The Mystery of Christ..& why we don't get it..

I have just started reading The Mystery of Christ. Jaime Howison, the priest at St. Ben's, quotes this book and other references from Robert Capon on a fairly regular basis so I figure it would be a worthwhile endeavor.  I am only two chapters into the book and am intrigued at his idea that a lot of theology(by this I mean very broadly a persons understanding of God, which every person has) is based on what he calls transactional. This idea creates a bad model to understand God, because it is based on the idea that salvation or forgiveness of sins is enacted by something we do.

This will appear to be similar to a works based system that to a degree Martin Luther reacted against. I imagine that that many in the protestant/evangelical circles would applaud, but the problem is that the idea of our actions are the basis of the forgiveness of sins is a very evangelical. That is why protestant emphasis the sinners pray(not an idea found in the bible) as important. What is at the core of this question is does our pray change the fact that Jesus died for all the sins of the world on the cross. Capon, with whom I agree, says that our sins have been forgiven and our works (ie. a prayer) does not change that fact. Dallas Willard in his excellent book The Divine Conspiracy talks about how many in the evangelical world are simply involved in "Sin Management" that at its root has guilt as a  motivating factor.

Naturally the obvious question then if our sins have already been forgiven what does it matter. Capon explains the situation as such what if you are told that a million dollars have been put under your house. "One one level, I have given you a piece of sensationally good news: you are the possessor of a million bucks, no conditions attached, no danger of my reneging on the gift. And if you trust me--That is, if you go to your property and start turning over flat rocks--  you will sooner or later actually be able to relate to the millions I so kindly gave you. But note something crucial. Your faith (your trust) does not earn you the money, nor does it con me into giving it to you: the money was your s all along just because I was crazy enough to bury it in your backyard. Your faith, you see , is in  no way the cause of the gift; the only thing it can possible have any causal connection with is your own enjoyment of the gift."

The Great Emergence.

The idea behind The Great Emergence is that the Church has a rummage sale every 500 years. At first this idea appears flimsy. We can not simply say that a certain point things utterly change in the world and church. However, that is definitely a simplistic way of describing the book and at no times does Tickle assert that the Reformation or any period begin after a specific event, but it is helpful to listen to what is happening in the world and a lot of events do culminate in an event where everyone can say that the world is different.  

The implication of this is immense. All facets of life need to re-evaluated including the Church. In the past couple or even closing on a decade this has been debated how the Church needs to engage these changes all around us. 

Tickle strength is how she shows the various parts of society have led to what she calls the Great Emergence. Clearly whether you will enjoy the book or grind your teeth at what she says and other 'emergent' type books is if you agree with her assessment of The Rose, which is her assessment of church right now(http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8201186130545666528). Not wanting to regurgitate the rose, but in essence I agree with her analyse. My one issue with the entire book is that she lumps North America. I live in Canada and certain elements that are true for the US will never be the case in Canada.

The one aspect I want to touch on as being different is denominational loyalty. I was visiting with a couple and they have a passion to be church planters in a small country in Africa. They are currently attending a fairly large church in Winnipeg. I admire them for their passion and willingness to raise money as missionaries. They approached the church board about getting more involved in the church and gaining membership. The problem is one of my friends grew up in the Mennonite tradition and was baptised with sprinkling of water, not immersion as is the churches view. My friend actually believes that immersion is proper biblically, but does not feel his baptism is invalid. The problem continues as church attempt to maintain these denominational expectations will eventually leave their church for another that does not have a rigid expectation.