THE LCA AND
THE UNITING CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA
1. What is the Uniting Church of Australia (UCA)?
·
The UCA was
established in 1977 when Christians from three distinct protestant denominations
- Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational - agreed to amalgamate to form a
single ecclesial entity.
·
Unlike its American
namesake (the Unit-ED Church), the Unit-ING Church made it clear that it saw
itself as a group of congregations very much ‘on the way’ and in the process of
finding unity, but in the meantime somewhat diverse in both doctrine and
practice.
·
For the union to occur
however some kind of uniform direction was needed. This took shape in the
‘Basis of Union’ which functions as a kind of doctrinal constitution for the
Uniting Church.
2. What is the Basis of Union?
- In its own words, the Basis of Union asserts that
it was ‘the document that essentially set the platform, or ground rules,
for how [the three church bodies] came together….’ The Basis of Union
‘states the central affirmations of the Christian faith and therefore is a
guide to what is central in the life of the church. It is not a detailed
map or book of rules but a series of signposts which offer a clear sense
of direction.’
- Adherence to the Basis of Union is interpreted to
mean a ‘willingness to live and work within the faith and unity of the One
Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church as that way is described in the Basis.
Such adherence allows for difference of opinion in matters which do not
enter into the substance of the faith.’ (#15)
- While the Basis has a quasi-binding function, it
was revised in 1992 because ‘some people were finding aspects of the
language… to be rather curious and at certain points jarring and even
alienating.’
3. What does the Basis of Union say about the
Church?
- The Basis of Union asserts that the three church
bodies entered into union with each other ‘in fellowship with the whole
Church Catholic.’ (#1)
- The UCA says that it ‘lives and works within the
faith and unity of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.’ (#2; see
also #15)
- The UCA claims to be related to other churches ‘in
ways that give expression… to that unity….’ (#2)
- Overall there is a conception of the church’s unity
as something intrinsic to any body claiming the name church or Christian
that comes to ‘expression’ in different ways at different times.
4. What does the Basis of Union say about the Bible?
- ‘The Uniting Church acknowledges that the Church
has received the books of the Old and New Testaments as unique prophetic
and apostolic testimony, in which it hears the Word of God and by which
its faith and obedience are nourished and regulated. When the Church
preaches Jesus Christ, its message is controlled by the Biblical
witnesses.’ (#5)
- Examining the ambiguous wording of this paragraph,
it must be asked: what does ‘receive’ mean? How does the true Church
regard the Old and New Testaments? In what respect are they unique?
- The phrase, ‘in which it hears the Word of God’
suggests an understanding of the Scriptures as a means by which God
may speak but not an understanding of them as the inspired, inerrant word
of God itself.
- The phrase, ‘when the Church preaches Jesus Christ,
its message is controlled…’ presents an ambiguous relation or sequence.
What about when the Church teaches on moral issues, or on the Holy
Trinity, or on sin?
- Under the section called LAW (#17) there is a
strange confusion of Law and Gospel. Law is defined as a church
formulation in response to the disciplinary requirements of the gospel.
There is no mention of divine law. On the contrary, ‘[S]ince law is
received by human beings [?] and framed by them, it is always subject to
revision in order that it may better serve the Gospel.’ (#17) It appears
the statement is referring to human laws – such as by-laws and
constitutional regulations. But then to call it baldly ‘law’ in the
singular and to mix it up with the traditional terminology of law/gospel
is to confuse something that must not be confused.
- Notably, the Basis of Union in its entirety quotes
or cites not one passage of Scripture.
5.
What does the Basis of Union say about the Lord’s Supper?
- Of Holy Communion it is said: ‘In this sacrament of
his broken body and outpoured blood the risen Lord feeds his baptized people….’
(#8) But we must ask: is in fact his body and blood given and received
there? With what does the Lord feed his people? It may be noted that the
Zwinglian part at Marburg (1529) also called Holy Communion ‘the sacrament
of Christ’s body and blood’, yet still rejected the real presence.
- The ‘communion’ effected in the sacrament is spoken
of as one brought about ‘through faith and the gift and power of the Holy
Spirit’, but we look in vain for any reference to communion in Christ’s
real flesh and blood. The manducatio indignorum is likewise nowhere
confessed.
6. What does the Basis of Union say about the
Creeds?
- ‘The Uniting Church enters into unity with the
Church throughout the ages by its use of the confessions known as the
Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. The Uniting Church receives these…
to declare and to guard the right understanding of that faith.’ (#9) But
we must ask: can unity with the una sancta be brought about simply
by the liturgical ‘use’ of the creeds? What of ‘believing, teaching, and
confessing’ the actual substance contained in them?
- Notably, the UCA does not receive, use, or
acknowledge the Athanasian Creed as one of the fundamental confessions of
the universal church. It does not say why. Of the Apostles’ and Nicene
creeds, the UCA says it commits its ministers ‘to the discipline of
interpreting their teaching in a later age.’
- We may also note the positioning of this article
(#9). In the Book of Concord the three catholic creeds, spelled out word
for word, precede all the other articles of faith. This is because the
Reformers wanted it to be known that in doctrine, belief, and practice
they wanted in no way to depart from the faith of the apostolic and
catholic church, the faith unchangeably enshrined in the three ecumenical
creeds.
- The UCA claims to learn ‘from the witness of the
Reformers as expressed in various ways….’ (#10) Naming various reformed
confessions and sermons, it commits itself to ‘listen’ to and study them
to ‘be reminded’ of the central tenets of the faith.
7.
What does the Basis of Union say about the Ministry?
·
Interestingly, the longest sections by far in the Basis
of Union are on Ministry (#14) and Government (#15). The UCA ‘will recognise
and accept the ministries of those who have been called to any task or
responsibility in the uniting Churches.’ (#13)
·
It says God will ‘call’ and ‘set apart’ members for
such ends. The ‘setting apart’, it says, ‘will be known as ordination’. Through
it the Presbytery ‘recognises Christ’s call’. (#14) But we ask: by whom does
this calling and setting apart take place? Through what means?
8. How is the UCA related to the LCA?
- Historically, the UCA stems from churches which
dissented from the Protestant Church of England whose first formal,
self-declared head was the monarch King Henry VIII. Traditionally the
three churches from which the UCA was formed were Reformed:
non-sacramental, low-church, and evangelical. Widespread liturgical
renewal in recent decades has led to an increasing appreciation by Uniting
Church Christians of the sacraments and the church’s ancient, common
liturgical practices.
- True Christians are found in every denomination in
which, to a greater or lesser extent, the marks of the one holy Christian
church are present, in spite of existing errors. This principle applies as
much to the LCA itself as it does for the UCA or any other church body.
- Error in organised churches, however, while it
may be present in practice, must never be accorded formal status. That
is, error must be avoided by the in-principle adherence to confessions
which bind their adherents in both faith and practice to the revealed word
of God. In this way those who stray from the truth can be corrected and
reconciled to divine doctrine in accordance with their freely admitted
accountability.
- According to the word of God and the Lutheran
Confessions, mutual recognition in the form of altar and pulpit fellowship
or co-operative ministry efforts involving preaching and administering the
sacraments, presupposes unanimity in apostolic doctrine and in the right
administration of the sacraments. Accordingly, the LCA cannot properly
acknowledge itself to be in fellowship with churches with which it is not
one in doctrine and practice.
- Nevertheless, the LCA is committed to the process
of ecumenical dialogue whereby barriers to true unity are revealed and,
hopefully, ultimately overcome. The UCA and the LCA have been conversing
formally at this level for a number of years with many joyful discoveries
of common ground. Progress may well be limited due to the non-binding,
non-authoritative, non-universal character of the UCA’s doctrinal
formulations.
9. What is the Proposal before the LCA?
- In 1999 the UCA/LCA dialogue committee published
the ‘Declaration of Mutual Recognition’, encouraging ‘local cooperation
between our two churches in the ministry of the word and pastoral care,
and a shared deployment of human and material resources.’ The Declaration
stipulates that such cooperation should include ‘shared Ministry’ and
‘eucharistic hospitality.’
- The Declaration bases this proposal on an agreement
spelled out in the form of statements in which it is alleged that the two
churches ‘believe and practise a shared faith.’ The articles are meant to
lead us to ‘affirm in each other’s churches the presence of the one holy
catholic and apostolic Church’, and to ‘acknowledge and respect each
other’s ordained ministries as real and effective expressions of the
proclamation of the word, the administration of the sacraments, and
pastoral oversight.’
- However, upon examination the statements do not
provide the agreement necessary for the kind of recognition and
cooperation proposed. (This was confirmed by pastors at the Victorian
District Pastors’ Conference, who rejected the document as doctrinally
insufficient.) Rather, by the use of generalities, ambiguous wording and
the avoidance of specific matters essential to Scriptural and confessional
fidelity, the Declaration gives the appearance of a unity between the
UCA and the LCA that does not in fact exist. In so far as this is the
case, the Declaration may be suspect of unionism.
- For example, under paragraph 3.2, The Bible:
The equation, the Bible = the word of God is expressly avoided. While
there is a stated acceptance of the authority of Scripture ‘as the
prophetic and apostolic testimony to Jesus Christ’, the statement omits
any qualification as to why the Bible has authority. Compare this
to our Theses of Agreement: ‘We teach that the Holy Scripture is the Word
of God in writing’ – both in its whole and in its parts. Since it is
divinely inspired (2 Tim 3:16), it is the only source, judge, rule, and
norm in all matters of faith and practice. Its inerrancy is an article
of faith.
- Again, under 3.3, The Creeds: The Athanasian
Creed is conspicuous by its absence.
- Again, under 3.4, The Church: While the
statement acknowledges that the Church exists ‘through God’s saving action
in word and sacraments’, the statement lacks the clarity required by the
definition given in the Augsburg Confession, that the unity of the Church
is established and preserved through the Word of God ‘purely preached’ and
the Sacraments ‘rightly administered’ in accordance with their divine
institution.
- Again, under 3.6, Baptism: Nowhere is there
mentioned that in baptism God confers forgiveness of sins, which even our
children know from the Small Catechism.
- Again, under 3.7, The Eucharist: The
objective fact that unbelievers or the impenitent who participate in the
sacrament also eat and drink the body and blood of Christ (manducatio
indignorum) is omitted.
- Again, under 3.9, Marriage: Scripture
teaches that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, to the
exclusion of all others, publicly and voluntarily entered into for the
whole of life, whose purpose includes the procreation of children. Although the statement refers to
‘husband and wife’, the rest of this is expressly omitted.
- Again, under 3.10, The Consummation: There
is no mention of the advent of Christy in glory, the resurrection of the
body and the coming judgement. Nor of the fate of the ungodly, the devil
and his cohorts.