Date of Award
Spring 1993
Degree Type
Master's Essay - Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Theology
Abstract
Christian churches today face threats and challenges of individualism, whether in forms of personalism, privatism, or subjectivity, as well as threats of relativism and fundamentalism. The rise in fundamentalism itself may be a consequence of such forms of individualism. Churches often reflect the individualism and parochialism of our time and have little or no sense of connectedness or relatedness to other churches, even to those churches in their immediate neighborhood. Some churches still consider other churches as "missionary territory." The sense of a universal church is often seriously deficient. Despite the efforts of ecumenism, it could be the great scandal of our time to many non-Christians that many Christian churches profess the same Lord yet do not have communion or "koinonia" with one another. In its present divided state, the church as a whole is seriously hampered in its effort to confront these challenges. Also, the message of the Gospel, entrusted to churches, often becomes distorted when churches are divided.
Recommended Citation
Weber, Michael J., "A Biblical Foundation for "Church as Communion": A Canonical Study" (1993). Master's Essays (1922 - ). 2182.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/essays/2182
Comments
Final Essay Paper Submitted to the Department of Theology Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin