves the writings of many early church fathers.  There is something unique...