Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Credo in unum deum

I did that theological world view test. erm... Not sure it's as nuanced as it needs to be!

You scored as Roman Catholic. You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you.


Roman Catholic


79%

Emergent/Postmodern


75%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan


68%

Neo orthodox


64%

Modern Liberal


54%

Classical Liberal


36%

Charismatic/Pentecostal


14%

Reformed Evangelical


14%

Fundamentalist


11%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com


In my defence I think I will refer you to the words of a much wiser man. Hugh Montefiore wrote something just before he died about why he stayed an Anglican. It was published inlast week's edition of the Church Times. Annoyingly it's only available online to subscribers so I'm just going to type in a bit. Of course you should all be buying the Church Times if ONLY to see the fabulous cartoons of my fabulously talented friend Dave Walker.

Montefiore's arguments focussed on redressing the question of him becoming a Roman Catholic. He argued on the grounds of his differing theological outlook on certain parts of dogma, the Roman Catholic assertion that the Pope can be infallible, the overemphasis of the church on the role of the clergy rather than the laity, the assumption of the blessed Virgin Mary, sexuality and celibacy, and finally the ban on birth control and its "condemning many who will die from AIDS". Yet aside from his specific arguments I found his conclusion excellent.

"And so I make do with the Church of England. It is by no means perfect; and the Anglican Communion is gpong through a difficult timeat the moment. But Anglicanism will always go through difficult times because it is the ecumenical movement in miniature. I like belonging to a Church that contains different traditions of worship but which offers worship both from the Book of Common Prayer and from Common Worship. I am happy to worship alongside others who hold views different from my own, for we are all disciples ofChrist. I love a Church that is both Catholic and Reformed, and which is always open to new ways of expressing age-old Christian truth. I love a Church that has pastoral responsibilities not just to itsmembers but to all who live in its parishes. There are aspects of the Church ofEngland that infuriate me (and not only me) but deep down I dearlylove the Church that I joined when I first became a Christian."

1 comment:

Dave Walker said...

Thanks Sarah - you're too kind.