A Better Vision of Christianity

Greg Goebel has hit on something that needs to be implanted in the DNA of the new Anglican Church in North America from its inception: a vision of Christianity which goes beyond the shallow theology and thin ecclesiology of American Protestantism (what I have referred to as Ecclesia Americana) and begins at the beginning, rather than picking up in the middle of the story.

We need a better vision of Christianity than we have. Most of our understanding is exclusively legal and moral. That is, we understand our faith this way:

1. We broke God's law
2. Jesus died in our place, thereby earning God's pardon
3. We respond to his work by living differently in his power

There is no problem with these points at all (except for #3's implied semi-pelagianism) and they are a kind of legal and moral framework.

But they are not that exciting, comprehensive, or explanatory.

Why?

I think it is because we are starting in the middle of the story and not the beginning. We need a vision of our Faith that is Trinitarian, Church-centered, and Explanatory.

Allow me to explain (or stop here and enjoy the rest of your day...)

Read the rest here.

In a similar vein, here is my previous article on the need to outgrow spiritual adolescence.

We who will be a part of the new province will do well to develop and implement this vision. If we don't have a sound theology and high ecclesiology which draws deeply from the well of Christian antiquity (Patristics), we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes and bequeath to future generations the same problems we sought to correct.