My big theory of churches (in progress)
For your consideration, here's a little chart that I use to explain the differing personalities of different church bodies & denominations:
Each item is the polar opposite of the one diagonal from it (but remember that a polar opposite can be a complementary paradox rather than a contradiction - for example, my own small church body, the "Free Lutherans", deliberately tries to be both orthodox and pietistic).
Defining terms: I define "orthodoxy" as an emphasis on correct doctrine, "scholasticism" as a particular way of being very analytical about doctrine. It's related, of course, to St. Thomas Aquinas & so forth, but lots of people think in a scholastic way even though they wouldn't want to be caught dead agreeing with the "Dumb Ox." Some Lutherans, Calvinists, and many other Protestants fall into this category.
Pietism is a red flag word for many, the subject of much heated discussion. Like St. Constantine, it gets blamed for lots of things. Here I'll simply define it as an emphasis on experience, in contrast to orthodoxy's emphasis on content. Mysticism is the embracing of mystery as contrasted with the attempt to analyze everything.
I think this little chart helps to avoid some confusions. For example, many (mostly scholastics) confuse scholasticism with orthodoxy. Some Lutherans are equally as conservative as we are, but much more scholastic (analytical), so naturally we are suspected of being less orthodox. There's a class of Lutheran church bodies (LCMS, WELS, etc.) which I call the "Germanic scholastic Lutherans" for this reason. They are from a good hard-headed German heritage. So are we Scandinavians soft-headed? Don't answer that ... But I would say we have an equal emphasis on correct doctrine, but simply are more mystical and pietistic about it, and less analytical.
I doubt that any Christian church is totally free of any one of these four (though some come close). A difference between the Eastern & Western churches would be that the Eastern are more mystical and the Western more scholastic.
Your comments, rebuttals, etc. are invited.
| Orthodoxy | Mysticism |
|---|---|
| Scholasticism | Pietism |
Each item is the polar opposite of the one diagonal from it (but remember that a polar opposite can be a complementary paradox rather than a contradiction - for example, my own small church body, the "Free Lutherans", deliberately tries to be both orthodox and pietistic).
Defining terms: I define "orthodoxy" as an emphasis on correct doctrine, "scholasticism" as a particular way of being very analytical about doctrine. It's related, of course, to St. Thomas Aquinas & so forth, but lots of people think in a scholastic way even though they wouldn't want to be caught dead agreeing with the "Dumb Ox." Some Lutherans, Calvinists, and many other Protestants fall into this category.
Pietism is a red flag word for many, the subject of much heated discussion. Like St. Constantine, it gets blamed for lots of things. Here I'll simply define it as an emphasis on experience, in contrast to orthodoxy's emphasis on content. Mysticism is the embracing of mystery as contrasted with the attempt to analyze everything.
I think this little chart helps to avoid some confusions. For example, many (mostly scholastics) confuse scholasticism with orthodoxy. Some Lutherans are equally as conservative as we are, but much more scholastic (analytical), so naturally we are suspected of being less orthodox. There's a class of Lutheran church bodies (LCMS, WELS, etc.) which I call the "Germanic scholastic Lutherans" for this reason. They are from a good hard-headed German heritage. So are we Scandinavians soft-headed? Don't answer that ... But I would say we have an equal emphasis on correct doctrine, but simply are more mystical and pietistic about it, and less analytical.
I doubt that any Christian church is totally free of any one of these four (though some come close). A difference between the Eastern & Western churches would be that the Eastern are more mystical and the Western more scholastic.
Your comments, rebuttals, etc. are invited.
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