Monday, February 9, 2009

Indulgences?

I just read this article in the New York Times and I'm trying to wrap my head around it.

Even though I'm sort of viscerally weirded out by it, I think there must be some sane theological argument to be made on behalf of this resurgent practice, even if I still think I'd probably ultimately reject it. But I can't think straight enough at the moment to make that argument, so I'll just post the article by itself for now.

I'll say this much: I think it's important for understanding what I witnessed - and what Chris tells me she is discovering - about San Juan de Los Lagos.

2 comments:

Mike and Beth said...

I'm glad you saw this. I remember reading about the 2000 Indulgence, and wondering what was going on. Then as soon as it appeared, nothing more was said. Could that Millennial indulgence been the precursor for the reinstatement of this bygone tradition. It will be interesting to see just how far the RC want to push this. Interesting that the article articulates the RC's desire to set itself apart from other Christian traditions rather than work on ecumenicism.

Matt Keadle said...

Isn't it though? I remember my Lutheran Confessions professor talking about how close Lutherans and Catholics were becoming, theologically. There was even that Joint Document on the Doctrine of Justification a few years back. But maybe we'll look back at the JDDJ as a notable exception in Lutheran-Catholic relations (at least on a theological level) rather than a harbinger of a new era.

Well, I really don't want to make too much of a single article; that would be unfair. But it's definitely worth thinking about.