Thomas Oden (5)
If God's purposes were constantly revisable, how could the faithful rely upon them?
Thomas Oden
The Rebirth of Orthodoxy, 95 It is a profound embarrassment to liberal leadership that during its hegemony, the seminaries, and the bureaucracies, the churches have lost ground in a massive membership haemorrhage. Liberals go into a cold sweat trying to explain how, while they owned the infrastructure, the money, the publications, and the leadership, they failed even to hold membership steady. They still nurture the fantasy that they have the high moral ground on sexuality issues, politically correct policing, and standard liberal theological issues such as universal salvation. The liberal leadership is now faced with the desperate dilemma of trying to secure trust and support from its ever-diminishing number of constituents.The Rebirth of Orthodoxy, 149
The problem of unfaithful clergy extends to our seminaries as well... These ordinands are often surprised to find themselves steered away from scripture toward tendentious gender studies, nihilistic deconstruction, uninhibited liturgical experimentation, the ubiquitous (and speculative) historical criticism, and counterproductive psychotherapies. The fair-minded know that this must and will end.The Rebirth of Orthodoxy, 137
The debate over heresy is a struggle to specify the legitimate boundaries of the worshiping community. That it is a necessary struggle is widely acknowledged: even tolerationists who rule the word heresy out of bounds (as if it were alien to polite discourse) are themselves asserting a boundary. Absurdly, they are implicitly ascknowledging the need for boundary-definition in ruling boundary-making out of bounds!The Rebirth of Orthodoxy, 131
It is supremely ironic that today's laity are becoming the mentors of today's clergy. It is the clergy into whose hands lay believers have solemnly entrusted themselves and their faith. And yet, when the clergy have fallen further away from faith than the laity, the laity are now taking the lead.The Rebirth of Orthodoxy, 138
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