Catholicism and Orthodoxy

“Imagine a remote village in the Middle East where a number of Muslims begin having dreams in which Jesus appears to them and reveals himself as Lord. They respond with repentance and baptism, and a small community of worshiping Christians is formed. Is this a valid church, and do they have a valid Eucharist? While some in the non-Protestant traditions may want to make such allowances, this generosity is not consistent with their churches’ historical teaching. On Protestant principles, by contrast, the converted Muslim community is a fully valid church with a fully valid Eucharist. No qualifications, conceptual gymnastics, or revisionist readings of historical standards are needed to explain this phenomenon. It is simply Christ the Lord building his empire. In short, Protestantism has a superior orientation toward catholicity than its rivals because it lacks their institutional exclusivism. Protestantism acknowledges true churches within multiple institutions. This does not mean Protestants are universalists. The vast majority of Protestants are exclusivists in the sense of believing there are boundaries to the church; not everyone is within it; and not everyone will be saved. The point is they are not institutional exclusivists: They do not restrict the “one true church” to a single, visible hierarchy.”

— What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church by Gavin Ortlund

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624 viewsDec 18 at 10:51

“Imagine a remote village in the Middle East where a number of Muslims begin having dreams in which Jesus appears to them and reveals himself as Lord. They respond with repentance and baptism, and a small community of worshiping Christians is formed. Is this a valid church, and do they have a valid Eucharist? While some in the non-Protestant traditions may want to make such allowances, this generosity is not consistent with their churches’ historical teaching. On Protestant principles, by contrast, the converted Muslim community is a fully valid church with a fully valid Eucharist. No qualifications, conceptual gymnastics, or revisionist readings of historical standards are needed to explain this phenomenon. It is simply Christ the Lord building his empire. In short, Protestantism has a superior orientation toward catholicity than its rivals because it lacks their institutional exclusivism. Protestantism acknowledges true churches within multiple institutions. This does not mean Protestants are universalists. The vast majority of Protestants are exclusivists in the sense of believing there are boundaries to the church; not everyone is within it; and not everyone will be saved. The point is they are not institutional exclusivists: They do not restrict the “one true church” to a single, visible hierarchy.”

— What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church by Gavin Ortlund

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