Book Notes 2 - An Introduction to Ecclesiology

This book was written by Veli-Matti Karkkainen, and is a very short overview of the vast world of ecclesiology. It advances in 21 chapters that are divided into three different sections. I have a small amount of space to deal with this book as I read the whole thing. It was 233 pages, about 60 more than the requirement. With that being my concern, the paragraphs describing each chapter will be brief.

Part 1 - Ecclesiological traditions

This part gives a brief overview of the ecclesiology of several different denominational traditions.

Chapter 1 - Eastern Orthodox

This church is as ancient as the Roman Catholic church. It sees itself as the one true Church and has several characteristics that set it apart. First of all, the church leans very heavily upon the sacraments. One of the main goals for the church is to bring together people in order to partake in the Eucharist. This leads to a notion that humanity is ever becoming more like God. This is the goal of Eastern Orthodox rather than the more guilt and sin based concepts of the West. The church is literally understood as the 'center of the universe.' Although, the paramount is the local church, not a national or state recognized church.

Chapter 2 - Roman Catholicism

The largest church body in the world. Philosophically, it sees itself as the continuation of the incarnation of Christ. More traditionally, Catholics have understood the previous the terms of the Vatican church. However, understanding of the church as being in direct communion with Christ has been expanding as the years advance. One of the most important developments is that the Catholic church dropped its claims to be the only true church in the years following Vatican II. Although the official claim is to have the most complete revelation of Christ, Catholicism has begun many dialogues with several Protestant and Pentecostal denominations.

Chapter 3 - Lutheran

This denomination is best known for Luther's idea of the priesthood of all believers. This made literacy and the Bible much more important than it was previously. Luther's view was that the Holy Spirit moved through the preached word and the sacraments. Both concepts needed to be executed properly in order to achieve the right effect. Lutheran theology further stresses the love for one's neighbor and the participation in God. As one experiences God on their own, since this is now a responsibility, then one will then experience God's attributes (wisdom, love, etc.).

Chapter 4 - Reformed

The founders of reformed thought are Zwingli and Calvin. Calvin especially differentiated from Luther on the idea of leadership. This is why one will see elders in a Presbyterian church as well as a minister and so forth. Karl Barth has now gone back to further critique reformed thought from within the tradition. He further expanded the notion of the church as 'the body of Christ,' and further believed that the priesthood of all believers would not become strong again until the Pauline gifts of the Spirit were recovered.

Chapter 5 - Free Churches

Ecclesiology for free churches is harder to speak of because it does not represent any single denomination. However, several patterns emerge. First of all, unmediated access to God is stressed with free churches. The notion of the priesthood of believers is mightily strengthened by this belief. Leadership becomes decentralized and the congregation is empowered to perform in ministry. Furthermore, mission and missionary activity is not just seen as something the church does, but as something that is the main purpose of the church.

Chapter 6 - Pentecostal/Charismatic

These churches have a strong emphasis on experiencing God in a personal and supernatural way. The gifts of the Spirit, including speaking in tongues, are thought of as being essential for the life of the lay-person. Most Pentecostals stress the invisible nature of the church and therefore have a strong ecumenical feel to them. On the other hand, charismatic churches have had a habit of going back to the roots of their particular traditions. Charismatic churches also carry a higher value for community then their Pentecostal counter-parts.

Chapter 7 - The Ecumenical Movement

The unity of the church as a mandate of God is the driving force behind this movement. In the past 50 years bodies like the World Council of Churches have been set up in order to seek a more ecumenical church. Some major obstacles lie in disinterest. The fact is, many Free churches do not see the need or believe in the physical unity of existing churches. Churches like the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox are also slow to back down from their 'one true church' understanding of themselves.

Part II - Leading contemporary theologians

This section discusses how modern theologians are changing the faces of their respective traditions.

Chapter 8 - John Zizioulas

A bishop in the Eastern Orthodox church, he calls for true communion. He goes as far as stating that there is not an individual self. He therefore concludes that the Eucharist is the foundational act of the Church. He is also very adamant in the local church. He believes that all other church forms derive from the local church.

Chapter 9 - Hans Kung

A radical reformer of the Catholic church. He believes that the spirit of the church itself is in freedom. He also promotes the idea of the use of charisms, or gifts of the spirit. He believes that the reason that the Catholic church is slow to recognize this is because of legalism. He believes very strongly in the unity-in-diversity concept and is a leader in the ecumenical movement.

Chapter 10 - Wolfhart Pannenberg

Pannenberg is a Lutheran theologian who reacted to the submission of the church to the individual. His ideas strongly promote the church as the primary reason to exist as a Christian. He sees church as a prediction and a sign of a coming age when all would be united under one God. If a person rejects this notion then their election fails. Pannenberg in this way offers a different twist on the idea of salvation and what it means to be the 'elect' of God.

Chapter 11 - Jurgen Moltmann

He was vehemently opposed to the idea of a state church and exclusively believed in believer's baptism. He describes the church as a voluntary gathering of God's people. He also stated that the church should be a missionary church, but not to spread the church but the kingdom instead. In order to perform this tasks the full gifts of the Holy Spirit are absolutely crucial.

Chapter 12 - Miroslav Volf

His ultimate goal is to present the church as an image of the triune God. The presence of Christ is not mediated through the leaders, but through the entire congregation. This is a radical view based upon the several previous chapters. The church is first and foremost an assembly of those gathered in Jesus' name. The universality of the Spirit and full participation of the congregation are stressed by Volf.

Chapter 13 - James McClendon Jr.

McClendon also lifts up the idea of a strong local church. Unlike the previous, he stresses the importance of reconnecting with the Jewish background of the church. He points out that the two did not split until halfway through the 2nd century! The local church is the place to live out this 'new way' of life in Christ. Community is essential.

Chapter 14 - Leslie Newbigin

Newbigin is a fierce advocate for missions. Not only is it important, but the key purpose of the church in general. His thoughts are characterized by mission first, but with ecumenism and the dynamic nature of the church as well. He believed that when the church stopped striving for missions and unity that it was going against its very nature.

Part III - Contextual eccleciologies

These are ideas that present themselves based on certain people groups and cultural anomalies.

Chapter 15 - Non-church movement in Asia

This chapter chronicles the Mukyokai movement in Japan founded by Kanzo Uchimura. Church is to be understand as a meeting between fellow believers. Absolute authority in leadership is not to be trusted and is outright resisted. All church leaders in Mukyokai have full-time secular positions and are volunteers at the church. The relationship between God and the individual is highly stressed. This comes from the mistrust of Western missionaries.

Chapter 16 - Base communities in Latin America

This happens within the Roman Catholic church. Essentially, a shift in understanding from the importance of the Vatican to the importance of the local churches began in Latin America. Churches made up of the poor and disenfranchised began crying out for freedom. Theology became based upon this and the churches become known as churches 'from below.' The hierarchical order of Catholicism was broken and reversed in some circumstances.

Chapter 17 - Feminist church

Stresses that the church needs to find a way to open back up more feminine ideals. These churches focus on more shared leadership as well as reconciling with creation. A more wholistic view of faith is created from their ideas.

Chapter 18 - AIC

Churches in Africa split from Western oriented churches for obvious reasons. This created many churches that are distinctly African. They are characterized by a deep understanding of the interaction between humans and spirits. Oral tradition is also a very important aspect of AICs.

Chapter 19 - Shepherding movement

This movement is fading quite a bit because of the weak foundations of its idealism. However, it stressed the discipleship of the church rather than a strong leader at the top. Many people would be chosen to shepherd the various 'flocks' within the church. This system led to leaders who would not let their authority be questioned.

Chapter 20 - 'world church'

This chapter spoke of the necessity of removing Western bias from missionary work and from the idea of the church in general. Fusing culture with Christ has led to disastrous results and understanding this is the way to move forward.

Chapter 21 - Post-modernism

The idea in this chapter was one of my favorites. Resistance to the intellectual foundations of post-modernism is stressed. The church must set itself up as a separate city and not get swept away by post-modern thought.

Okay...phew! Hope that wasn't too long....