The Stool Test
vitality or energy or strength, but, again, it is Christ Himself who is our very Life.
He is the means, and He is the end, and He is the method. And His Personhood far transcends Scripture, and Tradition, and Reason - and anything and everything else.
So the test of some "new" idea or custom or understanding or practice in the Church does not consist merely in poring over scripture or reading up on tradition or thinking through the rationality of it. The test is quite simply: "Is it of Christ?" Does this proposed change demonstrate our union with Christ or not? Does opposing the status quo mean opposing Christ? Does denying the change mean denying the Christ? (When Archbishop Tutu was asked what he thought of the Lambeth anti-gay resolution, his response was: "Where was Christ?")
If we must follow the three-legged-stool paradigm, then we ought to understand that the very ground on which our so-called stool stands must be Love Himself - law-annulling, in-forgiving, humanity-affirming, exclusion-denying Love Himself. And this means that all our scripture, all our traditions, and even our reason must be tested FIRST against Jesus Christ, the incarnation of Perfect Love.
There is plenty in Holy Scripture which is Christ-denying; there is too much in our venerable Tradition which is Christ-denying; and there are even conclusions of reason which can be Christ-denying, so before we buy in on Hooker's stool-test, we must apply the Christ-test, and let all else fall as it may. It is the only and ultimate standard.
Reprinted with permission of the author. Please visit the website of the author's order at http://140.190.128.190/merton/julian.html and e-mail him at
mailto:FJJojn@aol.com.
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