Ministry in a Multi-Cultural and Unchurched Society

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Mi n i s t r y i n a Mu l t i -Cu l tura l and Unchur ched Soc i et y

1. They essentially saw Christianity as a historical religion of community grounded in the ongoing expression of the promise, seen generation by generation

2. They rejected any notion of Christianity devoid of its historical validity: Christianity is not merely the courage of individual conscience but also the accuracy of historical faith!

3. The narrative of God is seen as a single unbroken story, a “majestic tapestry” with each ongoing generation repre senting its contribution to the whole. “We must not in any way violate the canon of the church” (Clement of Alexandria, c. 195 [cf. David W. Bercot, ed. A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs . Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998, p. 147]).

4. The break of connection with the historic faith was taken to be the rule of inauthentic confession.

a. The Scriptures and the NT canon were historically determined : our Bible was the decision of the Church to include certain texts and to exclude certain others .

b. The faith of Christ is rooted in the Judeo-Christian background.

c. The validity of church government is rooted in the connection to the apostles (i.e., a historical phe nomenon): the logical argument – if you reject the legitimacy of the Church you endanger the authen ticity of the text, for they are inseparably connected!

d. The legitimacy of traditions is rooted in the understanding of what was believed and practiced everywhere and by all (i.e., the Vincentian rule),

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