Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

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Chur ch Mat ter s : Ret r i ev i ng the Great Trad i t i on

b. Portrays the order of bishops as “successor to the college of apostles in teaching authority and pastoral rule” (reaffirmed the pope as having full, supreme, universal power over the church)

c. Mary is defined as the Mediatrix , who mediates between us and God.

d. Gospel, the source of saving truth, is transmitted by tradition and Scripture.

e. Bible was released to the laity to “study the sacred page”

f. Sections which read close to a kind of seeming universalism, although it does open up the possibility of “other brethren” not of the RCC

E. The perils and promises of the 21st Century

1. Striking global impact of the Azuza street revival and the emergence of Pentecostalism: Third Wave Pentecostalism (Pentecostalism, Charismatic Renewal, and the 3rd wave [e.g., “Refreshing” Toronto Blessing])

2. The charismatic revolution as a new kind of evangelical ecumenism

3. What of the growing animus and nasty characterization of all things conservative and Christian on the airwaves, news, media, etc.?