Status Confessionis and Social Commentary from the Current Church Ess

office Confessionis and Social Commentary from the Current Church Throughout my ongoing investigation of the interactions between religious values and mixer behavior, I have sprain thoroughly intrigued with the role of the institutional church building in the realm of social commentary and criticism, as well as political activism. That there is a long standing impression within the church tradition relating to my rarity is not terribly surprising after just an overview of the language that sociology opening has applied to religious bodies. The role of the church in relation to night club is divided into two basic categories of action- that of the priest, and that of the prophet. (D makeload a PDF file of a folder eslpaining the terminolgoy of Priest & Prophet.) The former describes the conserving, nurturing actions of the church towards broader social structures, the latter, criticism and the call to trigger off away from corruption towards righteousness. When acting as pr ophet in the intimately extreme sense, the church is considered to be in a time of, what is called, place confessionis - acknowledging a state of social injustice so abhorrent that the church mustiness actively interject its influence into even the secular field of study and demand repentance and reform. Nazism and apartheid in South Africa are the two most often cited examples of church bodies acting in status confessionis (Schuurman 100). What intrigues me close to this idea is the reserve with which it is invoked, judging by the tone of the passage where the concept is addressed in the book Vocation by Douglas Shuurman. Considering the broader historical-theological context of the issue, including Brunners instruction against the disastrous dogma that various orders are not subj... ...r place in the kingdom of immortal. On the other hand, as long as the empty are being fed and the despised loved, Gods hand is moving in the world. So I come full circle to find that we mus t faithfully remain amidst the brokenness and corruption, fix what we can, and be prepared to let God act as God will, as I, and each of us, pursue our own vocations and encourage others to do the same. As theologian Walter Brueggeman has written, What God does first and ruff and most is to trust his people with their moment in history. He trusts them to do what must be done for the sake of the whole community. So be it. Amen. Works Cited Buechler, Steven M., & F. Kurt Cylke, Jr. Social Movements Perspectives and Issues . Toronto Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997. Schuurman, Douglas J. Vocation . Grand Rapids, MI William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004.