Comments on: “Among You Stands One Whom You do not Know”

By: Bryan Cross

Bryan Cross — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:39:17 +0000

Thanks Renee and Tap. I wasn’t thinking about Soloviev when I wrote this, although I’m sure his work is influencing me, because he helped me see the underlying unity behind each of the first seven ecumenical councils, and behind the heresies of the first eight centuries. I came away from Soloviev with a much better view of the theological battle lines between orthodoxy and heterodoxy.

But this present post was prompted by two things. One was the following paragraph from my ecclesial deism article:

Just as men looked upon Christ’s physical body and doubted that this physical body was truly God, so throughout the history of the Church men have looked upon the Catholic Church and doubted that this is truly the Mystical Body of Christ. And then, having construed Her as a mere human society, their lack of faith begot further doubt, and they succumbed to ecclesial deism, and the confusion and blindness that is the result of not recognizing the Church.

The other was from reading Bishop Spong’s Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism. (Spong, for those who don’t know, is an Episcopalian bishop who is very theologically liberal.) While reading this book, I started to see some relations between the way Spong conceives of Jesus, and the way many non-Catholics conceive of the Church. That was startling, and disturbing. And so I decided to lay out the parallel. Many who would never think of treating Jesus as Spong does, seem not to realize that they are doing the same thing to His Mystical Body.

In the peace of Christ,

- Bryan

By: Tap

Tap — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:38:34 +0000

Awesome stuff! How much influence did Vladimir Solovievs writings influenced you regarding this post?

By: renee

renee — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:23:16 +0000

“Where is Christ’s Church? It is right in front of us. We have not recognized it, because her members have no form or majesty that we should look at them. They are in other respects quite ordinary. But there is something unique about Christ’s Church, something that characterized the Man from Nazareth:

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3)

“Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.” (Acts 7:54)

To find the Man from Nazareth, we could have followed the hate, loathing and rage; it would have led us right to Him. Likewise, to find His Body today, follow the same. Notice the direction that the anger and hate is oriented, and follow it to its object.

And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.” (St. Luke 17:37)”

Powerful. Thank you.