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Cecil M. Robeck jr. is Professor of Church History and Ecumenics and Director of the David J. DuPlessis Center for Christian Spirituality at Fuller Theological Seminary.

We have traveled together by plane from Cape Town to Amsterdam, after the last Lausanne Congress, where he was invited by Doug Birdsall to be in charge of the Catholic and Orthodox delegates. We had lots of fun on the way, especially as I had with me my colleague Fr. Mihai Pavel, who has a deep sense of humour.

Together with Doug and Cecil, we are trying to strengthen and nurture theological dialogue with Catholics and the Orthodox post Lausanne III. I will keep you posted on the evolution on this front. Recently, Cecil sent us a very interesting overview of the relations between Evangelicals and especially the Catholics (unfortunately, this is an internal document and I cannot make it known on a larger basis without proper permission). In this message, he mentioned a recent text of his that was published in Theology. News & Notes, on Fuller’s ecumenical vision. Here is part of it, for your interest:

SYNOPSIS  Ecumenism is built on dialogue used to bring healing to broken relationships by replacing fiction with truth, says Robeck. He describes Fuller’s history of ecumenism and its ogoing commitment to it, focusing on the Evangelical/Catholic dialogues as an example.

When the subject of ecumenism comes up within Evangelical circles, the symbol that most often comes to mind is the World Council of Churches. It is a global “fellowship of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior according to the Scriptures and therefore seek to fulfill together their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Since it was founded in 1948, its membership has grown to include 348 denominations from 120 nations. Many Evangelicals have chosen not to join the Council, and many others who worship in member churches do not always feel well represented there. As impressive as it is, the World Council of Churches represents fewer than 25 percent of the world’s Christians and relatively few Evangelicals. The Council’s desire for the full visible unity of the Church remains unfulfilled.

The Catholic Church has sometimes been viewed as a symbol of unity also. With its 1.3 billion members, better than 50 percent of the world’s Christians, the Catholic Church ranks as the largest denomination in the world. But Evangelicals are typically conflicted about it. It confesses the same creeds that most evangelicals confess. It proclaims that all who are saved attain salvation without exception through Jesus Christ. It has signed, with Lutherans, a Joint Declaration on Justification, moving far beyond the conflicts of the Reformation.3 And in recent years it has joined evangelicals in prayer (e.g., The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity), proclamation (e.g., Billy Graham Crusades), and common witness projects and events (e.g., opposition to permissive legislation; pro-life rallies, etc.). Still, some Evangelicals remind us of the Catholic Church’s past and allege its continuing abuses of power—especially from areas where it is the majority church. They balk at its claims to have an “infallible” pope who seems to sit at the top of a leadership pyramid that excludes women. They question many of the practices they see in popular Catholic piety. Differences and mistrust leave many evangelicals nervous about the idea of any form of ecumenism that includes the Catholic Church while Catholic dreams of returning to a single, visible Church stand unfulfilled.

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Here is also the conclusion  of the article:

There is only one Church, though it appears in multiple manifestations around the world. Fuller Theological Seminary continues to play a substantive role in educating and encouraging renewal in the whole Church. It is, therefore, important that the future leaders that we train have a sense of that global reality, recognizing the variations in what it says, how it works, and what it views as important. Fear denies faith, and work toward the unity of the Church requires great faith in God. We continue to teach our constituencies how to think, speak, and act differently towards those with whom they disagree. We continue to train those who are able to demolish unnecessary walls, build much needed bridges, function as peacemakers, and provide leadership to the Church that takes seriously the beliefs and values of the Evangelical community. In the end, Jesus prayed that his followers be united “. . . so that the world will believe.” It is for the sake of the world that Fuller Theological Seminary continues to contribute to the quest for the full visible unity of all Christians around the world.

Read on…

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