Mennonite/Orthodox Dialogue...

We had a good afternoon at Annunciation for the Mennonite/Orthodox dialogue. You can download the paper I presented here. It is not perfect, but it is an iteration of how Anabaptists read and interpret the Bible. I think the part on how authority is expressed in the Mennonite (and more broadly the Protestant/Evangelical stream) is particularly important to understanding the contemporary situation in Western Christianity.

How is the way of Christ revealed? And what value (authority) do we give to the Apostolic "mindset" that is represented in Tradition as a way we discern Biblical faithfulness to Christ? I suggest, that what we tend to see expressed in the modern approach to Scripture, particularly in American Christianity, is an individualistic engagement with the Gospel--private, subjective interpretation, un-accountable to a broader (Apostolic) mindset through which the Christ of Scriptures is crystallized and expressed. Grenz and Franke offer this critique. I included this critique in the paper, but skipped over it in my presentation, because of time constraints.

I'm thinking about starting another blog that is a forum for ongoing converstation between Anabaptism and Orthodoxy. Stay tuned.

Mennonites and Classical Theology...

Mennonite theologian A. James Reimer says, "Nicene Orthodoxy needs to be retrieved by the Christian church in general and by the Mennonite Church in particular as a way of remaining faithful to the Bible, as a way of preserving the essential tenets of the Christian faith within a post-biblical context, and as a theological framework for contemporary ethics."

"...I believe we need to enter vigorously into conversation with other theological traditions like Eastern Orthodoxy, which can teach us much in this regard. These other traditions, however, may also be able to learn something in turn from the Radical Protestant emphasis on personal and social ethics based on a particular Reading of the Gospels...."

A. James Reimer, Mennonites and Classical Theology: Dogmatic Foundations for Christian Ethics (Kitchener, ON: Pandora Press & Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001), 249.

In the spirit of these words of James Reimer, another dialogue is being planned for March 3, 2007.

Interpreting the Bible: Voices from Two Traditions
Mennonite/Orthodox Ecumenical Dialogue
March 3, 2007
1:30-3:00 pm
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
64 Hershey Ave
Lancaster, PA 17603

More information on this event can be found at the SMC website.