Mike's musings

Redemption

I was given a recommendation to read Jean de Lubac's Catholicism a few weeks ago, and I'm getting through it bit by bit. I'm enjoying it, though there's much in it with which I don't agree. Some of it I like very much, in particular de Lubac's insistence on the importance of the redemption of the entirety of the Body of Christ, the Church. But there are facets of his theology with which I disagree, and it's not just de Lubac, I think.

I'm aware that he was writing in the early part of the 20th Century - the 1920's - and things may be different in modern (Roman) Catholic theology, but it feels like too much of the argument through which he has, at times. to wade, is to deal with the fact that it's impossible for him seriously to question Roman Catholic doctrine and the theology of major theologians and Popes in the Roman Catholic church. That's not my major issue, however. My main issue, which shouldn't surprise anyone, is that de Lubac's theology is underpinned by the assumption that redemption comes through the grace available through the (catholic) church: by which he means the Roman Catholic Church. We - by whom he explicitly means everyone not part of the Roman Catholic Church - are in the same boat as pagans with regards to redemption:

"[O]utside the church, no salvation. Obviously it cannot mean that no one is ever saved who does not belong exteriorly to the Church ... [b]ut the explanation for which a formula has been found during the last few centuries in the distinction between the body and soul of the Church is neither sufficient nor entirely exact; for the axiom refers, more often than not, not to the soul but to the body of the Church, her social visible body. Following Innocent III's example Piux IX is more explicit: he speaks of the Roman Church."

Clearly, I don't accept the position that it is only through the grace which it is the privilege and ability of the Roman Catholic Church - and only the Roman Catholic Church - to grant to its members that we can come to redemption. On the other hand, I do believe in the importance of the catholic church (note capitalisation) as the Body of Christ, and I like the role that de Lubac gives it in terms of corporate - communal - redemption. So I'm not happy in a solely "personal" redemption. But if, as Protestants, we reject the suggestion of a singular authority enshrined in the Roman Catholic Church, then we need to think about where we believe redemption sits in our relationship with God and the church. It is the question of authority and the church which interests me - fascinates me - and which I hope to study over the next few years. I also think it's vital that we address the whole question of authority and the church, particularly the Church of England.

Labels: authority, catholicism