When I wrote my first post earlier today, I had intended to write a bit about Frank Schaeffer, Francis Schaeffer's son, who converted to Orthodoxy in the 1990's. He is an interesting person, and although some think he is very far from his father I have always seen the mark of his father in his writing, but I will not go into that now.
I just finished reading Dancing Alone: the Quest for Orthodox Faith in the Age of False Religion. Published shortly after his conversion. Its an interesting read if at points a little repetative.
His expereince of Protestantism is different from mine. But than he grew up in the household of one of a conservative Reformed thinker, and there is a difference between Calvinist and Lutheran theology. Tripp may wish to argue with me on how much that is or is not due to Calvin himself. So in a sense this is full circle with my thoughts on Practicing Resurection: the faith of the Calvinist seems a little more removed (and this may be unfair blanket statement, but it is my experience of the Refomred) from historical Christianity than the faith I was raised with in the Covenant. And it touches on one thing that Frank Schaeffer really attempts to drive home and that is the place of mystery and the apophatic in Christians faith. For the Calvinist there seems to have become little or no room for it. While no one taught me to respect the mystics or even told me there was a mystical and meditative tradition in the church, I was neither surpised to find this out nor did it seem foreign to the faith I had been raised with.
I will say more tomorrow, though if anyone has any thoughts before I do so do comment away, even if it is a long comment. ;-]
I don't think it's your imagination that the Lutheran tradition, even at one remove in the Evangelical Covenant Church (which I learnt about from you), is closer to Catholicism than Calvinism is.
ReplyDeleteIf you accept the latter's premises - TULIP for example - it's a logical and brilliant (if oppressive and depressing) system.
Western Catholicism excels at explaining things but of course there's mysticism right along with that as the end of St Thomas Aquinas' life shows. What he wrote was true but didn't, couldn't, go far enough.
I agree that's missing from Calvinism. Take the method of the Schoolmen, knock it off the rails of Catholic orthodoxy, 'get creative' and as Calvin himself might have said, 'Voilà!'
But of course that's a dead end.
Archbishop Robert Morse has said Calvinism inevitably collapses into Unitarianism, as happened in New England.
I've not read Schaeffer the younger but should someday.