December 22, 2007 5:57 PM
Evangelical to Catholic: my journey #14 - the larger trend toward spiritual tradition
[Note: this is part of a continuing series chronicling my journey from evangelicalism to Catholicism. This series is not meant to cause division, but to reveal division already there - and to spark honest discussion. As an evangelical I've heard and continue to hear lots of criticism of the Catholic church but little self-examination on the Protestant side. So if my comments seem more directed towards questioning nonCatholic believers, that is why. Please, if you are new to this discussion, realize that a lot of ground has already been covered in the comments and read through those on previous entries before rehashing old news. I am receiving a lot of feedback that this has been an eye-opening and thought-provoking series for many believers on either side. If that is the case, then I consider my call as a writer fulfilled. I can only hope that each of us is examining his/her conscience for areas of stubbornness, presumption and pride.]
Well, this is interesting. I've often been on the cutting edge of trends. Got my first tattoo in 1969. In 1970 I was a vegetarian who did yoga and used herbs to cure everything under the sun for myself, my family and friends. Then there was the whole counterculture/radical feminism/free love mess. Multiple drug addictions.
Got clean and sober in a 12-step program in 1980 - shortly before it became fashionable.
Then into the New Age for seven years before becoming a Christian in 1987.
Now a born-again Catholic. Could it be that once again something stirring in me is stirring in many others? Tripp brought home the 12/13 issue of U. S. News and World Report with this cover story:
A Return to Tradition
A new interest in old ways takes root in Catholicism and many other faiths
By Jay TolsonWorshipers come to St. Mary, Mother of God in downtown Washington, D.C., for various reasons, but many say that a big draw is the Tridentine Latin mass that is said here every Sunday. Soon, St. Mary may be less well known for that distinctive liturgical offering than for the number of big-name government and media types that occupy its pews. Now that Pope Benedict XVI has loosened the restrictions on churches that want to observe the pre-Vatican II rite, more parishes are availing themselves of the option. Call it part of a larger conservative shift within the church—one that includes a renewed emphasis on such practices as personal confession and reciting the rosary as well as a resurgent interest in traditional monastic and religious orders.
But this shift extends beyond the Roman Catholic Church. In Richardson, Texas, the congregation of Trinity Fellowship Church participates in something that would have been considered almost heretical in most evangelical Protestant churches five or 10 years ago: a weekly Communion service. An independent, nondenominational church of some 600 members, Trinity Fellowship is not the only evangelical congregation that is offering a weekly Eucharist, saying the Nicene or Apostles' creeds, reading the early Church Fathers, or doing other things that seem downright Roman Catholic or at least high Episcopalian. Daniel Wallace, a professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, which trains pastors for interdenominational or nondenominational churches, says there is a growing appetite for something more than "worship that is a glorified Bible class in some ways."
Something curious is happening in the wide world of faith, something that defies easy explanation or quantification. More substantial than a trend but less organized than a movement, it has to do more with how people practice their religion than with what they believe, though people caught up in this change often find that their beliefs are influenced, if not subtly altered, by the changes in their practice.
Put simply, the development is a return to tradition and orthodoxy, to past practices, observances, and customary ways of worshiping. But it is not simply a return to the past—at least not in all cases. Even while drawing on deep traditional resources, many participants are creating something new within the old forms. They are engaging in what Penn State sociologist of religion Roger Finke calls "innovative returns to tradition."
Read entire article here.
Of course, the writer gets it wrong wrapping in the emergent church trends - which I don't see as a return to tradition but yet another offering in the evangelical smorgasbord.
What do you think?
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"But this shift extends beyond the Roman Catholic Church. In Richardson, Texas, the congregation of Trinity Fellowship Church participates in something that would have been considered almost heretical in most evangelical Protestant churches five or 10 years ago: a weekly Communion service."
Is that true? I have only been a Christian for a bit over 4 years, but every church I have attended since then has had weekly communion.
Posted by: Michelle Potter | December 22, 2007 7:10 PM
I think this return to traditional Christianity is only natural after we've seen the bankruptcy of what Protestantism has to offer. The experiment has been tried...and found wanting (in my opinion).
What we see proliferating in America today is the natural conclusion of what happens when we throw off all restraints and make ourselves our very own Pope, every church declaring that *they* are interpreting the bible correctly.
Sola Scriptura simply means: the way *I* (or *my group/denomination*) interpret the Bible is God's way.
Sola Scriptura assumes that the Bible was written as an instruction manual, assumes that it's easy to comprehend, assumes that it's black and white.
Personally, I don't find Zachariah black and white, and Ezekiel is SURE not easy to comprehend. Corinthians, while instructive, is emphatically NOT written like an Instruction Manual. Gee, funny, it seems to be written more like a letter, written to answer questions asked in another (long lost) letter...written to people Paul was in RELATIONSHIP with, to people Paul handed down oral traditions to, *not* to whom he was writing a modern rule book to.
Sola (well, actually, "solo") Scriptura makes "every man right in his own eyes." How is it that the Spirit can "lead" one group into a certain understanding of a verse in Galatians or James or John, and yet lead 47 other groups to completely DIFFERENT understandings?
"Well," says the one group, "that's because the OTHER groups are all decieved---only WE have the handle on the truth." (And then they have the audacity to cry out against Believers who subscribe to papal authority or to the traditions handed down from the fathers of the early church!).
I don't know what the answer is...but I know that Sola Scriptura is no longer an intellectually or spiritually valid option for me anymore.
Your friendly but opinionated post-evangelical (dabbling with Eastern Orthodoxy) who, by the way, LOVES the Scriptures and in no way finds them any less delicious than they were in my sola-Scriptura days,
Molly
Posted by: Molly | December 22, 2007 10:47 PM
Just thinking out loud here, Barbara. When you say "cutting edge of trends," I bet it has more to do with how spiritually susceptible you are/ have been. Looks like it's been a mixed blessing ;-]
Posted by: bonnie | December 23, 2007 1:32 AM
That fact that this is broader than the Catholic Church is encouraging. It means that there is undercurrent in the culture, the religious culture at least, to undo much of the damage done in the 1960's. I hope it is yet another sign that the cultural revolution of that era has run its course.
Posted by: Fr. J. | December 23, 2007 4:00 AM
Dear Michelle - are you going to what evangelicals refer to as a Mainline Denomination? Some of those are very traditional. Tripp and I went to a conservative Episcopal church in Petaluma, CA (which has now courageously broken with the denomination) and loved the liturgy, hymns and receiving Communion each week.
Molly - I so appreciate your comments. Am in complete agreement. I see God causing many of us to question our presuppositions and prejudices. He will use this all for good, I am convinced. I know what I am bringing back to the Catholic Church is good and necessary in some small way. Keep us posted on your journey, too.
Bonnie - I don't know that I'm susceptible as much as open-minded. Even when I've latched onto something I remain open-minded. I think for myself. Example: when I got sober in AA I was told I had to go to meetings every night or I would never survive. With two young daughters I'd neglected I realized I couldn't continue the neglect even for "good" reasons. So I did it my way.
Another example: when Tripp and I got caught up in the excitement of pentacostalism. It didn't take long for me to spot the cultlike aspects which went into keeping the excitement level high. I was outta there pretty quickly.
I wouldn't change anything about myself or my past, really. I am so grateful that my lack of a good home and a spiritual foundation - coupled with a strong desire for meaning - led me through so many different experiences. There is not much about humanity that I can't relate to.
Just not sure how you meant "susceptible" as to me it indicates a passive condition where someone else brainwashes you. I am kind of the opposite of that as I have always been an active seeker.
Still, you are right that it is a mixed blessing - mostly because many people do not understand/accept that kind of personality.
Fr. J - "I hope it is yet another sign that the cultural revolution of that era has run its course." Amen to that! I hope so too!
Posted by: barbara | December 23, 2007 9:00 AM
I find this statement interesting:
I think this return to traditional Christianity is only natural after we've seen the bankruptcy of what Protestantism has to offer. The experiment has been tried...and found wanting (in my opinion).
I think you'd have to be Catholic for this to be true. As a Baptist I merely find it puzzling. I conclude that since I was not raised Catholic I am not supposed to get it. Besides all the Protestant scandals involve money and adult women. And other branches of Christianity never have problems. At least not those kinds of problems.
Posted by: poetryman69 | December 23, 2007 9:27 AM
Barbara,
I didn't mean anything negative by it. I. too, have always been an active thinker and not willing to just accept things because someone else told me too (which is not exactly what you said!). I just saw a pattern, and wondered if it were a spiritual thing. But maybe it is more of a personality thing. I shouldn't comment before I think things through!
Posted by: bonnie | December 23, 2007 10:02 AM
OMG. I just read that article last night and had to rush here to tell you and saw that you already read it :-)
Aisha
Posted by: Aisha Hoffman | December 23, 2007 11:38 AM
The young neotraditionalists also have an almost intuitive attraction to liturgy, ritual, and symbol as forms of knowledge that complement the dominant rational, scientific one.This has been true for me. I'm 25 and fit much of the postmodern mindset and this attraction to tradition is much of what led me into the Catholic Church. It started with enjoying some of the more traditional hymns and things at my old church and trying out some of the older devotional practices. Eventually I decided to try out Mass and now I'm Catholic.
It seems there are more and more people like myself, converts to Catholicism. I've wondered if I've just noticed it more now that I've converted, but from reading that article, it really does seem to be a wider trend.
Posted by: Karen Elissa | December 23, 2007 1:18 PM
Barbara, no, we attend the Christian Churches. (I think that's ok to capitalize... I can never remember if there is also a denomination by that name.) We aren't a denomination, just a loose brotherhood. These are the only churches I've been to since I became a Christian (I went to my grandparent's Presbyterian and my mom's Catholic churches as a child, but I didn't believe then), so I guess I just didn't know weekly communion was unusual.
Seems odd to me. How often do other churches have communion? Why don't they do it every week?
Posted by: Michelle Potter | December 23, 2007 3:34 PM
That's a really interesting article. I agree with you about the emergent churches, although what I think when I read that is that they're reinventing the wheel. It's all already there - the creeds, the liturgy, the Mystical Supper of the Eucharist, the calendar - in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. In fact, I would say that it's even more apparent in the Orthodox church. Why make the sign of the cross once when doing it twenty times would be more wonderful? Why say "Lord have mercy" once, when three times makes me pay more attention? Orthodoxy particularly is a faith of abundance. I think that Catholicism is too, when it's all there. It has been stripped down. That's why people prefer the Tridentine Mass.
I think the article did get some things right abour people's motives and desires. I think those quotes from those liberal Catholics were pretty ridiculous. The kind of church they want isn't Catholic.
I'm part of this movement, too, having converted to the Eastern Orthodox Church six years ago. I have never looked back and am thankful every day that my search began with my mother's search for the true historical church. She was raised Catholic and is now Orthodox also. This "trend" towards a desire for deeper and more real spirituality has been building for a long time and is gaining traction. Glory be to God!
Posted by: Lucy | December 24, 2007 12:16 AM
"Protestant scandals involve money and adult women. And other branches of Christianity never have problems. At least not those kinds of problems." (quoting poetryman69 above)
Uh, what about all the Catholic Priests that have sexually preyed on children for who knows how long? What about Mormon leaders/men who practice polygamy? What about the Episcopalians and their growing acceptance of homosexuality? This certainly qualifies as "that sort of problem" to me!
Scandal is in every "group" because fallen human beings are in every group. No one group has a corner on scandal, though I must say sinning against children is, in my human eyes, worst of all. (And, yes I know, that happens in churches other than the Catholic church, too.)
Posted by: Beth | December 24, 2007 10:09 PM
Michelle,
I was born and reared in a non-denominational assembly of Christians called "Plymouth Brethren" (but we always said "If you call yourself a P.B., you're not a true P.B." meaning, the original movement begun in Plymouth, England focused on the unity of believers under the headship of Christ alone, and not denominational names) But it's hard to communicate without defining/naming things, so...
We, too, remembered Jesus' death for us by observing the Lord's supper at LEAST weekly, sometimes more often if communing with other believers in homes.
It was quite a shock to me when, as a child I learned that other churches did not do this! Clearly commanded (1 Cor. 11 and Acts 2:42, etc). The way the Peebs practice, it was a contemplative, sweet (sometimes boring)but definitely re-focusing event.
Scripture teaches we are our own priests remembering our great high priest, Jesus. No intermediary cleric needed! We even did our own Breaking Bread at home when sick or snowed in.
Now, of course, I am aware that many evangelical churches celebrate communion weekly. What a blessing!
deb meyers
Posted by: floorplan | December 29, 2007 12:49 PM
