Upon This Rock: A Baptist Understanding of the Church (original) (raw)
Contemporary Catholic Echoes of the Condemnation of Indulgences by Martin Luther
Although in the course of events the controversies at the time of the Reformation left aside the subject of indulgences to focus on more important issues, traditionally the beginning of Reformation or, at least, a decisive moment of it is considered to be the Disputation on the Power of Indulgences (the so-called Ninety-five Theses), written by Martin Luther in 1517. Certain abuses denounced by him were removed by the Catholic Church half a century later, but the dogmatic definition of indulgences has remained unchanged for well over five centuries. Nowadays, Pope Francis seems to accept in the official documents the definition of indulgences as offered by the famous German Jesuit theologian, Karl Rahner, back in the 1960’s; at that time, this definition could not find its way in the Church documents that still kept the traditional one, though adding certain nuances and specifications. The heart of the matter, however, is not represented by Church abuses committed towards the end of the Middle Ages, as by differences between the Lutheran and Catholic theology on the subject of penance; Luther, for instance, does not accept satisfaction as an element of reconciliation with God, as in the Catholic theology. Karl Rahner developed a theology of penance that excludes the idea of vicarious substitution, which comes near to Luther’s theology on the subject. If Karl Rahner’s definition of indulgences would be explicitly accepted in the official Church documents, that would lead to their abolition, as they could lose their actual meaning.
Indulgences: A History of Theology and Reality of Indulgences and Purgatory
2011
This history of indulgences and purgatory has established itself as a standard summary of the history of the theological development in stages leading to the full orbed view of the 15th century and a praxis that led to split the church. The author follows the further history through the centuries through to the major changes made after the Second Vatican Council. Even though the last chapter of the book contains a detailed Protestant and Orthodox criticism of the dogmatic foundations of indulgences, the book is seen as a fair contribution by many reviewers and has earned the approval of Catholic theologians, who regret, that the planed abolition of indulgences by the Second Vatican Council did not take place finally.
Catholic guilt? Recall of confession promotes prosocial behavior
Recent studies indicate that prosocial behavior is more likely when one feels guilty or when one's moral ledger has a negative balance. In light of such studies, we wondered whether religious rituals of atonement and absolution are, from the perspective of religious groups, counterproductive mechanisms for addressing the moral transgressions of group members. If sin is a form of capital, might absolution rituals squander that capital? We found that Catholic participants who recalled committing a past sin and being absolved of it donated significantly more money to the church than those who recalled committing the sin but had not yet recalled being absolved of it. This effect was more pronounced the more participants believed in divine judgment and the more they engaged in religious activities such as reading the bible or praying. Our findings indicate that the Catholic ritual of confession is an effective means of promoting commitment to the church. These results complement a cultural evolutionary approach to religious prosociality, whereby religious practices evolve to the extent they contribute to high levels of cooperation in religious groups.
Reconciliation with the Church and Interior Penance
Nova et Vetera [English Edition], 2003
For Thomas Aquinas, the first effect (res et sacramentum) of the sacrament of penance or reconciliation is "interior penance". Thomas Aquinas does not juxtapose reconciliation with the Church and reconciliation with God, as some 13th century authors did and as some 20th century authors have suggested by making "reconciliation with the Church" the first effect of this sacrament. For Thomas Aquinas, the person of the penitent, reconciliation with God through the gift of charity, and the mediation of the Church converge in a profound unity.
A New Reformed Catholicity: Catholicity and Confessing in Reformed Ecclesiology
Interreligious Studies and Intercultural Theology, 2019
Reformed ecclesiology suffers from a lack of a concrete sense of catholicity, a lack that easily shatters unity in the church. This article broadly sketches a way in which Reformed confessions and the practice of confessing can help fill that lack, drawing from Robert Schreiter's The New Catholicity. By understanding confessing in terms of remembering dangerous memories, Reformed catholicity has the potential for enabling the church to be a unifying witness in an age where globalizing forces have fragmented societies and inflamed troubling sentiments.
Prayers, Penance, and Purgatory: Exalting the Grace of God By Turning Sinners into Saints
2020
This short paper examines the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory and various objections to it, namely those of John Calvin. A place of punishment after death to make restitution for sins according to various Protestant denominations detracts from the saving work of Christ on the cross. However, by examining early saints, Church fathers, Scripture, and ruminating on the nature of grace, one comes to the conclusion not only that Purgatory is incredibly Christian but also enhances, not detracts, from God's grace.
2020
Acknowledgements x Abbreviations xi v 2.4 An Unresolved Tension: Is the Freedom to say "No" and the Freedom to say "Yes" Equal? 2.5 Suffering as Intrinsic Consequence of Sin 2.6 Rahner's View of Sin and Christ as Redeemer 2.7 An Evaluation of Rahner's Doctrine of Sin 2.8 Conclusion CHAPTER THREE Reconciliatio cum Ecclesia: Rahner's Contribution Towards A Deeper Understanding of Penance 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Penance as Divine-Human Relationship: Reclaiming God's Self-communication to Humankind 3.3 The Theology of "Reconciliatio cum Ecclesia" (RWC) 3.4 RWC in relation to Mortal Sins Already Forgiven and Absolution for Venial Sins 111 3.5 Binding and Loosing in the Church 3.6 Problems evoked by RWC as a Physical Bond 3.7 The Necessity and Benefit of Reconciliation with Church 3.8 The Ecclesiological Character of the Sacrament of Penance 3.9 The Dilemma of Ecclesial Penance: Negotiating the Tensions 3.10 Saying "Yes" to God: Acceptance of the Mystery of God's Love and Mercy 3.11 Critique of Rahner's Theology of Penance 3.12 Conclusion: Sacramental Forgiveness and Human Freedom CHAPTER FOUR An Evaluation of the Renewal of Penance since the Second Vatican Council 4.1 Introduction 4.2 A Historical Sketch of the Sacrament of Penance from Early Church to Vatican II 146 4.3 Vatican II and the Reform of Penance vi 4.4 The 1973 Revised Rite of Penance 4.4.1 Characteristic Perspectives of the Revised Rite of Penance 4.4.2 The Name of the Sacrament: Clarifying the Terms 4.4.3 Forms of the Rite of Penance and their Implications i) Rite for the Reconciliation of Individual Penitents ii) Rite for Reconciliation of Several Penitents with Individual Confession and Absolution iii) Rite for Reconciliation of Several Penitents with General Confession and Absolution iv) A Comparative Analysis of the Three Forms of the Rite of Penance 4.4.4 The Office of the Confessor 4.5 Vatican II and the Present Practice of Penance 4.5.1 Penance and Everyday Life: Penitent's Obligations 4.5.2 Penance and Conversion of Heart 4.5.3. Penance and the Role of the Assembly 4.5.4 The Fate of Penance Post Vatican II: Some Critical Questions 4.6 Reconciliatio et Paenitentia: What was its impact? 4.7 Concluding Remarks
Penance in the Orthodox Church Today
Studia Liturgica, 1988
It is in order to reconcile God and man that Christ became incarnate, died, and rose. This was the faith of the early Church, as expressed by Paul in Rom. 5. Based on this, Irenaeus of Lyons developed his notion of recapitulation in Bk 3 of Adversus Haeresias. In the fourth century, Athanasius of Alexandria expressed the same idea in an even more positive light: 'The Word became man so that we might become God' (De Inc. 54). This doctrine of divinization, or theosis, has remained at the centre of the Orthodox understanding of Church, sacraments, and spirituality. Thus not only the sacrament of penance, but the entire life of the Church is meant to effect this reconciliation between God and humanity. The Church itself is the sacrament of reconciliation, for here the Christian can come into direct communion with God and, through Christ, with all creation. The Church year, the feasts and fasts, the various cycles of hymnography all have as their primary objective the incorporation of the Christian into salvation history, into the Body of Christ, which is the Church. Everything the Church does is aimed at bringing this unity into effect. Only through this unity can humanity transcend its fallen and sinful state. The sacraments, or 'mysteries', as they are generally called, are moments in the life of the individual and of the Church where this reconciling ministry of the Church is most evident. Through initiation and the eucharist, a person is made a member of the Body of Christ. The stains of sin are washed away, the new Christian is sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and allowed, for the first time, to partake of the Banquet of the Kingdom. The sacrament of reconciliation, or confession, as it is more commonly called, was gradually developed to restore into communion those who had fallen away from the Church after baptism. The sacrament of anointing the sick has as its aim the healing of both soul and body. Even the mysteries of marriage and ordination contain strong elements of healing and reconciliation. With this introduction in mind, we turn to the rite of reconciliation in its narrow sense, as it is expressed in the sacrament of confession. The primary aim of confession is to heal the penitent and reconcile him to the Church. In many respects, the Orthodox teaching on confession is similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church. The following are the chief similarities:"
Mendicant Friars and the Legacy of Indulgences
Ablasskampagnen des Spätmittelalters
Everyone knows, or thinks he knows, that the hucksterism of Johann Tetzel (1465-1519), the Dominican preacher of indulgence, occasioned Martin Luther's great rebellion against Catholic Christianity. Tetzel, who had had previous commissions as an indulgence preacher, had been commissioned to preach the indulgence to raise funds for the new St. Peter's Basilica then being built in Rome. Tetzel's arrival in Thuringia merely set off the ever-impulsive Luther to make public his arguments against not only indulgences, but traditional Christianity generally. Luther had been entertaining his rejection of the traditional teaching on justification for at least eighteen months already. The Augustinian, never one to mince words, not only attacked pardons, but Tetzel as well. Luther's personal and moral condemnation of Tetzel became standard fare in later centuries. There is, however, very little evidence that Tetzel either violated church law or behaved inappropriately in his preaching of the indulgence, something that Nikolaus Paulus highlighted in his 1899 study of Tetzel's career.¹ Information about Tetzel's activities and offices for the period 1503-1509 abounds. During that period, he preached indulgences on behalf of the Teutonic Order of Knights in Livonia, who had received permission from Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) for a jubilee pardon to be preached for three years in the ecclesiastical provinces of Magdeburg, Bremen and Riga. For three years Tetzel preached another indulgence, granted by Pope Julius II, in the provinces of Cologne, Mainz and Trier, beginning in 1506. Unfortunately, virtually nothing is known regarding his career for the crucial six years between 1510 and 1516. In any event, by Tetzel's lifetime, bishops and popes had been granting indulgences since the eleventh century; after about a century of these grants, scholars began to comment upon their power and efficacy in commentaries on the Sentences of Peter Lombard (in the case of theologians) and the Decretum and Decretals (in the case of canon lawyers). Tetzel himself served as inquisitor (another office in which Dominicans had long served disproportionately); thus did his superiors recognize his mastery of church teaching. That a mendicant friar was named to preach the indulgence for St. Peter's was also quite usual; from their very origins, the mendicants had vested interests in pardons, whether as preachers or as dispensers.² Dominicans had been preaching
Confessing the catholicity of the church
Starting from a recent discussion in the Netherlands about the application of the Pontifical Council for Social Communication for the Internet extension ‘.catholic,’ the author inquires into the meaning of confessing the catholicity of the church. He shows that ‘catholic’ is a title phrase, a descriptive term that often functions as a proper name. It is important to distinguish between both functions (naming and describing); in the PCSC application ‘catholic’ functions, contrary to what its critics assume, as a proper name. In ecumenical discussions, the main problem with catholicity is the Roman Catholic Church’s alleged all-or-nothing approach to catholicity, in which it asserts its own catholicity while rejecting the claim that other churches are catholic. This approach, however, has been abandoned for a degrees of catholicity approach which allows the Roman Catholic Church to recognise the catholicity of Protestant churches. Finally, the author argues that confessing the catholicity of the church is rather like pledging ourselves to furthering this catholicity than like asserting that this catholicity has been achieved.