Historic Christianity
Four months have passed since my last posting. As I look back at the metaphor I have chosen to describe my present ecclesiastical situation, I wonder at how I should proceed. Last week I attended a traditional Latin Mass at the beautiful Church of Our Saviour in New York City. From time to time I have gone to Mass there and have grown to love the liturgy and the preaching of its illustrious pastor, Fr. George Rutler.
As someone who takes history seriously, I have few doubts that the Roman Catholic Church truly dates back to the Apostles, or that its foundation in Rome is traceable to the ministry of Saints Peter and Paul. Nevertheless, my commitment to history demands that I give due recognition to the ancient Churches of the East whose beginnings also have their beginnings with the Apostles, including St. Paul who founded churches along the eastern Mediterranean in the first century, A.D. That same historical view cannot ignore the churches of the Reformation to the extent that those churches preserved and defended the ancient faith from alteration and decay. A fifth century theologian, Vincent of Lerins, wrote that the historic Christian faith is "that which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all." This saying has become the standard definition of "catholic" before it became largely restricted to the Church of Rome. It is this wider definition of catholic that I refer to when I speak of historic Christianity. And Christians of a variety of denominations may legitimately hold to historic Christianity without any damage to the original body of Christian truth handed down through the centuries from Christ and the Apostles.
As someone who takes history seriously, I have few doubts that the Roman Catholic Church truly dates back to the Apostles, or that its foundation in Rome is traceable to the ministry of Saints Peter and Paul. Nevertheless, my commitment to history demands that I give due recognition to the ancient Churches of the East whose beginnings also have their beginnings with the Apostles, including St. Paul who founded churches along the eastern Mediterranean in the first century, A.D. That same historical view cannot ignore the churches of the Reformation to the extent that those churches preserved and defended the ancient faith from alteration and decay. A fifth century theologian, Vincent of Lerins, wrote that the historic Christian faith is "that which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all." This saying has become the standard definition of "catholic" before it became largely restricted to the Church of Rome. It is this wider definition of catholic that I refer to when I speak of historic Christianity. And Christians of a variety of denominations may legitimately hold to historic Christianity without any damage to the original body of Christian truth handed down through the centuries from Christ and the Apostles.
This is the Christianity I profess. It is not a "Bible only" Christianity, but neither is it a faith that is comprehended by any single denomination or tradition. Historic Christianity recognizes the work of the Holy Spirit in the inspiration of Scripture and in the development of the church's teachings, particularly during the early period before the Great Schism of tenth century. Historic Christianity is the essence of Christian belief common to all Christian traditions that hold to the Apostles and Nicene Creed, that maintain the integrity not only of the doctrine, but of the experience and practice of the faith.
Merely to believe that God exists and that Jesus is God's Son without a personal relationship with this God revealed in Jesus is but a part of the faith. Like a car without an engine, it is a mere structure without any movement. Likewise, this relationship with Christ must also translate into following him, into doing what he said: love God with everything you've got, and love your neighbor as yourself. Without love-in-action, our Christianity is a sham, an ornament worn around the neck with no behavior to back its significance. Love is what love does and the New Testament tells us that God is love. As we love others, including the unloved and the unlovable, we reflect something of who God is, and our faith takes wings and becomes credible in a hurting and skeptical world.
Holding to the teachings of the ancient church, placing one's trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, and living out his commands to spread God's love are the things that make up what I call Historic Christianity.
Merely to believe that God exists and that Jesus is God's Son without a personal relationship with this God revealed in Jesus is but a part of the faith. Like a car without an engine, it is a mere structure without any movement. Likewise, this relationship with Christ must also translate into following him, into doing what he said: love God with everything you've got, and love your neighbor as yourself. Without love-in-action, our Christianity is a sham, an ornament worn around the neck with no behavior to back its significance. Love is what love does and the New Testament tells us that God is love. As we love others, including the unloved and the unlovable, we reflect something of who God is, and our faith takes wings and becomes credible in a hurting and skeptical world.
Holding to the teachings of the ancient church, placing one's trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, and living out his commands to spread God's love are the things that make up what I call Historic Christianity.
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