CHRISTIAN HISTORY IssueIssue 129 129 RecoveryRecovery from from ModernModern AmnesiaAmnesia AncientAncient practices practices forfor a afaith-full faith-full futurefuture $5.00 US $7.00 CAN ChristianHistoryMagazine.org REST IN PEACE Far left: Why is Meth- odist theologian Tom Oden’s tomb- stone important? See p. 14. DEEP THOUGHT Left: How did Pius X (pictured here working in the Vatican gardens) try to deal with the modern age? See p. 28. unlearned rise and take heaven by force, and here we are with all our learning— see how we wallow in flesh and blood? Are we ashamed to follow because oth- ers have gone before?” He stormed into another part of the garden, where he famously heard a voice chanting “Take and read” and picked up his copy of Paul’s epis- Did you know? tles and opened it to Romans 13. Stricken, he gave his life to Christ. That’s the part of the story we remem- MODERN THINKERS WHO HAVE TURNED TO THE ber—but it was prompted by a chain of testimony early church weren’t the first to do so reaching all the way back to the first century. TEPID MONKS THE REST OF AUGUSTINE’S STORY Benedict of Nursia (c. 480–547) in his Rule prescribed Many of us think we know all about the famous “gar- readings from the church fathers as well as the Bible den conversion” of Augustine of Hippo (354–430). But to help form his monks in the faith. He noted that do we? On that day an African officer named Ponti- early Christians prayed through “in a single day cian visited Augustine’s villa and began idly to flip what I pray we tepid monks may get through in a through a copy of Paul’s epistles. It prompted him whole week.” to praise the monastic life pioneered by Antony the Great (251–356)—which Antony had explicitly initi- HOLY DOCTORS ated to capture the spirit of the martyrs. Pontician told Frequently those seeking renewal of medieval Cathol- Augustine that two of his fellow soldiers had decided icism argued they were returning to ancient teach- to join a monastery after reading Athanasius’s Life of ings. John Wycliffe (1330–1384) appealed to Augustine Antony, and so had their fiancées. when arguing against transubstantiation: After Pontician left Augustine turned to his friend Nobody on earth is able to see Christ in the conse- Alypius and said, “What is the matter with us? The crated Host with the bodily eye, but by faith. This same opinion is confirmed by blessed Augustine’s statement. ”What is seen is the bread and the cup . but what faith demands is that the bread is the body of Christ and the cup is his blood.” In his defense of his refusal to recant TOCK PHOTO at the Council of Constance, Jan Hus (c. 1369– S Y 1415) also name-checked Augustine: M LA GRAVE A A I, Jan Hus, in hope a servant of Jesus D ITI / N M Christ, am not willing to declare that O R EDIA EDIA every article drawn from my books is AGAZINE E M M G AMOTTE / FI AL PORTRAIT GALLERY erroneous, lest I condemn the opin- L N ET OLLE ONIAN N ions of holy doctors, particularly of the C S T N blessed Augustine. E e—Ja G N SMITH E utdoors—Wiki R — O C N BSTO hurch Fathers—Paolo D M C ilhouette—Natio O What does the trauma of O YEAR OF CRISIS S T G N N the year 1968 in US history have to do with E PIUS X . Parker— P I DE HICA MOSAIC NEVI J. a theological turn toward the past? See p. 12. O PO C 1 ChristianChristian History History GOLDEN OLDIES Why did a new desire to imitate church fathers and mothers (pictured here at an Angli- can church in Rome) arise in the 20th c.? See p. 9. WE TEACH NOTHING NEW The popular image of Luther pic- tures him as breaking with every- thing. Yet while he denied that the church fathers were error-free, he firmly believed his movement was restoring the ancient truth of the gospel: We teach nothing new. We teach what is old and what the apos- tles and all godly teachers have taught, inculcated, and established before us. When Lutherans compiled the Book of Concord in 1580 to state true Lutheran doctrine, they began with the three most famous ancient creeds: the Apostles’ Creed (sixth century), the Nicene Creed A LONG SHADOW Right: Who (fourth century), and the Athanasian Creed (sixth was John Williamson Nevin (pic- century). In addition the Book of Concord cites over 20 tured here in silhouette), and how did he foreshadow modern church fathers from the second through the eighth debates? See p. 37. centuries. WRITERS OF A PURER AGE “ThaT old-Time religion” In the Institutes John Calvin claimed the church fathers John Wesley wanted Methodism were not purely Roman Catholic property: to recover primitive church prac- It is a [slander] to represent us as op posed tices and fervor to renew Angli- to the Fathers (I mean the ancient writers of a canism. His tombstone states his purer age), as if the Fathers were supporters of desire to “Revive, Enforce and their impiety. Defend The Pure Apostolical Doc- He acknowledged errors in the fathers, but also trines and Practices of the Primi- used them to argue against clerical celibacy, fast- tive Church.” In one of his ser- ing, and even scholastic theology mons, he called Methodism “the old religion, itself: the religion of the Bible, the religion of the All the fathers with one heart primitive Church, the religion of the have abhorred and with one Church of England” and enlisted Clement TOCK PHOTO S voice have detested the fact of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, Tertullian, Ori- Y M that God’s Holy Word has been gen, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian, John LA GRAVE A A D contaminated by the subtle- Chrysostom, Basil, Ephrem of Syria, and ITI / N M O ties of sophists and involved Macarius as his supporters in renewal. C H R EDIA EDIA AGAZINE in the squabbles of dialecti- E M M G AMOTTE / FI AL PORTRAIT GALLERY L cians. Why, if the fathers were Our first entry is adapted from Chris Arm- N ET OLLE ONIAN N C now brought back to life, and strong’s Patron Saints for Postmoderns S T N E heard such brawling art as these (2009). e—Ja G N SMITH E utdoors—Wiki R — O persons call speculative theol- C N BSTO hurch Fathers—Paolo D M C ogy, there is nothing they would ilhouette—Natio O O S T G N N E PIUS X less suppose than that these folk How did J. I. Packer . Parker— P ELDER STATESMAN I DE HICA MOSAIC NEVI J. O PO C were disputing about God! advance 20th-c. ecumenism? See p. 32. Issue 112129 21 Discovering Mary, the Church, & the Papacy ◆ THE GREAT DISCOVERY ◆ RETHINKING MARY IN THE ◆ THE PAPACY Our Journey to the Catholic Church NEW TESTAMENT What the Pope Does and Ulf and Birgitta Ekman Edward Sri Why It Matters he Ekmans were founders of a large cholars often question how much Steve Ray and Dennis Walters TPentecostal church that was the rst Sthe New Testament can tell us about his book explains that without the “mega-church” in Sweden, and Ulf was the Mother of Jesus. In this compre- TPope’s divinely guided leadership, the country’s most prominent Christian hensive work, Dr. Sri shows how the the Church would suffer the contradic- leader. With such prominence they were Bible reveals much more about Mary tions and divisions that many Christian no strangers to controversy, but news of than is commonly appreciated. He ex- groups know firsthand. e teaching their leaving Word of Life Church to amines every New Testament reference passed down from the apostles would become Catholics was a bombshell in to Mary, o ering a fresh, in- depth look be subject to arbitrary, numerous Sweden. is inspiring testimony tells at her that helps us know Mary better and interpretations. In describing the Pope’s why they made that di cult journey. her role in God’s plan. important role as leader, it also ad- GRDP . Sewn So cover, $17.95 RDMP . Sewn So cover, $17.95 dresses common misconceptions and objections to the papacy. “An up-to-date, thoroughly exegetical anal- “Ulf and Birgitta Ekman spent decades as PPCP . Sewn So cover, $15.95 evangelists. Ulf was known as ‘Sweden’s ysis of every key New Testament passage on Mary. A major achievement, and must-read Billy Graham’. This book is their amazing “An easy-to-digest, clear introduction to for anyone interested in what the Bible really story. You don’t have to be Catholic to love it. all things papal. From Peter to Francis, and teaches about the Mother of Jesus.” If you’re human, it will move you.” from Matthew’s Gospel to Revelation, it — Dr. Scott Hahn, —Dr. Brant Pitre shows why the papacy has an indispensable Author, Rome Sweet Home Co-author, A Catholic Introduction to role in salvation history.” the Bible: e Old Testament —Karl Keating Founder, Catholic Answers; “Reading this book is akin to listening to “ is could only be authored by someone Author, Catholicism and Fundamentalism husband and wife at a kitchen table, who with a mastery of contemporary biblical are truly humbling and charming company. “ e authors de ly untangle knotty miscon- scholarship who is also a lifelong scholar of eir resolve to convert to Catholicism is ceptions and make the case that Christian- Mariology – like Edward Sri.