Influences in the growth of the Church understanding of herself
By: David Araque Gonzalez
I would like to mention, trying to summarizing from the book of J. Auer, the influences in the Church understanding of herself have to do with different mentality of the various people who were her mainstay.
1. Israel, the people of God. From Abraham and the twelve sons of his grandson Jacob, Israel became God’s people through the “law of God” and His “covenant” which would rule the entire life of this people. Jesus and his disciples as sons of Israel regarded themselves as their people: God’s people.
2. Semitic Syrian. A center for Gentile mission under Paul and Barnabas grew up in Antioch, the capital of Syria. It was here that the members of the Church were first called Christians. Being closely related to the Jewish people, they kept well the most important elements of the Christian faith. This people developed boldly Christian doctrine and Theology, under the influenced of Aristotelian philosophy, especially in the catechetical school of Antioch. From there we have great Fathers: Ephrem the Syrian and John Damascus.
3. Greek people. They were very important as interpreters of the Christian message. It is in the Greek language, the international language of that time, that the New Testament has come down to us. Under the influence of platonic philosophy, especially in the catechetical school of Alexandria (Origen and Clement), faith and knowledge became a fundamental question Christianity, not only in theology, but in the Church’s communities as well.
4. Roman people. They introduced a new element, not only by its encouragement of Christian persecution, but even more by their idea of “law and order” and its consciousness of the state. This form of thought raised and sustained questions of power, rank and organization in the Church. With Constantine the Church would found her hierarchical order and in the basis for the marriage Church-State, centralized in Rome. With the consequence that the Church became secularized.
5. Germanic peoples. They gave the Western Church the inner structure through medieval “clericalism”, literary, education, greater possessions and higher power became the prerogative of the clergy and few noble families. Germanic feudal system was supported and deepened through Christians ideas. The world Church, in that time, was identified herself with the “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation”.
6. Slavic peoples. Around the turn of the millennium, the Eastern Church came into contact with the Slavic people. It developed a spiritually new variant of its own nature in the Russian Church with center in Moscow which was regarded as the third Rome.
All these different mentalities has modeled the Church’s way of thinking of herself until Vatican II where we got an “unified” way whereby the Church wanted to begin a dialogue with these historical realities in order to become everything for everyone and to gain every one and everything for Christ (Cf. I Cor. 9:19-22).
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David Araque Gonzalez 11134T
Understanding relationship between Church and Revelation
Sometimes the Church has been related with revelation only through the relationship between the Bible and the Church; Avery Dulls in his book ‘Models of Revelation’ gives us five models which can help us to understandthis complex relationship.
1. Church as the guardian of revelation. This model shows the importance of the doctrine of the Church for clarifying the ambiguities in the symbolic language used by God in His revelation.
2. Historical Model. The Church preserves the memory of the great deeds of God (Christ event) and is in the Church where there is a proper symbolic environment for the actualization of ancient patrimony.
3. Experimental Model. Recognition of ecclesiastical office as a symbolic prolongation of Christ’s own presence but not Christ himself, that is to say, popes, bishops, councils witnesses to, not creators, of the Church’s faith and practices.
4. Dialectical Model. TheChurch is not the revelation in itself but under scripture the great sign of revelation, this revelatory power has been got not by herself but by reason of him to whom she . The Church is a visible as well as an invisible reality both aspects are coming from God.
5. Fifth Model. In this model history is seen more than a sequence of external events. It seen as a progressive molding of human consciousness as having occurred in Jesus Christ, who releases new energies of love. God is redemptively present in human history as a whole. Therefore the Church is continually assisted by the Holy Spirit to discern the signs of the times and reinterpret its dogmatic heritage in ways that make sense to a new age.
Concluding all the models present somehow the tension human-divine existing in the Church, so that we may understand and value the Church as the symbolic presence of Christ, who is himself the symbolic presence of the Word in human flesh and thus the Church preserves the realism of revelation.
· Dulles, Avery, Models of Revelation. New York: Doubleway& Company Inc 1983.
Reflection on Africae Munus
David Araque Gonzalez 11134T
I
would like to reflect upon the title ´the New Evangelization´,numbers 159 to
171 proposed by the Pope in the document, a proposal which urges African
Christians to be bearers of Christ, witnesses of the risen Christ and
missionaries in the footsteps of Christ.
The
invitation in this title starts urging people to become bearers of the light of
the world: Jesus Christ. But to do that the work of evangelization must be done
‘inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit’ to assure fruitful and lastly
results. This evangelization must start with the proclamation of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ which leads to the encounter with the person of the Lord Jesus. In
this regard Christians must attach themselves to the source where they can
surely find the words of Jesus the Lord: in the Holy Scripture which ‘will
enable us to discover the true face of Jesus, the revelation of the Father, and
his saving work’. The encounter with Jesus Christ give us the assurance of receiving
His Holy Spirit as the disciples in Pentecost, with the following
consequence,that is, the work of evangelization. Only in this way, there is no
short cut, Christian can become bearers of Jesus Christ: the light of the
world, and by His very Words also become the light and salt of the world.
In
the second invitation there is a need to witness the Risen Christ and proclaim
in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations. Because
evangelization consist in witnessing Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit,
with that in mind and heart Christians can easily be at the service of
reconciliation, justice and peace needed in African continent. This witnessing
includes the initial ardour and zeal which were present in the lives of many
saints, martyrs, confessors and virgins. After 100 hundreds of years of
evangelization the Church in Africa is trying to renewed and make fresh and
live the commitment of bringing the Gospel to those who do not know the name of
Jesus Christ and also to do a new evangelization having into account the new
situation of the continent as well in the entire world, in this the Church in
her teaching must integrate all the elements at her disposal to enhance
Catechesis and integrate theoretical and spiritual dimensions into the life of
the people in Africa. Finally the document emphasis rely on the person in
himself who is the best means to witness the Risen Jesus, even missing all the
other means that the Church has, for instance the mass media and world of
technology.
In
the third invitation of this title of the document there is the need of being
imitators of Jesus, being missionaries in the footsteps of Christ. The document
recognize the openness of the Church in Africa to this duty, saying ‘in Africa
the Holy Spirit is constantly raising up men and women, who gathered in various
associations, movements and communities, devote themselves to the spread of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ’ and also in by means of cooperation from dioceses which
are sending missionaries to other part of the world where there is lacking of
vocations.
Reflection on the image of the
Church
David Araque Gonzalez 11134T
Sometimes
people fail to define and describe what the Church is. Sometimes because one is
“too faithful or too fanatic” (but not a true believer) to notice that the
Church as formed by human beings, has some failures. And on the other hand one
can develop a deep hatred or be against the Church, therefore able only to see
her faults and not her virtues. We have to accept that mostly all of us have a
distorted and biased imaged of the Church. Based on a reading from Hans Kung in
his book ‘the Church’, I will try to see three different views, the ones who
are fascinated by the external and physic aspect of the Church (mainly the
unbelievers), the fanatics and “traditionalist” believers who idealize the
Church and finally the believer who really know that their belief is based on
the fact that the Church is a work of God and the place where the Holy Spirit
is at work.
In
the case of the unbeliever most of them have two ways of looking at the Church,
with admiration or with criticism. Admiration for her history, her
organization, her magnificent temples, even for the richness of her liturgical
celebrations and everything that one can see outside. In this view there might
be also a critic view whereby people are only concern with the scandals in the
Church along her history. Criticism and admiration is often coming from an
external view of something, although is real; it attacks an external aspect of
the Church which may be part of her particular history but not of her permanent
nature, to be the Holy people of God which is not an static reality is a
dynamic one, it is a journey towards perfection.
Another
view is the view of the fanatic (the blind believer… but believer anyway) who
is inside the Church but because of “ancient tradition” is unable to see and to
help in correcting the misbehaving of his/her Church, most of this kind of
believers believe that the Church, I mean the institution, is almighty and able
to do whatever She wants. These believers are unable to see the unnature of the
Church, the possibility of some evil in the Church, idealizing her as a goddess,
which is erroneous because we cannot confuse God with his works (CCC 750)
In
the previous visions they do see the Church as a static entity. Now the view of
the believer, in the sense of believe as catholic doctrine is concern, who
believes in the Church as the place where the community of believers gather
together to look for and journey from the darkness and uncertainty (that there
are in our lives as human beings) completely dependent on God’s grace and
truth. We believe that faith comes from God’s grace through this gathering of
the people (the Church), no individual can attain faith outside this gathering.
As believers we say that we believe in the Church because we believe in the
power of the Holy Spirit who dwells and is at work in the Church
Having
seen the different visions, we as people, who are seeking for the truth, we
have to learn how to see the Church as it is one with her two components, or
nature and unnature. The divine component, holy and inner; and the human
component, external and many at times inclined to evil deeds. This reality was
foreseen by Jesus, saying: ‘And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock
I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it’ (Cf.
Matthew 16:18), recognizing the presence of holy and evil deeds in His Church.
Bibliography
KUNG,
H., The Church, New York: Sheed and
Ward 1967.
David
Araque Gonzalez 11134T
Understanding
relationship between Church and Revelation
Sometimes
the Church has been related with revelation only through the relationship
between the Bible and the Church; Avery Dulls in his book ‘Models of
Revelation’ gives us five models which
can help us to understandthis complex relationship.
1. Church as the guardian of
revelation. This model shows the importance of the doctrine of
the Church for clarifying the ambiguities in the symbolic language used by God
in His revelation.
2. Historical Model.
The Church preserves the memory of the great deeds of God (Christ event) and is
in the Church where there is a proper symbolic environment for the
actualization of ancient patrimony.
3. Experimental Model. Recognition
of ecclesiastical office as a symbolic prolongation of Christ’s own presence
but not Christ himself, that is to say, popes, bishops, councils witnesses to,
not creators, of the Church’s faith and practices.
4. Dialectical Model. TheChurch is not the
revelation in itself but under scripture the great sign of revelation, this
revelatory power has been got not by herself but by reason of him to whom she .
The Church is a visible as well as an invisible reality both aspects are coming
from God.
5.
Fifth
Model. In this model history is seen more than a sequence
of external events. It seen as a progressive molding of human consciousness as
having occurred in Jesus Christ, who releases new energies of love. God is
redemptively present in human history as a whole. Therefore the Church is
continually assisted by the Holy Spirit to discern the signs of the times and
reinterpret its dogmatic heritage in ways that make sense to a new age.
Concluding
all the models present somehow the tension human-divine existing in the Church,
so that we may understand and value the Church as the symbolic presence of
Christ, who is himself the symbolic presence of the Word in human flesh and
thus the Church preserves the realism of revelation.
·
Dulles, Avery, Models of Revelation. New
York: Doubleway& Company Inc 1983.
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