Skip to main content

"Methodists and Catholics mend a historical rift"

The issue of justification, simply put, what Christians must do to get to Heaven -- was the central dispute in the Reformation that split western Christianity and plunged Europe into the Thirty Years' War.

As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict played a key role in drawing up the Catholic-Lutheran declaration that revoked heresy charges against reformer Martin Luther and said disputes that led to the Reformation over four centuries ago were null and void.

Luther, a German monk who posted his famous 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg in 1517, held people could be saved not by faith and good works, but by faith alone.

Luther was angered by the Catholic Church's teaching that good works could also lead to salvation, a view that was corrupted into the practice of selling indulgences to those seeking absolution for their sins.

The 1999 statement satisfied both Lutherans and Catholics, saying that salvation is achieved through God's grace and this is reflected in the good works a person does.

The signing does not mean that Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist churches are moving towards any kind of reunification, a step that deep historical divisions make highly unlikely.

- Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Methodists and Catholics mend a historical rift

Interesting how the author completely discounts the agreement with that last line, something he slightly backs down on in the actual article but not by much. Defining "any kind of reunification" in such an exclusive way is what helped separate us in the first place.

Popular posts from this blog

our Ford Explorer saga

Two weeks ago, Cathy & I drove up Greenlawn Ave heading toward my house, and when we took the left turn onto Cedar, I accelerated out of the turn in hope of fishtailing a little bit on the snow before straightening out, which I enjoy and feel like a race car driver when I do it. This time, instead of straightening out, my Explorer continued to rotate and turn on the ice, eventually sliding perpendicular to path of the road. We were slowing down, but not enough to avoid hopping the curb and giving a tree a little tap. It didn't sound too bad, but when I got out and looked, I saw a bumper bent in, headlights on one side cracked open, and the impact bending a side fender, contorting the wheel well. My heart dropped a little bit, I grimaced, and asked myself and Cathy why I had decided to do that. Approaching the holidays and the wedding, we did not need any new complications. We had a full day planned, so I put it out of my mind and decided I would get a quote on the repairs ...
Read more

Festival of Lessons and Carols

I had the chance to attend Muncie's Festival of Lessons and Carols along with Pete Gaffney. My mom, Beth, was one of the readers. Below is what she read and shared. I stole it, with her permission. From Isaiah Chapter 9 : "The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light. For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulders dominion rests. They name him wonder-counselor, mighty god, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." The words of Isaiah are powerful. When we read them, we feel his confidence and knowledge of God. Those words sound so direct. How can one not see that this promised messiah is fleshed out in the life of Jesus? Why cannot the whole world see it? Why cannot the Jews see it? Many of you here know that I grew up Jewish, in an observant Jewish home. To understand the Jewish viewpoint, you must remember that the Jews were expecting the Messiah to be a powerful, good king. They were expecting a person of God's choice to ri...
Read more

Marcus & Bekah Nayo!

This weekend 2 friends of mine in the People of Praise got married. Marcus is originally from Togo, Africa, and Bekah is from around here. Marcus has been here for less than a year, after having lived in NYC for awhile. He is in my men's group, and I have enjoyed getting to know him since he's been here. For posterity, here is what I shared with him at his bachelor party. I always have to write stuff like this down, because I cannot think when I'm in front of people. Someday I'll be able to. But for now, I have this stuff written down which makes it easy to save too. It's kinda ironic because you'll only get to see this stuff until I get good enough at it that I don't need to write it. Marcus, if your family were here with us tonight, what would they say? Would they allow you to stay here, or would they try to bring you back home? Would they understand what sort of life you have chosen to live here? What stories would they tell us about you? I wa...
Read more