>The 16th Century reformers, in order to defend the notion that they were
>still the "true" church had to develop the doctrine of both a visible and
>invisible church; the latter of course being made up of God's elect, the
>former of both elect and non-elect. The question was, "is there any
>idea/theology of the invisible church in the MA?" If I'm not mistaken this
>view was, at least, mentioned in various "heretical groups" especially in
>the later MA, but I'm at a loss as to whether their was any serious
>discussion about an "invisible" church over and against the visible church.
>Any help with this?
>
>R.J. Stansbury
>
I'm not sure about how the 16th-C. reformers used these terms, but isn't
this simply a variation on what Augustine argued in the City of God? For
example, in Bk. 1, Cap. 35: " . . . while the City of God is on pilgrimage
in this world, she has in her midst some who are united with her in
participation in the sacraments, but who will not join with her in the
eternal destiny of the saints. Some of these are hidden; some are well
known, for they do not hesitate to murmur against God, whose sacramental
sign they bear . . ." (David Knowles' translation). Here we have a
"visible" Church which includes some people who do not really belong to the
"invisible" City of God.
Megan McLaughlin, History Dept., Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
309 Gregory Hall, 810 S. Wright St., Urbana, IL 61801
Tel: 217-244-2084 Fax: 217-333-2297
PLEASE NOTE NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS: [log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|