GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY THE SECRET SACRAMENT: THE ESSENTIALITY OF BIBLICAL COMMUNITY FOR CHRISTIANS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF CHRISTIAN THOUGHT IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN CHRISTIAN THOUGHT BY AUSTIN D. PFEIFFER JULY 5th, 2012 Accepted by the Faculty of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Christian Thought Examining Committee: Faculty Adviser: Dr. Robert Mayer, Senior Librarian First Reader: Dr. Donald Fairbairn, Robert E. Cooley Professor of Early Christianity Copyright © 2012 by Austin D. Pfeiffer All Rights Reserved This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA. To Andy Hamer Just about now, by the way, we are beginning the tenth year of our friendship; that's a fairly large slice of one's life, and in the past year we've shared things together almost as closely as in the previous years of our vita communis. -Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Eberhard Bethge, from Tegel Military Prison, April 11th, 1944 What life have you, if you have not life together? There is not life that is not in community, And no community not lived in praise of GOD. Even the anchorite who meditates alone, For whom the days and nights repeat the praise of GOD, Prays for the Church, the body of Christ incarnate. And now you live dispersed on ribbon roads, And no man knows or cares who is his neighbor Unless his neighbor makes too much disturbance, But all dash to and fro in motor cars, Familiar with the roads and settled nowhere. Nor does the family even move about together, But every son would have his motorcycle, And daughters ride away on casual pillions. -T.S. Eliot, “Choruses from 'The Rock'” in The Complete Poems and Plays: 1909-1950. Contents PREFACE vii ABSTRACT xi INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE. THE BIBLICAL BACKDROP OF COMMUNITY 16 Chapter 1. The Old Testament Foundation of Community 21 Chapter 2. The New Testament Image of Community 30 PART TWO. A THEOLOGICAL VISION OF BIBLICAL COMMUNITY 49 Chapter 3. Twentieth-Century Portraits of Biblical Community 51 Chapter 4. A Prescription For The Secret Sacrament: 63 Biblical Community In The Twenty-First Century CONCLUSION 79 BIBLIOGRAPHY 85 VITA 91 Preface The process of this thesis has been a curious paradox of order and chaos. The idea began as a historical reflection on the roots and rise of neo-monastic communities in the twenty-first century. Over the course of working with a number of advisers, the outline and focus took different shapes and forms. At the same time, my research all throughout seminary – be it ethics, biblical studies, or practical theology – always focused on Christian community. Only near the end was I able to see how these evolutions would fit together. I came to seminary having observed two contradictory realities in the church. The first is what seems like a new, heightened interest in talking about community in Christian life. The second is the lack of actuality on those talking points with the rise of narcissism and isolation in the digital age. This led to my interest, both theoretically and practically, in neo-monasticism. The vision cast by neo-monastic writers is compelling, but the broader church has not latched on to their unequivocal devotion to a life together. Being at Gordon-Conwell, a school that emphasizes biblical studies as the foundation of all Christian thought, I wanted to establish an argument from scripture that devoted community is essential as a means for experiencing Christian life. This is the task of Part One of my thesis. The approach was to explore the Hebrew and Greek scripture first, with later appeal to scholarly commentaries to compare with my conclusions. With that foundation in place, I hope to validate for the broader church, the historical examples and hermeneutical conclusions of Part Two. My personal interest in Christian life together came through my brief, but inspiring time with the Ecclesia Collective in San Diego, CA. At a time in my life when vii Christianity was beginning to seem like theory, I saw the physicality of the Gospel alive at their table, in their yard, but most in their friendship. Thank you to them for stoking a feeble flame. I would like to thank Rick Downs, who pushed me to study at Gordon- Conwell, as well as Joe and Anne Farrell for their patient encouragement. Thank you to Dr. Garth Rosell, who invited the idea of this research from a historical perspective. Thank you to Dr. Steve Klipowicz for guiding my research study on hospitality in missional households in the 20th century, particularly for pushing me to read, research, and write on much more than I was comfortable. For guidance in my research I would like to thank Dr. Jay Sklar, Dr. Gordon Hugenberger, and Dr. Cathy McDowell for responding to my questions with great suggestions. I would like to thank the staff of Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University, for their hospitality and assistance as I spent so many hours using their resources. I would especially like to thank Dr. Rollin Grams, for teaching me to mine the depths of primary sources in the darkest parts of libraries. Dr. Grams, thank you for challenging me to look straight into the text before letting anyone else put their shade on my reading of scripture. I would also like to thank Dr. Bob Mayer for caring about writing as a craft and for being a source of encouragement and guidance when my thesis seemed lost. Thank you to Dr. Donald Fairbairn for placing in my heart the dual passions for guarding orthodoxy, while thinking for myself. You have been thought provoking, patient, steadfast, wise, and kind, and I am so grateful to have had you as an adviser, professor, and reader. I am grateful for the Christians with whom I have life together. Thank you to the men I sat around many fires with while a student at GCTS; Aaron, Andy, Jonathan, and Robby. Thank you to Ben Milner for being such a great shepherd. Ben Warner thank you viii for wisdom and steadfast prayerful friendship. Thank you Steve Beck for keeping our community alive and teaching us what it means sow peace. Thank you to Salem Presbyterian Church for support and guidance. Thank you Daniel Umlauf for calling me to clarity and for sharing your literary-philosophical gifts. Thank you Anna Gissing for challenging my ideas and raising the bar for theological thinking. Thank you to my parents for pushing me to pursue my masters and for letting the son of a business man pursue such unprofitable ventures as Creative Writing and Theology. Thank you to Jean and Garland Elmore for showing me what it means to care about education, for spiritual mentoring, and for allowing me to marry your daughter. Last, thank you to my wife Erin for being a woman of God first and foremost. And for helping me graduate college, signing me up to visit seminary, putting the car keys on my desk, pushing me to stick with academia, and supporting me all the while. You are a wonderful woman, wife, mother, and community-mate. ix Abbreviations AB - Anchor Bible ESV - English Standard Version ICC - International Critical Commentary LSJ - Liddell-Scott-Jones, Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford) LXX - The Septuagint NA27 - Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, 27th edition NAC - New American Commentary NASB - New American Standard Bible NICOT - New International Commentary on the Old Testament NIGTC - New International Greek Testament Commentary NICNT - New International Commentary on the New Testament NIV - New International Version NT - New Testament OT - Old Testament OTL - Old Testament Library SP - Sacra Pagina SBL - Society of Biblical Literature WBC - Word Biblical Commentary x Abstract This thesis is a prescriptive manifesto for Christian community characterized by common life, hospitality, and confession in groups of believing Christians. Robust Christian life does not exist outside the space of the gathered community (ekklēsia). Christians experience this intimate communion with Christ and each other (koinōnia) through the practice of the foundational, ancient necessity of sacramental gathering (arkandisziplin) for experiencing Christ’s saving grace. An exposition of biblical texts on community serves as the foundation for understanding community through journal articles, first-hand accounts of historical Christian community, biographies, and university lectures. The exegetical foundation and the theological conclusions will show that Christian community, especially in houses and homes, is of utmost importance to God. xi INTRODUCTION The Essentiality of Community Imago Dei: The Trinity's Community Image In Humans It is not good for man to be alone and so God made a companion for Adam. Christ did not leave humanity alone, but sent a helper, the Holy Spirit, to create Christ's companion the church. Christian community cannot supplant a relationship with God. Nevertheless, from the beginning in the Garden of Eden, humans were created to encounter God through communal relationships. The creation of Eve is the catalyst for the timeless norm of humans relating to God in human community. From Eve's creation onward, relationship to fellow humans is in the fabric of human existence. The image of the Trinitarian God is found in the Christian community. All Christian life together in worship, discipleship, and outreach, show that humans were created to live in community. The ability to realize the essential relationship between human beings and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is heightened through relationship with one another.