Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Christian Reconciliation Carnival #9

Updated 10/25/2007 7:50am Central.

Welcome to the 9th edition of the Christian Reconciliation Carnival.


Topic of the Month

Several people wrote on the suggested topic for the month:
If you had to choose one thing that you believe your church or tradition does the best, or one contribution you believe your church body makes to Christendom as a whole, what would that be?

Dr. Pursiful presents Religious Freedom? This Baptist says, "You're Welcome!" Here Dr. Pursiful highlights the strong Baptist influence on religious freedom in the U.S.A.
I would argue that Baptists’ greatest contribution to the church is our pioneering work in the cause of religious liberty for all.

Mark Olson of Pseudo-Polymath praises the Eastern Orthodox liturgy, and with good reason. As anyone who has participated in the Eastern Orthodox liturgy knows, it is a service of exceptional beauty and depth.
Orthodoxy makes the claim that the essential and ‘best’ thing about their tradition is the liturgy.

Yours truly, from the Lutheran tradition, submits The Cross Is Our Theology. The Lutheran tradition's most sustained and deliberate contribution to Christianity is to keep the focus on Christ's crucifixion and resurrection as the center and wellspring of Christian life.

Update: Proclaiming Softly also has an entry from the Lutheran tradition: Living in the Questions, where she notes the "tensions" in the Bible which lend richness to all Christian theology, but in which Lutherans have made a deliberate theological decision to leave the tensions open. She also notes that the largest provider of social services in the U.S.A. is Lutheran Social Services.


General Discussion

John Hobbins of Ancient Hebrew Poetry considers the wedding of God and humanity, along with the wedding of a human bridgroom and bride, with insight from different Christian traditions and in Hebrew thought. It's his first submission to the Reconciliation Carnival. Welcome!

David Schutz of Sentire Cum Ecclesia requests help on a timeline of what I consider to be the second great schism in the church, Roman Catholic / Eastern Orthodox schism. He also expresses his distress as a Roman Catholic in watching the Eastern Orthodox courting Lutherans in ways that highlight the common differences with Rome that are shared by the Lutherans and the Eastern Orthodox.

iMonk continues his ecumenical series, asking Lutheran guest-blogger Josh Strodbeck (Fearsome Pirate) about God's sovereignty in the face of disaster such as the I-35 bridge collapse. (Watch for Josh's application of that old Luther saying, "a theologian of glory calls evil 'good'" ... Bullseye.) iMonk also asks 5 questions of Roman Catholics; answers are in the responses.


Announcements

We're looking for one more person to host the Carnival this year, either right around Thanksgiving or early December. If you're interested, please drop an email to the carnival mailbox.

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