Bishop-elect writes 9-page defense of theology

From the BibleBeltBlogger:

May 6th, 2009

UPDATE: 3:03 p.m. CDT — The Diocese of Northern Michigan hopes to post the document on its website, www.upepiscopal.org later today or tomorrow.

The bishop-elect of Northern Michigan, the Rev. Kevin G. Thew Forrester, has written a nine-page defense of his theology on the Incarnation, Atonement, the Trinity, the Church and liturgy.

The standing committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan is sending the document, titled “Approaching the Heart of Faith” to standing commitees across the country.

An accompanying letter from the standing committee, dated May 1, 2009, states: “We ask that you read, reflect on, and consider his [the bishop-elect's] words. His address to you is significantly more than a sound bite or a blog bite.”

A few highlights from the report: [I'll post the exact link as soon as the Diocese of Northern Michigan posts the document]

“As we continue to uphold the BCP [Book of Common Prayer], we need to develop prayers and liturgies which tell anew the theology of the Eastern Church that God became human so that we might become god. … The church fathers and mothers, East and West, describe our journey of faith as a theosis: a human divinization.”

“As we continue to uphold the BCP, we need to develop prayers and liturgies which tell anew the ancient wisdom of Paradise and empower us to move beyond ‘Peace by the blood of the Cross.’”

“As we continue to uphold the BCP, we need to develop prayers and liturgies which tell anew the spiritual meaning of God’s grace and sin. Just as I recognize the symbolic and spiritual meaning of the Genesis myths of creation, so too I recognize the symbolic and spiritual meaning in the language of Satan and Sin. I search for ways to move beyond the inadequacy of literalism, be it with the Scriptures or The Book of Common Prayer.”

“I believe that because we are created in the image of God, we are created in the image of the Trinity. As with the Incarnation, the church, in its wisdom, has never said there is only one way to understand this mystery.”

“I pray that we may each have the humility to realize that the Spirit of God has much to teach us, and that no one theology of Christ, Trinity, church, or litugry, can ever define us or God.”

The nine-page document quotes a great number of original sources, including, at one point, the Bible, as it lays out the bishop-elect’s theology:

St. Ephrem the Syrian
St. Irenaeus
St. Athanasius
Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nyssa
Meister Eckhart
Julian of Norwich
Nicholas of Cusa
Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus
Jacob of Serugh
John 17:21
St. Anselm
Julian of Norwich
St. Ephrem the Syrian
The Tao te Ching.

A number of modern academics are also quoted, including Elaine Pagels and Marcus Borg.

Among other things, “Approaching the Heart of the Faith” outlines Thew Forrester’s reasons for rejecting the atonement theology of St. Anselm, but this, perhaps, obscures a key objection to Thew Forrester’s theology of the Cross.

In the past, Thew Forrester has argued that Christ’s death on the cross was not God’s will nor was it God’s plan. It was not preordained and it was not necessary.

The objection to Thew Forrester, on this point, is not that he disagrees with St. Anselm’s theory about why Christ’s death on the cross was necessary. The concern is that Thew Forrester rejects the notion that Christ’s death on the cross was God’s will or plan at all.

Since the very beginning, many church leaders have taught that Jesus was preordained to die on the cross to redeem humanity and that this death and resurrection was the plan of God from before the creation of the world. Over the centuries, there have been disagreements about why Jesus was preordained to die and why his death was necessary and what his death accomplished.

Some argued that his death was necessary to defeat death, hell and the grave. Just as the first Adam, by sinning, ushered death into the world, the second Adam — Jesus Christ — makes captivity captive. Corruption puts on incorruption. Eternal life is won.

Or they argued that Jesus’ death was necessary to defeat the powers of darkness and to destroy the works of the devil. Satan’s dominion is defeated through Calvary and the empty tomb, the argument goes. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, evil will no longer rule and reign. The serpent has bruised the heel, but Christ has crushed his head.

Some, including New Testament writers, portrayed Jesus as a sacrificial lamb, a “sin offering” similar to the animal sacrifices that were offered up by Israel. Indeed, a lamb “slain from the foundation of the world.”

Christ’s death was described as a ransom, redemption, a purchase, the price of salvation. Centuries later, St. Anselm later wrote extensively about substitutionary atonement further advancing the idea that Jesus had died “in our place” to satisfy divine justice.

The Roman Catholic Church (like the Anglican Communion) does not require that people embrace the theology of St. Anselm.

But the Catholic church is clear that the death of Christ on the cross was the plan of God:

“God’s saving plan was accomplished ‘once for all’ by the redemptive death of his Son Jesus Christ,” the Cathechism of the Catholic Church teaches. “Jesus’ violent death was not the result of chance in an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances, but is part of the mystery of God’s plan.”