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diff --git a/sum-chap-13.tex b/sum-chap-13.tex index 5a9ed1d..dd6d5d8 100644 --- a/sum-chap-13.tex +++ b/sum-chap-13.tex @@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ of the world. (Jn.~14:15--17). We should therefore understand the \index{Church}church in - \index{Church!Mission} missional terms. Jesus commanded them to do + \index{Church!Mission of} missional terms. Jesus commanded them to do concrete things to witness to his kingdom (e.g.~Mt.~5--7). The church therefore is the community of people that continues the apostolic mission of following Jesus by making God's kingdom known in word and deed. @@ -77,4 +77,63 @@ holy, catholic and apostolic church}. This gives us four `marks' or therefore implies that the church has a mission. \end{description} -%todo chapter 13, pp. 348 -- 358 +\subsection*{The mission of the church} +According to the end of Matthew's gospel, it is the task of the church to make +disciples of all nations. This \index{Proclamation} is achieved through +\emph{preaching} (central in the Protestant tradition; Barth: proclamation is +the announcement of the triune God's promise to be with creation) and the +\emph{sacraments}\index{Sacrament} (central in the Catholic and Orthodox +traditions, providing a more sensual experience of God's word). Sacraments are +visible signs of invisible grace. Lastly, the church is called to be a +distinctive (holy, `set apart') community. Niebuhr distinguishes five different +responses to the question of the relationship between Christ and +culture\index{Culture}: + +\begin{itemize} + \item `Christ against culture', especially popular before Constantine: + Christians should not concern themselves with worldly culture. + \item `Christ of culture'; the work of God and the work of humanity are so + intrinsically connected that they coincide. + \item `Christ above culture' (Aquinas); culture is useful in the light of + Christian grace. + \item `Christ and culture in paradox' (Luther's two kingdom --- church and + state --- theory); we cannot reconcile Christ and culture (society is + corrupt), nor can we take refuge from culture in the church (which is + populated by sinners and situated in the world). + \item `Christ the transformer of culture' (Augustine; contemporary liberation + theology); the church has the vocation to transform the sinful aspects of + culture. +\end{itemize} + +The topic of mission borders the topic of election: to discuss the relationship +of the church with the broader world it is necessary to articulate how the +church is elected to be this distinctive community. This is typically done by +looking at the visible and invisible church\index{Church!(In)visible}. + +Augustine: only God knows the members of the church: members of the visible +church may be hypocrites. It is not the church's task to investigate membership +of the invisible church (Mt.~13:24--30). According to Augustine, everyone is +predestined\index{Predestination} to be saved \emph{or} +damned\index{Predestination!Double}, a position taken over by Luther and +Calvin. + +Double predestination is a mistaken interpretation of Scripture. It is based +heavily on Romans~9--11, but ignores the covenantal, instrumental context: +those chosen would participate in God's broader rescue of creation. The +traditional reading also ignores the fact that Romans 11 speaks about the +rejection of Israel and the inclusion of the Gentiles. + +Barth worried that the traditional interpretation made God's choice seem +arbitrary, losing sight of God's loving character. Election has to do firstly +with the fulfilment of the covenant in Christ; individuals come into play only +as they are included through the corporate people of God. + +\medskip +Traditionally, the distinction between the church +militant\index{Church!Militant} and the church +triumphant\index{Church!Triumphant} is that between the pilgrim church in the +world and the dead saints in heaven. The authors deem it better to think of the +militant church as the \emph{invisible} church struggling against evil, and of +the triumphant church as the invisible church that we do not \emph{yet} see, +because we are still in history. This is a historical meta-position on the +distinction. |