Thursday, December 27, 2007

Re: Anonymous No More

Robert T. Miller at First Things responds to a request from Ryan T. Anderson for more information on theologian Karl Rahner's idea of the "Anonymous Christian".
The traditional view tilts strongly towards the idea that salvation outside the visible Church is rare and difficult and that membership in the visible Church is often the determining factor between salvation and damnation. The modern--I might say Rahnerian--view tilts strongly in favor of the idea that salvation outside the visible Church is commonplace and membership inside the visible Church is only a small help at the margin.

How small is it? Big enough to be used to justify the payroll and overhead but still small enough that people on the payroll have little or no discernible interest in evangelization. (See this earlier post)

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