Christ Above Culture (*A Church of the Center)

Part II. The Synthesis of Christ and Culture

THE SYNTHESIST: his understanding of the meaning of Christ separates him from the cultural believer, his appreciation of culture divides him from the radical
There is in the synthesists’ view a gap between Christ and culture

Clement of Alexandria (the 1st great representative of the type.)
The Instructor…
Clement’s Christ is both the Christ of culture and the Christ above all culture.
Reason Jesus's reasoning in practical affairs is for Clement like all good, sound reasoning but more (ie the Word, reason of God)
Ethics and etiquete that of the Christian corresponds closely to the content of Stoic handbooks of morality current at the time.
Accordance with culure comes first for the Christian …Sobreity in personal conduct is to be accompanied by honesty in economic dealings, and by obedience to political authority.

His Christ not against culture, but uses its best producst as instruments in his work of bestowing on men what they cannot achieve by their own efforts.
….He exhorts them to exert themselves in self-culture and intelectual training, in order that they may be prepared for a life in which they no longer care for themselves, their culture, or their wisdom.

For philosophy and faith. Synthesis of the NT & the demands of life in the world:
-“says to use, but not to linger and spend time, with secular culture.

It is more concerned with the culture of Christians than with the Christianization of Culture…
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Thomas Aquinas
represents a Christianity that has achieved or accepted full social responsibility for all the great institutions.
Both Christ and culture yet his Christ is above culture and he sees a gulf inbetween
He rejected the secular world. But he is a monk in the church which has become the guardian of culture, the fosterere of learning, the judge of the nations, the protector of the family, the governor of social religion. -(takes culture into the monestary)
!!He has enthroned the monastic life, not as a protest against he corrupt world, but as an effort to rise above the senivle and temporal world to contemplation of unchaning reality.

synthesizes ethics of culture with the ethics of the gospel.
Reason with our God given reason we discren that there is purpose in our existence and..nothing can put will of man at rest but God
"Thomas is a Christian Aristotelian who has reproduced the philosopher’s argument for the superiorority of the contemplative life to the practical but has named the object of intellectual vision God."
HappinessCan only gain imperfect hapiness in culture
ultimate happiness is not within the atainment of human possibilities, but it is freely bestowed on men by God through Jesus Christ.
Theological virtues- men may aspire after these theological virtues, (the Christlike living, & Great Love)but they can only prepare receptive hearts; they cannot force the gift. And the gift may come to a theif on the cross before it is extended the ascetic monk or righteous citizen.

Thomas provides for defense of social institutions and for their guidance in accordance with moral principles
Law synthetic combination in
Man cannot live in freedom save under law, that is to say, in culture…. But law must be true law, not derived from the will of the strong but discovered in the nature of things.
Natural Law Sees rule for human social life in the natural law discernable by all reasonable men based on eternal law in mind of God
Culture discerns the rules for culture, because culture is the work of God-given reaon in God-given nature.
The divine law revelaed by God through His prophets & through his Son is partly coincident with the natural law, and partly transcends it as the law of man’s supernatural life.
Though Shalt not steal is a commandment found both by reason and in revelation; “Sell all that thou hast and give to the poor” is in the divine law only
Government, state, and political power are provided for because God created social people & society is impossible on the human level without direction in accordance with law.
The church not only directs men to their supernatural end and provices sacramental assistance, but also as custondian of the divine law assists in the ordering of the temporal life; since reason sometimes falls short of its possible performance and requires the gracious assitance of revelation, and...

In Thosmas’ synthesis all thse institutions are so organically related to each other that while each serves a particular end each also serves the others.
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Later examples of the Christianity of synthesis we are hard put it to find adequate illustration so fthe time. p.138
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Terms/vocab

Go to: Christ AboveCulture | Introduction | Part I: The Church of the Center | Part II. The Synthesis of Christ and Culture | Part III. Synthesis in question |