The Kirchenkampf of the Gountercultural Colony: A Critical Response
This article offers a critical response to the contemporary renaissance of Anabaptist ecclesiology among mainline theologians such as Hauerwas, Cavanaugh, and the proponents of the Missional Church. I focus on their claim that through its ecclesial practices the church must become a countercultural...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage Publ.
2010
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| In: |
Theology today
Year: 2010, Volume: 67, Issue: 3, Pages: 279-298 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article offers a critical response to the contemporary renaissance of Anabaptist ecclesiology among mainline theologians such as Hauerwas, Cavanaugh, and the proponents of the Missional Church. I focus on their claim that through its ecclesial practices the church must become a countercultural colony in society. I contend that the notion of the church as countercultural colony is problematic on three counts: First, it obfuscates the solidarity in sin between church and world, leads to ecclesial triumphalism, and ignores how interwoven churches are with their social surroundings. Second, it can lead to blindness toward the sufferings of the world beyond the confines of the church. Third, through an undue domination of ecclesiology by the metaphors of exodus and martyrdom, it creates the impression that God's people are always under siege, thus ignoring the struggles of God's people at other times in history to build a society according to God's law. |
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| ISSN: | 2044-2556 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Theology today
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/004057361006700303 |