Semper Reformada – Always Reforming.
http://wscal.edu/resource-center/resource/semper-reformada (by Michael Horton)
This Christmas Day, 2011, I can think of no better statement for the Church of our time and day! Indeed Christ has but One Church Body, both historical & visible even catholic, and may it be always ‘Semper Reformada’ – Always Reforming! It is here I see and also pronounce the mission of the so-called ‘Federal Vision’, in our day!
We should note that it was Luther who first said and used the idea of: Ecclesia semper reformada est!
Yes, I see only a Reformed Catholicity, that will renew the Church! But note, it must be both “reformed” and “catholic”. And here is ‘Tota Scriptura’! I am convinced that the only thing that will save our Western culture will be a biblical and theological renewal, within our historical churches! And btw, we should note that even the Roman Catholic Church in Europe, is under the attack of postmodernity!
The Church has always been somewhat the overseer of Holy Scripture, this is the nature of 1 Tim. 3:15, “the pillar and ground of the truth”. But in a strict sense the church did not create the NT, since even that was something God Himself did, but thru His Apostolic men and witness. And as Jesus said this was in “spirit & truth”. So the Catholicity of the Church is always both spiritual and visible here!
According to Phillip Schaff, “The Reformation is the legitmate offspring, the greatest act of the Catholic Church.” And to this, with Semper Reformada, I say amen! But, we also simply cannot diminish the Church Catholic! And so we must have both, if we are going to have the Apostolic Church! And today, we need the whole Church together as One. Yes, we cannot change Church history, so we are going to be somewhat divided, but here also we need to move closer in some kind of ecumenical fellowship. And this is something of my feeble effort here. AS the postmodern culture and world has moved into that negative place, and seeks to press and overcome the Church, the Church must simply move into postmodernity itself, and without fear fill that ever constant spiritual void, with the fulness of Christ Himself! Simply we must again be CHURCH to the world!
Btw, some are confounded with some of my writings and blogs, and am I Protestant or Catholic? And am I really Reformed, or just what? The answer world be I am an Anglican, both “catholic” and “reformed”, but indeed I am more theologically Reformational and Reformed, than straight “Catholic”, Anglo-Catholic, or English Catholic. And as I have said before, I am one that is simply involved, at least by theological vision, in the so called Federal Vision.
*But note, I am hardly anti-Catholic, being raised Irish Roman Catholic myself. But the papacy is hardly infallible! Rome too, like the whole Western Church needs a moral revival! It must begun at the top and the hierarchal. And this means sexual ethics within the leadership, clean house Rome!
Btw, one place I would disagee with Horton somewhat, is that the 16th and 17th century Creeds – in my case and liking.. the Irish Articles 1615 – as good as they might be, are not the bare Word of God itself! We need the Reformed and Reformational Creeds, but we simply always must stand beneath the bare Word of God foremost! In our so-called time we have theolog’s like Barth here, and also one of my fav’s today John Frame.
Fr. Robert,
At first reading of this post, I was altogether ignorant of the Federal Vision theology. I researched all night and found the Wikipedia article, Federal Vision. Please share your thoughts about this article.
Todd: This is a long theological subject, i.e. the FV, it is mostly involved with the Presbyterian Church, but it surely affects Reformed and Calvinist theology also. Here is another link…
http://www.federal-vision.com/minich_bounds_of_orthodoxy.html