tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post2311795293917616606..comments2023-12-17T16:13:06.670-05:00Comments on In a Godward direction: Why the Church?Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-8892352437013750002015-08-03T08:00:28.026-05:002015-08-03T08:00:28.026-05:00So true. I was thinking yesterday about Ephesians,...So true. I was thinking yesterday about Ephesians, and how little attention is paid to the wonderful mystery the Apostle is trying to lay out. The marriage debate reveals the lack some people seem to have about getting the point that it is Unity that is the mystery, not division. As with the Trinity, there is a marvelous relationship but an essential unity at work: and I love how the Apostle builds that litany of One - All - Each in 4:4ff; the many gifts from one Giver reflecting one Spirit at work in one Church.<br /><br />More simply, if we really accepted the words of the Nicene Creed concerning our belief that the church is One it might be a good start towards getting at least Christians all on the same page! We could then begin credibly to work with those who say they believe God is Akbar and Echad!Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-6129995542993718542015-08-03T06:50:20.244-05:002015-08-03T06:50:20.244-05:00Tobias, you know and I know that the reason for th...Tobias, you know and I know that the reason for the crippledness and brokenness of the Church is that the mystical realities of Christianity have been pretty much forgotten and left by the wayside in the name of "mission" or "church growth" or "social service" or "liturgical relevance". And I think that forgetting goes way back further than the 19th century. Oddly enough, I think it has its roots in the theological tensions of the late Middle Ages—when "order" came to replace "awareness" and minute canon law drove out intuition. Herbert O'Driscoll used to day that we had one century in which to return the Church to her mystical roots,and if we don't, it will be all over... And to my mind, the core of that mysticism is utter unity—as you say.John Julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09668893912018639700noreply@blogger.com