An Aching Desire for Exacting Control
I get that doctrine is important to the life of the Church. Doctrine is part of the Church’s call to bear witness to the work of God in Christ, and it can be both an act of worship, as well as a catalyst in bringing the Church to it’s knees in worship. And yet, for all this, I often sense that beneath doctrinal articulations is a hard flexing of the will-to-power, that doctrine is itself the product of an aching desire for exacting control.
Wrote the following comment on September 24th, 2014 at 6:39 pm #
Yeah?
Well, guess what?
Because we live in an imperfect world, things don’t often go as we would hope, imagine, or plan.
And in part, that’s why the Magisterium exists, and a decision was made to publish the Catechism, so that everyone might be able to see, read and hopefully understand the whys and wherefores of doctrine.
I write, of course, from a Catholic perspective, because I am Catholic. And, the importance of tradition, in conjunction with a meeting of contemporary needs is important in the Church.
Just about the time when we get settled in our ways, the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit blows the cobwebs of bad habit from our mind and body, and infuses us with the fragrant pneuma of Heaven.
I sense this happening even now with Papa Francisco.
Of course, there are, and will be naysayers. But I assure you, his election was guided from above, and now is the time, today is the day that we can again begin to hear His voice anew.
Wrote the following comment on September 24th, 2014 at 8:04 pm #
Good to hear from you Kevin. I like what you said about the Holy Spirit blowing away the cobwebs of bad habit. It seems to me that Papa Francisco is an embodiment of this. By the way, for what it’s worth, my brief post above was more inspired by my experience of Protestant doctrine, particularly of the Reformed persuasion, than anything else. To be fair, I have also been brought to my knees in awe by some works of Reformed theology. So, I guess it runs the spectrum. Hmmm, sounds a lot like the human condition: the heights of glory and the depths of brokenness.
Wrote the following comment on September 25th, 2014 at 12:07 am #
One of the issues in most Protestant churches has been the change of liturgy to more inclusive language. People, because we’re creatures of habit but also stubborn, don’t always embrace it. Our Presbyterian church has a new hymnal with songs from other cultures, and they don’t sound like the ones we USED to sing. I think it’s all good. (Well except the hymnal’s dropped a lot of harmonizations, and I find unison singing boring; MY cross to bear, as it were.)
Wrote the following comment on October 17th, 2014 at 9:46 am #
Thanks Anthony (Tony) this is good. I have been thinking along the same lines as well. I have been somewhat embroiled in this argument of who God really is…