Authority in the Church

Description

The question of authority has always been a lively issue within the Roman Catholic Church. While some have warned against the danger of "democratizing" the Church, others have warned against applying too narrowly the "monarchical" model which has been dominant in past centuries.
Father McKenzie's thesis is that these political paradigms simply do not apply to the Church. The Christian community, he points out, is a unique society, and hence its understanding and use of authority must also be unique.
McKenzie shows how Christian authority is unique by illuminating the understanding of authority that Jesus gave to the "society" which He founded. After a brilliant exposition of authority in the New Testament, the author traces how the Church has lost sight of these unique aspects, with a consequent erosion of both Christian authority and Christian freedom.

Subjects

• Books
• Savoirs
• Religions

Informations

• Published by: Wipf and Stock Publishers
• Published: 01 March 2009
• Reads: 0
• EAN13: 9781725223288
• Language: English
• Document size: 15 MB

Exrait

Jon L. McKenzie Reprin Series (in order of original publising)

he Two-Edged Sword Myts and Realities: Studies in Biblical heology he Power and te Wisdom

Mastering te Meaning of te Bible Autority in te Curc Second Isaia (Commentary) he Gospel According to Mattew (Commentary) Did I Say hat?

Ligt on te Epistles

Ligt on te Gospels heology of te Old Testament he Old Testament Witout Illusions

Source (on contemporary issues)

How Relevant is te Bible?

he New Testament Witout Illusions

he Civilization of Cristianity

Wipf and Stock Publishers 199 W 8th Ave, Suite 3 Eugene, OR 97401 Authority in the Church By McKenzie, John L. Copyright©1966 by ISBN 13: 978-1-60608-148-8 Publication date 3/16/2009 Previously published by Sheed & Ward, 1966

Series Foreword

 T  ,“I ain’ e pars of e Bible I can’ M undersand a boer me; i’s e pars I do.” Jon L. McKenzie, commening on e same subjec from anoer perspecive, wroe, “he simple see a once a e way of Jesus is very ard o do, bu easy o undersand. I akes real cleverness and sopisicaed inelligence o find ways o evade and disor e clear meaning of wa Jesus said.” Bu McKenzie, like Twain, was imself a person of exceedingly ig inelligence, disincively wiy, wi a double-edged sword’s incisiveness. As e firs Caolic eleced Presiden of e Sociey of Biblical Lieraure, Presiden of e Caolic Biblical Associaion, fluen in en languages, sole auor of a 900,000-word Bible dicionary, of over a dozen books and undreds of essays, Jon McKenzie aained worldwide recogniion as e dean of Caolic biblical scolars. Bu again like Twain, McKenzie possessed a culivaed reservoir of abiding empay—cogniive and emoional—for ordinary people and wa ey endure, millennia-in and millennia-ou. He insised: “I am a uman being before I am a eologian.” Unlike many wo become en- renced in a ermeic, scolarly world of ever-muliplying absracions, McKenzie never permied is God-given faculy of empay o aropy. To e conrary, e refused o leave is fellow uman beings ou in e cold on e doorsep of some empaically-defecive eological ouse of cards. his refusal made all e difference. I also oten cos im e suppor, or engendered e osiliy, of is ecclesiasical and academic associaes and insiuional superiors—as so oten appens in scolarly, commercial and governmenal endeavors, wen unwaned ru a is e frui of unauorized empay is facored ino e equaion.

Series Foreword

Jon McKenzie produced works of biblically “propeic scolar- sip” unlike anying creaed in e wenie cenury by any scolar of is saure. hey validae, wi fasidious erudiion, wa e “simple see a once” as e ru of Jesus—e.g., “No reader of e New Tesamen, simple or sopisicaed, can reain any doub of Jesus’ posiion oward violence direced o persons, individual or collecive; e rejeced i oally”—bu wic pasors and professors enrenced in ecclesiasical naionalism and/or organizaional survivalism ave cronically ob- scured or disparaged. In lierae socieies, power-elies know a o preempively or re- medially jusify e evil and cruely ey execue, eir ink-anks mus include eologians as par of eir mercenary army of academics. hese well-endowed, bu empaically underdeveloped, eological ired guns en proselyize bisops, clergy, and Crisians in general by gilding e illogical wi coas of scolarly circumlocuions so ick a e op- posie of wa Jesus said appears o be Gospel ru. he inen of is learned legerdemain is e manufacuring of a faux consensus fidei o jusify, in Jesus’ sacred name, everying necessary o proec and aug- men an odious—local, planeary and/or ecclesial—saus quo. Jon McKenzie is e anidoe o suc secular and ecclesial ink- ank pseudo-evangelizaion. Trus Jesus aug—a e simple see a once and a Crisian Curces and eir leaders ave long since aban- doned, bu mus again come o see if ey are o onesly proclaim and live e Gospel—are given superior scolarly exposiion via McKenzie. his is wa moved Doroy Day o wrie in er diary on April 14, 1968, “Up a 5:00 and reading he Power and e Wisdom. I ank God for sending me men wi suc insigs as Fr. McKenzie.” For ose familiar wi McKenzie is re-publicaion of is wri- ings offers an opporuniy o encouner again a consisen scolarly- empaic frame of consciousness abou Genesis roug Revelaion, wose major crux inerpreum is e Servan of Yawe (Isaia 42). Ulimaely embodied in e person of Jesus, e Servan is e revealer of Abba almigy—wo is “on our side,” if our means eac person and all umaniy. For all Crisians, Jon L. McKenzie’s propeic scolarsip offers a wellspring of Jesus-sourced ru abou e life ey ave been

Series Foreword

cosen o live, e world in wic ey live, and e Cris in wom ey “live and move and ave eir being.”

(Rev.) Emmanuel Carles McCary Sepember 2008 Brockon, Massacuses