Vatican II - 3 Important Changes

True Significance [of Vatican II] IS

That it was fundamentally altering  three convictions central to historic Evangelical objections, which understood (whether accurately or not) Roman Catholicism to hold:

1. an exaggerated exaltation of the Catholic Church as an institution whereby it communicated that the institutional Catholic Church was in itself a salvific agency serving, in an exaggerated way, as a continuation of the ministry of Jesus;
2. an exaggerated view of its sacramental ministry, seen to be the key to ministering salvation (either in baptism or in penance (described as “necessary”, D. 839, 894-896, albeit with the usual emergency alternative of the “desire of the sacrament,” D 898) or in the Eucharist);
3. “Rome never changes” and hence, until the Council of Trent’s decrees are explicitly renounced, all appearances of change are superficial at best.

All three points are implicated in one single decision taken at Vatican II: its acceptance that Protestants who had no membership in and no sacramental ministry from the Catholic Church were yet regenerated Christians.  When one considers the change in the first point alone – termed by some as the Catholic “tendency most suspect to Protestants”  – this is a sea change of huge proportion.  With this change the focus has been removed from the institution itself as a salvific institution and switched back to the underlying Gospel message.  

Source: Paul Miller  -  "Evangelicals Cooperatively Evangelising & Discipling with Catholics in Faithfulness to Evangelical Distinctives", by Paul Miller

Engle & Calisi in Azusa

The music quieted while the constantly boisterous crowd fell to a noticeable hush as the “men-in-black,” collared Catholic priests and their friends, who were incidentally wearing black, took center-stage. Standing with my right foot about one inch from the stage drop, I looked out on the crowd to see trepidation on faces and looks of curiosity, and even a noticeable pause of breath.

Matteo Calisi, former president of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, was introduced and began to address the crowd in Italian with Dr. Bruno Ierullo translating:

“We are a delegation, a Catholic delegation. … I come from Italy. And, I bring you a salute from 150 million Charismatic Catholics.” As the crowd cheered, Calisi then spoke to the crowd about the influence of the Asuza Street Revival on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

Following these remarks, he ceremoniously laid prostrate on the stage and kissed Lou Engle’s feet in an act of reconciliatory love. “We are just in a holy moment right here,” Engle emotionally cried out. Then he continued to call out the other church elders onto the stage while he fell to his knees reciprocally kissing Matteo’s feet.

“Jesus, I thank you!” cried out Calisi while Engle kneeled before his feet, “because you are breaking the spirit of division! You are preparing a great revival in the event of this call, like you did 100 years ago. Do it again! Do it again! Holy Spirit let your Spirit come again for a billion Catholics.”

Source: Jennifer Wing Atencio  -  "Christians pack Coliseum for revival: Catholics join thousands of  believers to mark 110th anniversary of Pentecostal Azuza revival", Angelus News, 13 April 2016
https://angelusnews.com/news/christians-pack-coliseum-for-revival-catholics-join-thousands-of-believers-to-mark-110th-anniversary-of-pentecostal-azuza-revival

Can the US learn from Europe?

And frankly, I think the church in the United States, the more it embeds with politics… Europeans understand where that goes. When the church and the state are seen like this [joins hands], and then the state proves what it is - a flawed and sometimes corrupt system -  then the church is judged by this, and rejected. There are countries in Europe where the church is set back for decades and decades, because they have been stained by how they sold their soul for power, I would say. As the United States grows more and more secular, I tell the people there: ‘We are becoming more like the fertile soil in which the early church did best’. Like the Roman Empire, this was a pagan and hostile society in which Christians stood out by being different. When you are in a place like the United States or Europe in its recent past, where the majority will claim to be Christians, but then they look like everyone else, then the people do not understand what the gospel is. But when Christians look radically different from the world around them, then the people can see the difference.

Source: Philip Yancey  -  "Philip Yancey: US evangelicals should learn from Europe’s history of religion and power", Evangelical Focus Newsletter, 23 September 2016, http://evangelicalfocus.com/world/1951/Philip_Yancey_US_evangelicals_should_learn_from_Europes_history_of_religion_and_power_

Where is our repentance?

We sinned, but where is our repentance as Christians?  The Lord expects us to face up to facts. ... We Christians need to face our catalogue of failures squarely.  The scandal of division.  Impenitenace for our crime against Israel.  Complacency and self-righteousness.

Source: M. Basilea Schlink  -  Repentance: The Joy-Filled Life, p. 35

Matt Maher in KC

I think what I've come to realize in the past couple of years is that times of worship where no one knows what it is, it's because we're all together.  It's just that simple.  I mean, you could bring Christians from different denominations together and not say anything, and it would be the most powerful expression of worship - because it's a fulfillment of Jesus' prayer in John 17.  God's not a liar.  The things that He says, His word won't return null adn void.  So when Jesus prays before Calvary that we would be one, whenever that happens, we are agreeing with the Lord, and whenever we agree with the Lord, there's a goodness about it, we're in right relationship.  And so I think whenever the church worships together, it's going to be palpable ... it's not about the gifts and the talents, it's about the fact that we're all together.  That's the gift.  That's the anointing.  The anointing isn't in a person, it's in the body of Christ, and when the body of Christ is reconciled by worshipping together, that's where the anointing is.

Source: Matt Maher  -  Worship Leader Q&A Panel, Catholic/Ecumentical Track, Onething 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_pesyj1nVo

Civil War

I believe this is urgent, my brothers and sisters. We have had one civil war in our history that the Church made no effort to stop but in fact aided and abetted by our conflicting messages and inflammatory rhetoric. Another may take a different form where our political factions take up arms (Lord knows we have enough of them) in our cities if they cannot resolve their differences or be heard in the halls of Congress and the office of the President. We could fall into anarchy or tyranny. I like to say that children who play with matches inside the house often do not realize they can burn the house down until they do. Our incendiary and inflammatory speech may not stop there. It didn’t before the Civil War. Church, I’m asking, is it time to say “we must reconcile our differences and lead our country in doing the same?”

Source: Robert C Trube  -  rtrube54, "The Scandal of the Church in America: Part One", Bob on Books, 13 Feb 2017, https://bobonbooks.com/2017/02/13/the-scandal-of-the-church-in-america-part-one/

All Catholics Exhorted To Be Active In Ecumenism!

At the second Vatican Council, in its decree on ecumenism the Catholic Church officially embraced the ecumenical movement in its goal of restoring the full visible unity of the one body of Jesus Christ:

"Today, in many parts of the world, under the influence of the grace of the Holy Spirit, many efforts are being made in prayer, word, and action to attain the fullness of unity which Jesus Christ desires. This sacred council, therefore, exhorts all the Catholic faithful to recognize the signs of the times and to take an active and intelligent part in the work of ecumenism."

Source: Fr. Peter Hocken  -  Pentecost and Parousia, Peter Hocken - p. 19 [Unitatis Redintegratio 4 Decree on ecumenism of the second Vatican Council]

Good Answer, Gideon!

22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”

Source: Samuel  -  Judges 8:22-23 (NIV)

Should Children Represent The Parent's Anger To Each Other?

As a father I'm thrilled beyond words when my kids tell each other how much I love them, because in representing me they're just representing themselves. Imagine if one of your children told the other, "Dad loves you so much. Dad talks about you all the time. Every time Dad looks at your picture a genuine smile crosses his face and there's so much love in his eyes. Dad can't wait to see you. Dad is so proud of you and his face lights up whenever he hears your name."

But I would be rocked to my core if any of my children presumed to represent my anger, because in representing me they're just representing themselves. Imagine if one of your kids ever told the other, "Dad is so mad at you. Dad is going to punish you. Dad hates you. Dad is furious with you. Dad is going to disown you and send you away because he never wants to see you again. Dad can't even stand to look at you."

God is our Father, and we are His children. How you want your children to treat one another should give you great revelation into the Father's heart.

Source: Bill Vanderbush  -  Posted on FB 4 Feb 2017

"You Shouldn't Leave Like This"

A colleague (we’ll call him “Andrew”) told me this story while we were working together on a project.

It was Andrew's first year of marriage.  He was due to leave ~ 10:30 pm to drive to Louisiana and go offshore for a long work assignment.  That evening, he and his wife had an argument.  As Andrew related it, “I didn’t respond as well as I could have” … and he left the house around 10 pm, 30 minutes early, while they were still arguing.  He drove away angry and unresolved with his wife.

As per his usual habit, he first headed to a nearby gas station to fill up the car for the trip.  As he was pumping the gas, another vehicle pulled up on the other side of the pump.  A man got out and started also filling up his car.  Suddenly, the man spoke to Andrew:  “You shouldn’t leave like this.”  “What?” Andrew replied.  The man said again, “I felt led to say to you - you shouldn’t leave like this.”

Wow!  A word from the Lord.

Andrew finished filling up his tank, and instead of heading down the road, returned to the house.  His wife met him at the door, weeping, and they embraced and reconciled before Andrew left the second time for his work assignment.

My friend later said, “That could have been the end of the relationship if I hadn’t come back” - at the very least, it would have caused a wound in the relationship that would have caused strife and tension for months / years, until resolved.  But God saw, God cared, and God intervened!

Source: Thomas Cogdell  -  Personal story

The Question of a Young Calvinist

The first independent idea about religion I ever remember thinking was a question I asked my father, an elder in the church, a good and wise and holy man. I was amazed that he couldn't answer it. "Why do we Calvinists have the whole truth and no one else? We're so few. How could God leave the rest of the world in error? Especially the rest of the Christian churches?" Since no good answer seemed forthcoming, I then came to the explosive conclusion that the truth about God was more mysterious—more wonderfully and uncomfortably mysterious—than anything any of us could ever fully comprehend. (Calvinists would not deny that, but they do not usually teach it either. They are strong on God's "sovereignty," but weak on the richness of God's mystery.) That conviction, that the truth is always infinitely more than anyone can have, has not diminished. Not even all the infallible creeds are a container for all that is God.

Source: Peter Kreeft  -  Hauled aboard the Ark, http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/hauled-aboard.htm

Church & State

And frankly, I think the church in the United States, the more it embeds with politics… Europeans understand where that goes. When the church and the state are seen like this [joins hands], and then the state proves what it is - a flawed and sometimes corrupt system -  then the church is judged by this, and rejected. There are countries in Europe where the church is set back for decades and decades, because they have been stained by how they sold their soul for power, I would say. As the United States grows more and more secular, I tell the people there: ‘We are becoming more like the fertile soil in which the early church did best’. Like the Roman Empire, this was a pagan and hostile society in which Christians stood out by being different. When you are in a place like the United States or Europe in its recent past, where the majority will claim to be Christians, but then they look like everyone else, then the people do not understand what the gospel is. But when Christians look radically different from the world around them, then the people can see the difference.

Source: Philip Yancey  -  "Philip Yancey: US evangelicals should learn from Europe’s history of religion and power", Evangelical Focus Newsletter, 23 September 2016, http://evangelicalfocus.com/world/1951/Philip_Yancey_US_evangelicals_should_learn_from_Europes_history_of_religion_and_power_

A New Thing is Coming!

Right now we remain largely a scattered people.  This has been the condition of the Church of Jesus Christ for a good many years.  But a new thing is coming. God is gathering his people once again, creating of them an all-inclusive community of loving persons with Jesus Christ as the community's prime sustainer and most glorious inhabitant.  This community is breaking forth in multiple ways and varied forms.

Source: Richard Foster  -  Streams of Living Water, p. 273

He Must Become Greater; I Must Become Less

23 At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. 24 (This was before John was thrown into prison.) 25 A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. 26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”

27 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. 28 You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ 29 It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. 30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

Source: John  -  John 3:26, 29-30 (NLT)

Cross-Racial Relationships

Morrison’s mission was to enable racial reconciliation within local churches and develop resources for Christians who want to build cross-racial relationships.

Since then, Be the Bridge has exploded in size and now serves the local church by providing curricula and other tools that encourage bridge builders to “[foster and develop] vision, skills, and heart for racial unity.”

Source: Christianity Today  -  "Latasha Morrison: The Church Is the ‘Only Place Equipped to Do Racial Reconciliation Well’", interview by Morgan Lee, January 2017, http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2017/january/latasha-morrison-church-is-only-place-equipped-to-do.html

Protestants & Catholics & Persecution

The Hungarian government will spend the coming weeks working out the exact duties of the new department, though it will have a primarily humanitarian focus, said Eduard von Habsburg, the Hungarian ambassador to the Holy See.

The decision to launch the new department came after Orban and Balog traveled to Rome in August to meet Pope Francis. Orban and Balog, respectively a Protestant layman and a Calvinist pastor, were the only non-Catholic members of the group whom Pope Francis received in a private audience in August.
Von Habsburg said that government officials’ interactions with leading European churchmen and with the patriarchs of the Middle East contributed to the decision to form the agency.

Part of the reason for going public with the initiative now is to set an example for other European nations.

"Somehow the idea of defending Christians has acquired a bad taste in Europe, as if it means excluding other people," von Habsburg said. The Hungarian initiative is intended to show it doesn’t have to be that way, Catholic news sources reported.

"Our interest not only lies in the Middle East but in forms of discrimination and persecution of Christians all over the world," Balog said. "It is therefore to be expected that we will keep a vigilant eye on the more subtle forms of persecutions within European borders."

Source: Christianity Today  -  "The First Country to Officially Defend Christians Persecuted by ISIS", Christianity Today, Gleanings, 16 Sept 2016, http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2016/september/first-country-to-officially-defend-christians-persecuted-by.html

Careful not to Criticize

As we were repenting for the sins against the Eucharist, we were very careful not to critize the teachings and beliefs of other Christians.  Our desire was to confess what a treasure this gift of the Eucharist is, and the deep longing of the Lord that we partake of it together.  The problem is not the rules, discipline or practice of any one Church or denomination, but the distortions and deviations in practice that have brought about the present situation.  We believe that confessing these sins with which we identify clears the ground and opens the door to new breakthroughs in the future.

Source: Peter Hocken  -  TJCII Communique, 2016-1

David Sliker, IHOPKC

It’s not enough for me to write the words, “Black Lives Matter in the Kingdom of God.” It’s more than likely that, if you’re reading this, you already agreed with that point. Easy. Simple. However, it’s also likely that it’s been awhile since we’ve hosted a black man, a black couple, or a black family for dinner. It’s even less likely that, if we did, we asked hard questions and listened more than we spoke. We tend to love truth, and yearn for it, but often from a safe distance. The implications of scriptural truth, when mixed together with the love of Christ, are that perfected love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). We need more than right truths from the Word of God when it comes to this subject. We need love perfected in us that makes us fearless, so that we can draw near to one another and listen to one another without defensiveness.

Source: David Sliker, IHOPKC  -  Director, Forerunner School of Ministry, IHOPU, "How Black Lives Matter in the Kingdom of God", blog post in Christian Living, ihopkc.org, http://www.ihopkc.org/resources/blog/black-lives-matter-kingdom-god/

The Servants Of God

Not only will God not reject his promises to his servants, but he will not deny their call and their work.  Just as the Lord always acknowledges the witness of his Old Testament servants, Abaham, Moses and David, so he will always acknowledge the witness of his Christian servants, whether Peter and Paul, Athanasius and Augustine, Francis of Assisi and Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther and John Calvin, John Wesley and Count von Zinzendorf, Dwight Moody and Charles Spurgeon.

Source: Fr. Peter Hocken  -  One Lord One Spirit One Body, pp.67

Exhortation from a Catholic to Evangelicals

So when I encourage my evangelical brethren to extend their ministries among Catholics, I hope to be adding to the number of people who say “Yes” to God. I do hope they say it also to Christ’s Body the Church in all the dimensions Christ intended for his Church; but, above all, I hope that they say it. Many evangelicals are good Christians, many Catholics are bad Christians, and if some bad Christians become better Christians through the influence of evangelical Protestants, Deo gratias . If I pray that there be more workers for the harvest, I shouldn’t mind when they show up, even if they are not exactly what I expected. And, as the animosities between Catholics and evangelicals subside, as Catholics and Protestants come to realize that they are already in communion, however imperfectly, I am confident that many Christians who live in the Marian dimension of the Church will continue to discover the fulness that the Holy Spirit bestows in the ministry of Peter, who is called by the Good Shepherd to feed all the sheep.

Source: Daniel P. Moloney  -  "Evangelicals in the Church of Mary", First Things, December 2000, https://www.firstthings.com/article/2000/12/evangelicals-in-the-church-of-mary