DOCSLIB.ORG

Confessional Scholarship?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Confessional Scholarship? Volume 3 Number 2 Article 6 December 1974 Confessional Scholarship? Nick Van Til Dordt College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/pro_rege Part of the Christianity Commons, Higher Education Commons, and the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Van Til, Nick (1974) "Confessional Scholarship?," Pro Rege: Vol. 3: No. 2, 20 - 27. Available at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/pro_rege/vol3/iss2/6 This Feature Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Publications at Digital Collections @ Dordt. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pro Rege by an authorized administrator of Digital Collections @ Dordt. For more information, please contact [email protected]. by Nick Van Tit Professor of Philosophy Mr. van TiL received his A.B. from CaLvin CoLLege. Subsequentto miLi- tary service in WorLdWar II he spent a semester at Westminster TheoLogicaL Seminary in the study of ApoLogetics. Thereafter he received M.A. degrees from the University of Michigan in both history and phiLosophy and foL- Lo~ed further graduate studies in phi'Losophy at Michigan State University. that nobody spoils your faith through Putting the title of this discussionin intellectualism." question form allows it to reflect rightly I t seems to me, however, that Col- the attitude of many Christian scholars. ossians 2:8 is not a warnina against the Becausethey are doing so many of the same pursuit of scholarship or of theoretic dis- things that the non-Christian scholar is tinctions and explanations. Rather, it doing, they are forced to askwhether their showsthat the antithesis runs through all of scholarshipas Christiansmust begin with a life. The antithesi$ is announced as early as confessionalstance. This questionhas been Genesis 3: 15 and is repeated through all of a problem for Christian scholarsever since the Bible. If we are to pursue our scholar- they came into contac~with Greek pagan ship biblically, we cannot do so by failing thought. It continuesto be a problem for to take account of the distinctions which many evangelicalChristians today, who, the antithesis demands. either as professionalscholars or as laymen, Some Christianshave evaded the ArJ-Q- are trying to attain consistencyand integra- ~ by the use of compartmentalization. tion in their intellectual life. On the one hand, they have the "givens" of Today, as in the past,some try to dis- their faith. Those are not to be questioned pose of the problem by dismissingthose and so are left standing apart from their conclusionsof theoretic thought which do professional pursuits as scholars. Tertullian not directly agree with the Bible as they said he believed becauseit was absurd to do interpret it. To aggravatethe conflict be- so. It defied all logic as well as the demands tween Jerusalemand Athens, one can refer of scientific verification. So Barth also had to such texts from the Bible as Colossians to deny miracle or the possibility of Christ 2:8, "Beware lest any man spoil you coming into history in a way that is through philosophy and vain deceit, after straightforwardly meaningful in the world the tradition of men,after the rudimentsof of sense experience. Because God, the the world and not after Christ." To make "wholly other," could not come directly sure that you cover all of scholarshipand into time, Barth had to place the Incarna- not just philosophy, you can call in the tion in the non-scientific limbo of Philips translation which reads,"Be careful "Geschichte" in order to avoid the radical -20- consequencesof the antithesis. construed to mean that I am calling into Some Christians seem to feel that the question his love for our Lord and Savior, problem created by the antithesis can be Jesus Christ, or his dedication to the cause solved by a kind of division of labor in of Christian scholarship. scholarship. Christians in the past have The medieval monk thought he could often busied themselves with theology and cloister himself away from the conflicts "moral science" as having particular religious inherent in the Christian's confrontation significance, while the natural scienceswere with the antithesis. But even then, those relegated to the non-Christian as a kind of who were engaged in scholarship were con- neutral area. In the natural sciences, the fronted with and sometimes tantalized by antithesis had little force. With that the existing pagan \Nritings. One can emphasis in mind, it often happened in the imagine a monk taking in the metaphors of early history of American church-related Virgil with heady delight while the abbot collegesthat the President taught the course was out of sight, somewhat I ike a teenage in "moral philosophy" to make sure that boy inhaling his first cigarette out of sight the job was done right and, I presume, to of his parents. strengthen himself in the assurancethat he Very early someone found a useful was heading a Christian college. figure to justify the appropriation of pagan Though I don't like the single-text ideas, when they were considered usefuI way of getting at the biblical perspective on and did not seem to carry any thought that a subject, I would call attention to the fact stood in diametrical opposition to the plain that it is also in Colossiansthat we are given truth of the Bible as they interpreted it. an impetus towards integrated learning. Th is figure was 'that of the Hebrews rei iev- I n Colossians 1: 17, where the personal ing the Egyptians of their treasure as the pronoun clearly refers to Christ, we read, Hebrews made their Exodus. This analogy "And he is ,before all things, and in him was already in use at the time of Augustine. all things consist." I take it that "all" here Rabanus Maurusof the ninth century court admits of no exceptions. It would follow school of Charlemagnerepeats the idea with that if we are to understand any "thing," the added provision, "The philosophers, that we will have to begin by taking it in its especially the Platonists, if perchance they creational context. Furthermore, "thing" in have spoken the truth, are not to be this context should not be limited to shunned but their truth appropriated as tangible entities such as desk and chairs, but from unjust possessors." Those who em- must be extended in meaning to cover also ployed tllis figure failed to note that much our doing and the very possibility of any of the Egyptian treasure was later used to meaningful saying-or non-meaningful say- form the golden calf that so stirred the ing, for that matter, as the latter can only wrath of Jehovah as f\l1osescam down from be what it is in the context of the former. the mount with the Ten Commandments. I n the history of Christian thought, In the thirteenth century, Thomas those who felt the need for some meaning- Aquinas, the noted Dominican theologian, ful association between their Christian con- formulated an approach to Christian scho- fession and their intellectual pursuits have larship which under the name "Thomism" from time to time approached the solutions hassince that time borne his stamp. Taking in divergent ways. Let me promptly and his general method from Aristotle, Aquinas sincerely say that if it turns out in sequel began with the empirical-rational method, that I differ radically with the position of a which in the modern period has been fellow Christian. it should by no means be identified with scientific method. By the -21 Thomistic method, all rational human beings was buffeted about by subsequent philoso- can share a common deposit of knowledge, Christian and non-Christian alike, as long as phers with a variety of disproofs. Many it comes by sense perception and is ration- were satisfied that it was permanently laid to rest by Kant when he suggestedthat the ally organized. No distinction need be argument is invalid becauseexistence is not maintained between Christian and non- a predicate. But it would be like saying, Christian thought as it operates with a God. is good; God is powerful; and God is common method and with common ingre- "is." But Kant's argument did 'not termi- dients. What distinguishes the Christian is the fact that through the_Bible he is given nate the discussion. Only a few years ago, Alvin Plantinga, Professor of Philosophy at the mysteries of the Christian faith which Calvin College, edited a small-volume treat- are necessary for his salvation. The inter- ment of the subject, thoughf h~ did not try pretation of the Bible, meanwhile, remains to find new validity for Anse'lm's ~pproach.1 the sole prerogative of the Church. The difficulty Wittl the argument of While Thomism had a necessary place the Thomists, both medieval,ari'd modern, for the Bible as to the way of salvation, at and the argument of Anselm should now be the same time it developed a "natural obvious. We cannot move by an unbroken theology" by which it offered proof for the causal series of events in creation to the existence of God on the basis of the induc- Creator as First Cause. ..,lJVecannot move tive procedures which had been developed by an unbroken chain of logical steps from by Aristotle. Thomists argued from the a presumably self-evident assumption in our obvious appearance of motion to the need minds to the Creator of all minds. In each of a Primer Mover. God, the omnipotent, case,we end up with an abstraction, instead' then becomes the best candidate for the of the God of our salvation who has title of Prime Mover. So with a bit of in- revealed Himself in the Bible as a personal, ductive sleight of hand, they moved up triune God and has provided for our re- from the natural to the Creator of the demption in Christ.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Guide to First Confession
    Guide to First Confession Make a Good Examination of Conscience Read the “Suggestions for a Good Examination of Conscience” on the other side of this sheet. Confess Your Sins to the Priest Go into the confessional. You have the choice to kneel at the screen or sit to talk face-to-face with the priest. The priest should welcome you kindly and warmly. Make the Sign of the Cross, and say these words: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. This is my first confession. These are my sins… Tell all your sins openly and honestly, including the number of times each sin was committed. Then, listen to the priest and follow his instructions. You may also ask any questions about the faith or how to grow in holiness. Pray the Act of Contrition when the priest tells you. ACT OF CONTRITION O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend You, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen. The priest will ask you to do a “penance,” usually some prayers, to show you are truly sorry for your sins. This is done after you return to your pew. If the priest assigns a good act, it should be done soon after you leave the church.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of a Confessional Seminary in Theological Education
    EDITORIAL The Role of a Confessional Seminary in Theological Education Frank Bateman Stanger* "A confession" has been defined as "a formulary which com prises the articles of faith," "a creed to be assented to" as one re lates himself to a religious institution. A confessional school of theology is one that either is commit ted to an already formalized confession of faith, or which adheres to a system of theological doctrines which can logically be formal ized into a confession of the Christian faith. Such a seminary is committed to religious doctrines which are deemed to be consistent with historic Christianity and which are interpreted through a par ticular theological perspective. These basic doctrines become the springboard of all the institution's theological thinking in its efforts to be relevant. Such a confession of faith becomes the norm for the examination of all else. The significance of confessional theological education can be seen through four approaches: (1) the purpose of the theological seminary, (2) the predicament of contemporary theological education, (3) the pertinence of confessional theological education, (4) the potential of the theological seminary. THE PURPOSE OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY The fulfillment of the major objectives of theological education assumes a confessional approach to religious truth. These objec tives have a twofold relationship: to the church for which the theo logical seminary exists, and to the theological student himself as he prepares for Christian ministry. The Council on Theological Education of the United Presby- President, Asbury Theological Seminary. 4 The Asbury Seminarian terian Church in the U.S.A. has defined the function of theological education in relation to the Church in these words: The enterprise of theological education is an instru ment of the Church for the furtherance of its mission in the world.
    [Show full text]
  • 6. Confessional Subscription Robert Preus, Ph.D., D
    FAITHFUL COMFESSI0Nt"P~LIFE IN THE CHURCH 6. Confessional Subscription Robert Preus, Ph.D., D. Theol. What is a Lutheran? What is the nature of subscription to the Lutheran Confessions? These two questions which are often considered together and which are as inseparably related as Siamese twins have become increasingly important in our day when Lutheranism is fighting for its identity and life. Today most of the Lutheran pastors and teachers throughout the world sub- scribe, at least pro forma, all the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran church: the ancient catholic creeds and the great Lutheran confessions of the 16th century, i.e. the Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Luther's two catechisms, the Smalcald Articles and the Formula of Concord. What does such subscription mean? Is such subscription any longer possible in our day of academic freedom and vaunted autonomy, ecu- menisin and dialogue? Many today think that subscription to any creed or confession is no longer viable and can represent only an impossible legalistic yoke upon an evangelical Christian or pastor. This is the conviction not only of Baptists and other traditionally non-credal denominations, but also of such renowned and conservative theologians as Karl Barth who holds that any human formulation of doctrine (as a creed or confession must be) is only a quest, an approximation, and therefore re1ative.l Are such objections valid? Is the Lutheran church able to justify con- fessional subscription today? And is she able to explain and agree on pre- cisely what is meant by such subscription? Today questions concerning the nature and spirit and extent of conies- sianal subscription have become a vexing problem, an enigma or even an embarrassment to many Lutherans.
    [Show full text]
  • The Augsburg Confession and the Confessional Principle Churchman 94/4 1980
    The Augsburg Confession and the Confessional Principle Churchman 94/4 1980 Robin A. Leaver In recent years Lutherans, particularly in America and Germany, have been re-examining their confessional inheritance. In 1977 the four hundredth anniversary of the compilation of the Formula of Concord was celebrated in a variety of ways. Not least was a succession of publications investigating the background of the document, its compilers, theology and later influence.1 The Formula was created in order to bring unity to the Lutheran churches which had been divided by various doctrinal controversies following Luther’s death in 1546. Although confessional in form, the Formula was not regarded as a replacement of the Augsburg Confession but rather as an amplification and clarification of certain doctrines implicit in the earlier confessional document. The formulators wrote: ‘Herewith we again whole-heartedly subscribe this Christian and thoroughly scriptural Augsburg Confession . And we do not intend . to depart from the aforementioned Confession or to set up a different and new confession.’2 Last year, 1979, the celebrations centred on the four hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Diet of Speyer (1529) at which Lutherans presented their ‘Protest’, an action that earned for them the appellation ‘Protestant’.3 ‘In matters which concern God’s honour and the salvation and eternal life of our souls, every one must stand and give account before God for himself.’4 This protest led on to the confession of the following year. The year 1980 is a double
    [Show full text]
  • Rite of Penance Introduction
    RITE OF PENANCE INTRODUCTION I The Mystery of Reconciliation in the History of Salvation 2 II The Reconciliation of Penitents in the Church’s Life 2 The Church is Holy but always in need of Purification 2 Penance in the Church’s Life and Liturgy 2 Reconciliation with God and with the Church 3 The Sacrament of Penance and Its Parts 3 a) Contrition 3 b) Confession 3 c) Act of Penance (Satisfaction) 3 d) Absolution 3 The Necessity and Benefit of the Sacrament 4 II Offices and Ministries in the Reconciliation of Penitents 4 The Community in the Celebration of Penance 4 The Minister of the Sacrament of Penance 4 The Pastoral Exercise of This Ministry 4 The Penitent 5 IV The Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance 5 The Place of Celebration 5 The Time of Celebration 5 Liturgical Vestments 5 A Rite for the Reconciliation of Individual Penitents 5 Preparation of Priest and Penitent 5 Welcoming the Penitent 5 Reading the Word of God 6 Confession of Sins and the Act of Penance 6 The Prayer of the Penitent and the Absolution by the Priest 6 Proclamation of Praise and Dismissal of the Penitent 6 Short Rite 6 B Rite for Reconciliation of Several Penitents with Individual Confession and Absolution 6 Introductory Rites 7 The Celebration of the Word of God 7 The Rite of Reconciliation 7 Dismissal of the People 8 C Rite for Reconciliation of Penitents with General Confession and Absolution 8 The Discipline of General Absolution 8 The Rite of General Absolution 8 V Penitential Celebrations 9 Nature and Structure 9 Benefit and Importance 9 VI Adaptations
    [Show full text]
  • Is Not Like a Revolving Door. We Need to Intend to Amend (Ie, Chang
    The Sacrament of Reconciliation (i.e., the Confessional) is not like a revolving door. We need to intend to amend (i.e., change) our life, so as to not repeat the same mortal sin(s). THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION DOES THE PENITENT’S “INTENTION OF AMENDMENT” AFFECT ABSOLUTION? The following are a few relevant citations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC): INTERIOR PENANCE 1430 Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion . Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance. 1431 Interior repentance is a radical reorientation [or amendment ] of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time, it entails the desire and resolution to change one's life, with hope in God's mercy and trust in the help of his grace. This conversion of heart is accompanied by a salutary pain and sadness, which the Fathers called animi cruciatus (affliction of spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of heart). Question: Can absolution be granted to a person, where or when there exists no firm purpose (intent, resolve) of amendment [an interior change] on the part of the penitent regarding the confessed sin(s)? Answer: No. (Yes, absolution can be withheld or denied.) In normal circumstances, when there isn’t any danger of death, in order to absolve a penitent who is sui compos (conscious and able to make a confession), the priest must be reasonably certain that the penitent: (1) Has actually confessed a sin (even a previously confessed and absolved sin is sufficient); (2) Has, in that moment, at least an imperfect sorrow for their sin (attrition – fear of punishment (the loss of heaven)); and (3) Has a purpose of amendment at that time.
    [Show full text]
  • Being a Confessional Church C a L V I N Th E O L O G I C a L Se M I N a R Y from the President Foru M Cornelius Plantinga, Jr
    C ALVIN THEOLOGI C AL SEMINARY FORUM S PRING 2008 Being a Confessional Church C ALVIN THEOLOGI C AL SEMINARY from the president FORUM Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. Providing Theological Leadership for the Church Volume 15, Number 2 Spring 2008 Dear Brothers and Sisters, REFLECTIONS ON We Calvinists have always wanted reform according to the Word of God. That’s BeinG A confessionAL CHUrcH the first thing “Reformed” means. We want a straightedge to guide reforms, espe- cially because sin has twisted our thinking. We want an outside word, an inspired 3 and infallible word, which defines “good” and “evil” not by human opinions, Why Be a Confessional Church? but by the wisdom of God. We want a picture of the kingdom of God so we can by Lyle D. Bierma see how life is supposed to go and then judge how life needs to be reformed in 5 order to go that way. We want the same Holy Spirit who had originally inspired Theology That Sings: A Discussion Scripture to inspire us when we take Scripture in hand to read or preach it. That’s on the Confessions Today why there’s a “prayer for illumination” not right before the sermon, but right before the reading of Scripture. We know that unless the Holy Spirit breathes 9 through Scripture all over again as it’s read, we might not hear it the right way With Integrity of Heart and Spirit and we might not believe it. by Henry De Moor But in thinking about applying Scripture to life, the Reformers faced a 11 problem, namely, that it’s hard to guide a program of reform by reference to the Is It Time for a New Confession? whole Bible, which is very large, or by reference to a single verse from it, which is by Kathy Smith very small.
    [Show full text]
  • Solicitation in Confession
    WHEN BAD ADVICE IN CONFESSION BECOMES A CRIME The canonical crime of solicitation is likely more widespread than many may suppose. By Dr. Edward N. Peters All would agree that if a given piece of advice is bad in the confessional, then a priest's giving it to a penitent would be, at a minimum, a failure in pastoral care. Depending on circumstances, a priest's proffering of bad advice in confession might even, as a violation of charity or justice, be sinful. But, that the giving of bad advice in confession could be a crime under Church law would be startling. And yet, exactly this reading of Canon 1387 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law is required, I suggest, in light of sound canonical tradition and recent Roman curial norms. Canon 1387 states: "A priest who in the act, on the occasion, or under the pretext of confession solicits a penitent to sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue is to be punished, according to the gravity of the delict, by suspension, prohibitions, and privations; in graver cases he is to be dismissed from the clerical state." The image of solicitation that springs to mind here is, of course, that of a priest using the confessional to propose carnal liaisons to a female penitent.l To be sure, such reprehensible behavior is criminalized by Canon 1387. But neither the text of Canon 1387 (specifically the phrase, "solicits a penitent to sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue") nor the tradition behind the modern canon construes the crime of solicitation that narrowly.
    [Show full text]
  • Paul Helm, "Calvin and Calvinism,"
    EVANGEL, January 1984 7 THEOLOGY Calvin and Calvinism The Anatomy of a Controversy Paul Helm Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Liverpool 'However the term Calvinist is in these days, among most, a These charges have been made increasingly in recent years by term of greater reproach than the term Arminian, yet I should various theologians, historians and preachers, and with all the not take it at all amiss to be called a Calvinist for distinction's apparatus of serious scholarship. In the welter of books and sake; though I utterly disclaim a dependence on Calvin, or articles it is possible to discern two basic approaches, that of believing the doctrines which I hold because he believed and those who start from a study of Calvin, and those who start from taught them; and cannot justly be charged with believing just as the side of Puritanism. he taught.' From the side of Calvin When Jonathan Edwards wrote these words (in 1754, in the preface to The Freedom of the Will) he was affirming a Although there is a considerable history of scholarship on John theological identity which was usual, if not commonplace. Calvin much of the modern impetus has come from Karl Barth. Certain churches were 'Calvinistic', others not. Those that were Students of Barth such as Professors T.F. and J.B. Torrance have believed themselves to be in basic confessional agreement held that Calvin's great achievement was to break with the with Calvin, particularly over the doctrine of salvation. presuppositions of mediaeval theology, according to which According to such churches, human salvation is by grace alone, redemptive grace presupposes and brings to perfection the grace which has its origin in the eternal decree of God to save natural endownments of mankind.
    [Show full text]
  • The Scriptural and Confessional Stance of American Lutheranism
    Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Master of Divinity Thesis Concordia Seminary Scholarship 5-1-1970 The crS iptural and Confessional Stance of American Lutheranism 1742-1867 Arthur Gillespie Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.csl.edu/mdiv Part of the Christianity Commons, and the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Gillespie, Arthur, "The crS iptural and Confessional Stance of American Lutheranism 1742-1867" (1970). Master of Divinity Thesis. 82. http://scholar.csl.edu/mdiv/82 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Divinity Thesis by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I THE SCRIPTURAL AND CONFESSIONAL STANCE OF AMERICAN LUTHERANISM 1742-1867 A Research Paper Presented to the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in fulfillment of the Research Elective, H.499 by Arthur Lynn Gillespie May 1970 Approved by: Advisor TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. THE MUHLENBERG ERA 4 III. THE PENNSYLVANIA MINISTERIUM 8 IV. THE GENERAL SYNOD 1820-1862 14 V. "AMERICAN LUTHERANISM" AND "CONFESSIONAL LUTHERANISM" IN TENSION 21 VI. DEFINITE PLATFORM: "AMERICAN LUTHERANISM" MAKES ITS MOVE 26 VII. THE INFLUENCE OF S. S. SCHMUCKER 32 VIII. THE GENERAL SYNOD 1862-1867 35 IX. THE GENERAL SYNOD IN THE SOUTH 40 X. THE FORMATION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL 42 XI. CONCLUSION 46 FOOTNOTES 49 APPENDIX A Constitution, 1781 58 APPENDIX B Ministerium Withdrawal from General Synod, 1823 .
    [Show full text]
  • 1 a Confessional Lutheran Understanding of Christian
    A Confessional Lutheran Understanding of Christian Apologetics and Its Practice David C. Thompson, Pastor, St. Timothy Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELS), Lombard, IL Paul replied, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus, but I am clearly speaking words that are true and sensible. Certainly the king to whom I am freely speaking knows about these things. Indeed, I cannot believe that any of these things has escaped his notice, because this has not been done in a corner. .” Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In such a short time are you going to persuade me to become a Christian?” (from a dialogue in Caesarea that included Governor Festus, St. Paul, and King Agrippa; Acts 26:25-28, EHV) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (St. Paul to Christians in Rome; Rom. 10:17, ESV) You are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. (Paul writing to Christians in Philippi while imprisoned in Rome; Phil. 1:7b, CSB). APOLOGETICS ON RECORD YET DIFFERENCES REMAIN Confessional Lutherans have discussed, debated, encouraged, utilized, or in some way or another dealt with apologetics for a long time. Our Evangelical Lutheran Synod has given it attention, perhaps more than most. There have been Reformation Lectures, articles in the Lutheran Synod Quarterly and Sentinel, courses at both the seminary and college, and numerous synod resolutions (e.g., 1985, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019). And there are statements, including the “Doctrine Committee Apologetics Study Document” (approved in 2012) that has been helpful and settling.1 Yet in spite of statements and resolutions, confusion continues among us regarding what it is, its purpose, its importance, its usefulness, or how to go about it.
    [Show full text]
  • Report of the Seal of the Confessional Working Party
    REPORT OF THE SEAL OF THE CONFESSIONAL WORKING PARTY March 2018 Contents FOREWORD ..................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 1: THE CONTEXT ........................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2: SOME THEMES IN THE SUBMISSIONS .................................................. 12 CHAPTER 3: LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS ...................................................................... 21 3.1 Pre-Reformation canon law ................................................................................... 21 3.2 The effect of the Reformation ................................................................................ 22 3.3 Canon 113 ............................................................................................................ 22 3.4 Practice at the time of the Proviso ......................................................................... 25 3.5 The scope of the Proviso ...................................................................................... 26 3.6 The Proviso and clergy discipline .......................................................................... 28 3.7 Cases in which absolution is withheld ................................................................... 28 3.8 Confidentiality – the general duty .......................................................................... 28 3.9 ‘Privilege’ in the law of evidence ..........................................................................
    [Show full text]