Praying Shapes
Believing
We talked about this and watched this video a few
weeks ago. If everyone at your table has
seen it, no need to watch it now. You
can go on to the next section on baptismal theology.
Video 1: Lex Orandi Lex Credendi (Praying ShapesBelieving)
(Yes, it sounds at first like they want to sell you a T-shirt - and they do! - but this a short, clear introduction to the concept.)
The Communion of Saints
Through
baptism, we have become part of the Communion of Saints, which connects us with
Christians throughout time and space. As
you listen to the little song and hear the Rev. Chris Yaw talk about what this
means, think about your own “heroes” of faith.
Maybe they are famous religious figures, or maybe they’re a family
member or friend.
Video Set 2:
The Three-Legged Stool: Scripture, Tradition,
and Reason
The
concept of a three legged stool is very old.
The idea is that, without any one leg, the stool is not stable. The components of the stool are scripture,
tradition, and reason. In this somewhat
irreverent, but nonetheless informative, video, Matthew Moretz explains the
concept:
The Via Media
The
“Via Media” means “the middle way” in Latin.
Anglicanism was founded on the Via Media in several different ways. First, when the Protestant Reformation
occurred, there was widespread polarization between the new Protestant groups
and the historic Catholic church.
Because the Church of England had a different history from other
Protestant groups, it remained closer to the Catholic tradition in liturgy and
(in some ways) theology. Second, after
years of fighting between factions within England about the right way to
worship and to understand the Eucharist, Queen Elizabeth I created the
Elizabethan Settlement, which said that those people who followed the
state-ordered dictates for prayer and worship would not be prosecuted,
regardless of their personal thoughts.
This allowed for commonality in worship across a wide spectrum of
beliefs. Today, as heirs of this
Anglican tradition, Episcopalians say that we follow the Via Media, because we
have many different views on everything from what happens in the Eucharist, to
how best to live out our baptismal call to work for justice, to views on what
constitutes good liturgy. As long as we
are motivated by the principles of scripture, tradition, and reason, and
maintain our bonds of common prayer, we believe we can pray, worship, and serve
together. In this video, Brian McLaren,
an expert on the emergent church, takes the concept of Via Media into the
future:
Baptismal Theology
As we
have discussed, our Baptismal Covenant, we receive not just initiation by water
and the Spirit into God’s church. We are
also called to become ministers of the church.
This video presents thoughts on that calling from a deacon and a nun:
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