ND prayer service

So today I participated in the ecumenical prayer service at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of Notre Dame. It was a pretty awesome experience. For as much as I disagree with some elements of Catholicism, they sure know how to do pomp and circumstance.

It was the 150th anniversary of the Ft. Wayne - South Bend Diocese; the 25th year anniversary of Bishop D'Arcy becoming the bishop; his 50th anniversary of his becoming a priest, and his 75th birthday. The Basilica was packed and overflowing. The Archbishop from Indianapolis was there. President Jenkins of ND gave the opening remarks. I was in the processional that went to the platform with about 12 others (including some prominent pastors in the area, the Mayor of South Bend, a dean from Notre Dame).

During the intercessory prayer part of the service, we each had a line to pray, to which the audience responded in song, "Lord hear our prayer". My prayer/line was, "For people of all faiths, we pray that they would have freedom to worship according to the dictates of their conscience; this we humbly pray..."

Church and Democracy

I think it was Winston Churchill who said, "Democracy is the worst form of government--except for all the others." Does the same apply to church government?

I've read Plato's Republic enough to be persuaded that democracy is not all that it's cracked up to be. It is certainly a leveler in terms of guarding against big swings (and so long as theocracy remains elusive, I don't think I'd want any other form of government for the state). But is subjecting difficult decisions to a popular vote the wisest? I think it was Descartes who said, "When you're dealing with difficult questions, you'd expect most people to get the answer wrong."

So what does this have to do with church polity? I'm drawn to the Catholic Church in many ways, but I think they've got the doctrine of the Church substantially incorrect. I'm not infallible, and so could be wrong on this, but the Kingdom of God is not to be equated with the institution of the Church. That leaves the elder system vs. the congregational system.

So for me the central tension is my malaise with democracy vs. the priesthood of all believers. It seems to me that it is better for a group of elders to be charged with the governance of the local body--people who are good and gifted at that sort of thing. You want people making the decisions who are most qualified. But then that seems to encourage (I don't see that it has to lead to, but seems to do so pretty reliably) a class of rulers and a class of consumers. And because I believe so strongly in the priesthood of all believers--even though they have different gifts--I'm pulled toward a congregational model.

No resolution here. Just thoughts. I think it was Daffy Duck who said, "That's all folks."

ETS President turns Catholic

I take a break from the spiritual formation posts to comment on the hottest news in the academic world of evangelicalism. The president of the Evangelical Theological Society, Francis Beckwith, announced this week that he has become (or actually, rejoined) the Catholic Church and resigned as president of ETS. The account of the decision in his own words can be found here.

I'm not a member of ETS, but I'm at their annual meeting each year (along with several thousand others) because the Evangelical Philosophical Society meets at the same time and place. Many of the EPS members are also ETS member--including Beckwith. In practice ETS leans very heavily to Reformed theology (some members have spoken openly about trying to erradicate the Arminian heretics from their membership), but the doctrinal statement is merely as follows:

"The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs. God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory."

Beckwith says he intends to remain a member of ETS because he continues to agree with the statement, but wants to spare the society from adverse attention.

I'm not sure what to think about this yet... I'm all for ecumenism and believe Beckwith to be a brother in Christ. There are decided theological differences, though, and it's difficult to know how significant we ought to make these.

Jesus is probably somewhat troubled by his so-far-unanswered prayer in John 17 that we all be one. Denominationalism certainly has its faults (there are more than 33,000 distinct Christian denominations worldwide now); but I guess I'd like to claim that the preservation of important theological traditions is not one of them. None of our denominations has a corner on the truth, and at their best they serve as helpful correctives to each other.