2. CHRISTIANITY AND THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
I.
Summary of Commission's Work on this Theme
26.
The Joint Commission has reflected seriously on the problems and
challenges which Catholics and Methodists alike confront in the
world today. We have found unity in thought and feeling in understanding
and interpreting the contemporary situation.
27.
The papers and discussions bearing on Christianity in the contemporary
world primarily invited more or less intellectual reflection without
making much effort to speak to the masses of Christians who are
living and struggling in these times. The interests of these latter
are of the first importance and communication with them needs to
be a chief object of future discussion if we are to carry out our
common mission in the world.
28.
One paper on secularization was presented and discussed at the sessions
in Rabat, developing the idea that all of the humanitarian efforts
of the secular world today actually express the spirit of Jesus.
Consequently, those who act outside the Church toward this end may
be called anonymous Christians. This paper was tempered by some
warnings against facile tendencies to identify Christianity with
the secular world. For, in addition to the humanitarian advances
made possible by science and technology, we agreed that there are
demonic factors which warn against any naive identification of Christianity
with secularity. Some preliminary efforts were made to define "secularization",
but no searching analysis was forthcoming. The members of the Commission
were in agreement that the extensive processes of secularization
need to be taken seriously even though they did not have time to
develop their own reflections fully and clearly.
29.
An English group from both sides prepared a bookled entitled, Christian
Belief: A Catholic-Methodist Statement, which was made available
and discussed briefly at the Junaluska meeting. This addresses itself
to the contemporary situation. Parts I and II identify, on the one
hand, some of the major characteristics of the world in which Christians
are called upon to live, and, on the other hand, the ways by which
men may move towards a living faith in these times. This seems to
us an excellent beginning of the kind of work we might be doing
together (Cf. No. 125).
30.
A paper, entitled, "Trends in Spirituality: The Contemporary Situation",
also reflected this desire to understand and assess what is going
on in the modern world. Here a serious attempt was made to bring
into full view some of the major factors which threaten and challenge
Catholics and Methodists in their concern for spirituality. This
paper suggested that Christians need to be aware of a new mentality
which has been emerging over a long period. This mentality, which
has been produced in large measure by the extensive and rapid developments
in science and technology, goes deeper than and is the primary source
of the phenomenon of secularism (the belief that if God is he does
not matter). There seemed to be agreement that one of the obstacles
to spirituality is an antimetaphysical spirit in the contemporary
world though not all current tendencies here are discouraging. Along
with this there is the loss of confidence in man's reason, a loss
reflected in the various antirational moods and fads of this era.
It was noted in discussion that one of the tragedies on the contemporary
scene is the emergence of revolutionary idealism based on emotional
and ideological rather than rational and moral foundations. We felt
that joint efforts in the recovery and nurture of a basic theistic
world-view are essential to spirituality. For when men doubt and
deny God, it is obvious that they will doubt and deny the reality
and relevance of revelation, the moral order, the redemptive process
through Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit in the community
of faith, the life everlasting, etc. Modern doubt and denial is
pervasive, and its influence, recognized or unconscious, is difficult
to exaggerate.
31.
The Commission shared, however, in the conviction that the present
situation is full of promise for spirituality. For in man's very
experience of failure without God-that is, in his rootlessness,
distraction, despair, disillusionment, frustration, loneliness,
in obvious moral disasters on the national and international scenes
- God is calling men to new and authentic life in the community
of faith. On the positive side, the current desire for human dignity
and compassion present a special opportunity for Catholics and Methodists
to unite in giving new voice to the ancient verities of the faith.
Men in danger of dehumanization need more urgently than ever the
life of Christian truth.
32.
Again, on the positive side, it was observed that there is an emerging
concern among men for community. There are signs of inferior expressions
of community which require the corrective and elevating guidance
of the historic community of faith. Besides this, the thought was
registered that men today, amid all their distraction, pressures,
hurry and bias towards mediocrity, require the kind of contemplation
made possible through the higher expressions of the devotional life
among Catholics and Methodists. In short, life today is complex,
dynamic-life in which God calls us to acknowledge the real problems,
but also to seize boldly the opportunity of renewing genuine spiritual
life.
33.
A further concern of the Commission needs to be noted before considering
those common resources which are available for appealing to men
who are looking toward the twenty-first century. In the discussions
there was the recurring sense of unity concerning the moral values
with which Catholics and Methodists assess what is going on in the
world today. Here it was observed that even among highly sophisticated
people there are often subhuman standards of thought and life. Among
the masses everywhere there are signs of moral deterioration which
make new life in Christ a desperate need. This was noted particularly
in some of the discussions on marriage and family life (See Section
IV).
II.
Areas of Agreement Which May Serve as Aids to Joint Efforts
to Encounter the Contemporary World
34.
As we look toward the future, we are immensely encouraged by the
areas of profound agreement which, if properly explored and actively
shared, can enable us both to strengthen ourselves and engage in
effective dialogue with the nonbelieving world. In particular, seven
such regions of substantial agreement in thought, feeling and concern
have become increasingly visible.
35.
First, we agree that Jesus Christ alone is the supreme and final
authority. It has been commonly supposed that our differences on
authority are so deep-seated and conflicting that there is not likely
to be any real consensus. We have discovered, however, that when
we start with Jesus Christ as the supreme and final authority both
Catholics and Methodists find themselves sharing in a common conviction,
whatever other and secondary authorities may be officially recognized.
Christ is the last word and the final authority in relation to whom
everything else pertaining to salvation is to be understood, interpreted
and judged. Both Catholics and Methodists can build unhesitatingly
on this foundation, and can move into the world to carry out the
mission which Christ commanded (Cf. Section VII).
36.
Second, closely related to this is our essential agreement on the
Bible as God's living Word. Some of the statements of Vatican II
on this subject open the way to important advances both for Catholics
and Methodists, on the one hand, and for the contemporary secular
world, on the other. One of the basic contributions of the Council
is its interpretation of the Biblical vision as a massive sweep
of God's revelation of his purpose for mankind. In an age which
tends to deny the reality of ultimate purpose, the stress on the
category of purpose becomes essential in understanding and using
the Bible. (See for example Lumen Gentium, Pars 2-3; and see also
"The Constitution on Revelation", Pars 2-6). There are points to
be discussed here, but the vision of God's revealed purpose as set
forth in bold outline would seem to be central for both Churches,
something indispensable unless we are prepared to abandon the Christian
religion itself. One of the tasks with which Catholics and Methodists
are jointly charged is that of identifying certain basic principles
for interpreting the Bible, which aim to recover the sense of the
authority and finality of the Bible without lapsing into obscurantism.
The essentials would appear to be precisely those stressed by Vatican
II.
37.
Third, we share in affirming a total theistic world-view. This world-view,
so gravely needed in our age, is not developed philosophically by
the Biblical writers, but it is there in bold outline and can therefore
be used as a basis for communicating with the modern mentality.
In fact one of the beauties of the Bible at this point is that it
presents a total vision concerning ultimate reality and the purpose
of God which can be comprehended by the generality of mankind.
38.
There are philosophical systems that move in the right direction,
but they cannot be made available to the general public. Very few
men have either the interest or the ability to philosophize in any
authentic way. Besides, even among philosophers only a limited number
will be convinced by any particular system of thought. Again, philosophical
systems, while serving their own important ends, appeal chiefly
to the intellect. This restricts their usefulness still further.
More important still, philosophy is one thing, religion is another.
Men need both a responsible world-view and a vital faith. This combination
alone furnishes an intellectual atmosphere in which the soul of
a man can thrive. It alone opens the way to a living encounter with
God that nurtures love and hope.
39.
The genius of the Biblical revelation, in part at least, is that
it affirms a world-view that is both intellectually plausible and
open to confirmation by experience. It appeals to the best thinking
of men and at the same time calls them to commitment and faith.
But unless this can be made credible to modern man, with his inevitable
doubts, the message of the Bible cannot pierce through.
40.
Briefly stated, the range of theistic world view embraces the following
convictions we share. God's creation has a purpose; He created man
that man might perfect himself morally and spiritually in community
under the lordship of Jesus Christ; there is a real moral order
grounded in God; human dignity and freedom are real and crucial;
men are called to responsible living in community as well as individually;
there is a life after death wherein the pilgrimage begun on earth
is consummated in God's eternal love.
41.
There are Catholic and Methodist theologians grappling with theoretical
issues touching metaphysics and the nature of ultimate reality.
We should promote collaboration here, for we have much to share
and to offer each other in a field where guidance and leadership
are wanted.
42.
Fourth, we are in essential agreement in seeking to diagnose the
human situation in the world today. We need to work together in
interpreting the theological and spiritual meaning of modem man's
despair and disillusionment. We need to talk about his quest for
identity and what that implies both negatively and positively. We
have a common ground on which to move in interpreting modem man's
quest for meaning in his secular experience. We have a wealth of
ideas to share on modern man's quest for community, contemplation,
compassion, and dignity (Cf. the important paper on this theme,
referred to in § 30).
43.
In "The Constitution on the Church in the Modern World", Methodists
recognize very important statements on the situation which all Christians
today face. Consider this: ... growing numbers of people are abandoning
religion in practice. Unlike former days, the denial of God or of
religion, or the abandonment of them, and no longer unusual and
individual occurrences. For today it is not rare for such decisions
to be presented as requirements of scientific progress or of a certain
new humanism. In numerous places these views are voiced not only
in the teachings of philosophers, but on every side they influence
literature, the arts, the interpretation of the humanities and of
history, and civil laws themselves. As a consequence, many people
are shaken (Para. 7).
44.
There is also an excellent statement on "the forms and roots of
atheism" which "must be accounted among the most serious problems
of this age, and is deserving of closer examination": Yet believers
themselves frequently bear some responsibility for this situation.
For, taken as a whole, atheism is not a spontaneous development
but stems from a variety of causes, including a critical reaction
against religious belief, and in some places against the Christian
religion in particular (Para. 19).
45.
We have now reached a point in history when the stark realities
of doubt and massive abandonment of God and the things of God are
a present reality. The end is not yet in sight. We believe that
Catholics and Methodists, tackling this general theme together,
can analyze and interpret the human situation so as to indicate
how the Holy Spirit Himself is working on the contemporary scene
for the purpose of drawing people into the orbit of God's Kingdom.
We can confront the world with an alternative interpretation of
the meaning of contemporary experience, including experience felt
by many of the absence of God. We need to think more seriously on
the ways in which the Holy Spirit functions in our negative as well
as in our positive experiences: to identify more clearly how the
Holy Spirit acts on the human spirit at each stage of man's earthly
life.
46.
Fifth. Methodists find in the statements of Vatican II on human
dignity and autonomy many echoes of their own tradition (Cf. Gaudium
et Spes, Ch. 1). Combining objectivity with a steady relation of
human activity to God, these statements offer opportunities for
development and application which Catholics and Methodists should
exploit together, recognizing that amid the threat of dehumanization
here is an approach to man's secular achievements which promises
better fruit. If the genuine autonomy of the secular is recognized
the Christian will be more open and sympathetic towards the artist,
the scientist and other creative workers; he will be more willing
to learn from them and to hear the voice of God speaking through
them, and they in their turn will feel less alienated, more encouraged
and stimulated. There is no more eloquent witness the Church can
give to the dignity of man than intelligent support of and scope
to his highest activities, and she has a remarkable history in this.
47.
Sixth. Though we recognize in the Christian heritage a recurring
tendency towards passivity and withdrawal, Catholic and Methodist
thought and practice call for responsible living in community within
the Church and alongside it. Joint efforts in thinking and practice
are possible here, and call for careful study.
48.
Seventh. Perhaps the agreement we have most strongly felt has been
in our sense of the importance of Christian spirituality, greater
than ever in today's situation. This is treated fully in the next
section of the report (See §§ 57-61).
49.
By way of summary we may say that Catholics and Methodists can unite
and share at many points in a vast program of interrelated activities
in behalf of the conversion of the world and the elevation of mankind
throughout the world. This includes an adventurous quest for peace,
for justice, for ministry to the needs of men in ignorance and poverty
and for the entire benefit of the human world both physical and
spiritual. In and through all this there is the glorious shared
vision of the life after death when Jesus Christ shall be all in
all.
50.
We would recall here Chapter V of Lumen Gentium. This is entitled
"The Call of the Whole Church to Holiness". There is no part of
that document more congenial to the Methodist heritage, properly
understood, than this. Here there is a universal call to holiness
which erases the false distinction between higher and lower levels
of Christian faithfulness. And we share in the concern that holiness
be affirmed as both a possibility and an imperative for all Christians.
Whatever definition we give to the term, the idea of sanctity -
that is, the idea that God has called men to enter into new life
dominated by the love of Christ and motivated by the example of
Christ - this gives a vast area of agreement. And in the practical
sphere it has the most far reaching possible promise. For on both
sides we are eager to emphasize the mysterious dynamic interaction
between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit. This divine-human
interaction, rightly understood, seems to be God's chosen way for
the recreation of men and the conversion of the world.
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