Alternative Orthodoxy: An Oxymoron?
Richard Rohr' meditattions on Fransciscan spirituality lasst week bore, for some reason, the heading "alternativve orthodoxy. Without refeerence to the content of these meditations, i thought that this was a strange juxtaposition of concepts. Would orthodoxy still be orthodoxy if allowed for alternatives.
I don't much care for orthodoxy in any situation. Success may depend on unity; but unity is not the same thing as uniformity with which it is too often confused.
A university prfofessor in an adjacent community.may be in danger of losing his job. He might even be tried for heresy which would mean that he could not get a job in a facility run by his church or preach in its churches,
His Church is The church of the Nazsrene, which broke away from the Methodist Church in the late 19th century. Methodism started as an Angkican heresy in the early 18th century; the same Anglican Church which seperated itsekf from the Roman Catholic Church in the early 16th century amid violence and persecution and acccusaations of heresy.
It was to avoid this kind of difficulty, and the problem of denominationalism which has fragmented protestantism. that prompted the Catholics to permit the fraternal and sororal orders which can be very diffferent from each other and still remain within the orgganizationas structure of Mother Church.
The Franciscans are one such "holy order." As such they are safely ensconsed within th arms of "Mother Church." Individual members of some orders have been punished by the Church. and perhaps a few have been excommunicated. But no established order has ever been dissolved from above. No need for "alternative orthodoxies here,
Of course, there were the Knights Templar. whose members were practically exterminated. But i don't they were ever an official order within the Church. Am i right (orthodox) on that point?
I don't much care for orthodoxy in any situation. Success may depend on unity; but unity is not the same thing as uniformity with which it is too often confused.
A university prfofessor in an adjacent community.may be in danger of losing his job. He might even be tried for heresy which would mean that he could not get a job in a facility run by his church or preach in its churches,
His Church is The church of the Nazsrene, which broke away from the Methodist Church in the late 19th century. Methodism started as an Angkican heresy in the early 18th century; the same Anglican Church which seperated itsekf from the Roman Catholic Church in the early 16th century amid violence and persecution and acccusaations of heresy.
It was to avoid this kind of difficulty, and the problem of denominationalism which has fragmented protestantism. that prompted the Catholics to permit the fraternal and sororal orders which can be very diffferent from each other and still remain within the orgganizationas structure of Mother Church.
The Franciscans are one such "holy order." As such they are safely ensconsed within th arms of "Mother Church." Individual members of some orders have been punished by the Church. and perhaps a few have been excommunicated. But no established order has ever been dissolved from above. No need for "alternative orthodoxies here,
Of course, there were the Knights Templar. whose members were practically exterminated. But i don't they were ever an official order within the Church. Am i right (orthodox) on that point?