This article is derived from Eddie Hyatt's latest book entitled PURSUING POWER:
How the Historic Quest for Apostolic Authority & Control Has Divided and
Damaged the Church, scheduled for release March 31 but available now
in the Kindle format from Amazon.
The
March 10, 2014 issue of Charisma News
Daily reported that the well-known Word of Faith pastor in Uppsala, Sweden,
Ulf Ekman, had converted to Roman Catholicism. This did not come as a complete
surprise for Ekman had, for several years, shown an interest in Catholic
theology and liturgy. In fact, the November 24, 2008 issue of Charisma News
Online reported that Ekman had participated in a conference convened by Catholic and Protestant leaders who advocate uniting
all Christians “under the pope.” The conference conveners were unapologetic in
their belief that such unity, centered in the pope, is necessary if Europe is
to withstand the onslaught of Islam and secularism.
In an interview
that was published in the March 9, 2014 issue of Charisma News, Ekman revealed that he has embraced this
view that the path to Christian unity does, indeed, lead to Rome and recognition
of the authority of the pope. Ekman made this very clear
when he was asked about the Catholic doctrine of a teaching magisterium, centered in the pope, that has the final
authority and say on doctrine and matters of faith. Ekman agreed that such a
teaching authority is necessary if there is to be Christian unity. When asked
if he believes the pope to be the utmost expression of such an authority, Ekman
replied, “Yes, he definitely is.”
Progress
Has Been Made on the Path to Unity
I appreciate the
progress that has been made in the Catholic Church as a result of Vatican II
(1962-65), which opened the door for dialogue and cooperation with other
churches, particularly in regards to social issues such as pro-life and
marriage. That council dispensed with the word “heretic” in referring to
Protestants and used the softer term “separated brethren.” It also made an important statement about the gifts of the Holy Spirit being “no
peripheral or accidental phenomenon in the life of the Church”; but on the
contrary are “of vital importance for the building up of the mystical body”
(Eddie Hyatt, 2000 Years of Charismatic
Christianity).
This more open stance of the council
toward non-Catholics and toward Spiritual gifts opened the way for the charismatic
renewal in the Catholic Church, which erupted shortly after this council closed
in 1965. This, in turn, resulted in more dialogue and fellowship between
Catholics and Protestants. I have personally found Catholics, who are
spiritually hungry, to be some of the most delightful people to be around and
the easiest to lead into the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Problems
Remain on the Path to Unity
Nonetheless, the path to unity does not
lead to Rome as Ekman now believes. What is ironic about what Ekman and others are advocating as a point of unity—the
universal authority of the pope--is the fact that this has, historically, been the cause of the major divisions in in the Church. The development of the papal office, which is not found
in either Scripture or early Christianity, has been a long and problematic
process that encountered much opposition along the way and was never accepted
by all of Christendom. In fact, the ancient churches of the East (now known as
the Eastern Orthodox) never accepted the authoritative claims of the bishop of
Rome in the West.
The split
between the churches of the East and West, which culminated in the official
division of 1054, was not rooted in doctrine but in the illegitimate power
claims of the bishop of Rome, i.e.,
the pope. Hans Kung, the most widely read Catholic theologian in the world
today, makes this point and quotes the Orthodox theologian, John Meyendorff,
who says, “All historians today are agreed that East and West separated on the
basis of a progressive alienation which coincided with the equally progressive
growth of papal authority” (Kung, Christianity: History, Essence, and Future,
244).
In a similar
way, the major rift that took place in Christendom at the time of the
Reformation was not first and foremost about doctrine, i.e.,
justification by faith, but about the bishop of Rome’s claim of absolute
authority over all of Christendom. As in the former split between the churches
of the East and the West, the division that took place at the time of the
Reformation concerned the pope’s claim of priority and authority in all the
Church. Martin Luther never wanted to leave the Catholic Church but was
excommunicated and declared a heretic when he refused to yield to the demands
of the pope that he cease teaching justification by faith and the ultimate
authority of Scripture. In the end, it was a power struggle over where ultimate
authority lies for the church and the individual believer. Luther decided that it
lies with Scripture. Ekman, it seems, has decided that it lies with the pope.
I appreciate the
current pope’s expressions of humility, his identification with the poor and
his reaching out to those outside the Catholic Church. But make no mistake about
it! Until we hear a clear and official pronouncement otherwise, the view
of Pope Francis and the Roman Church is that unity will only be realized when
the “separated brethren” return to the Catholic fold. Although Vatican II recognized that God is at work in other Christian groups, it stated clearly that the Church of Christ "subsists" in the Roman Catholic Church. This is the thinking
behind the popular program on the EWTN Catholic Network entitled “Journey Home”
in which interviews are conducted with Protestants who have converted to
Catholicism.
The pope could
strike a powerful blow for true Christian unity if he would relinquish the
traditional Catholic dogma that the pope holds authority over all Christendom,
and then recognize leaders of the Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant churches as “brothers” (or “sisters”
as it may be) and equals in Christ. Even Catholic theologians today are
realizing that the traditional view of the universal authority of the pope is a
major barrier on the path to unity. Kung writes,
No one can
overlook the fact that with time the absolutist papacy has become the
ecumenical problem number one. Paul VI was the first to concede this himself
with ecumenical openness; instead of being a rock of unity, the papacy is a
block on the way to ecumenical understanding” (Hyatt, Pursuing Power, 59).
The Path to Christian Unity Leads to Jesus
Christ
In Ephesians
2:14 Paul writes, For He Himself is our
peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.
I will never forget an incident that occurred many years ago when two young
women from the Anglican Church asked to talk to my wife, Sue, and me about
water baptism. They were a part of the evangelical Anglican Church Army and had
been baptized in the Holy Spirit. In the meantime, they had begun to question
the adequacy of their infant baptism. Our first meeting centered on doctrine
and we made no progress as each argued his/her traditional view of baptism. We
finally concluded the meeting and they agreed to return the next day for
further discussion.
Before their
arrival the following day, I was praying and asking God for wisdom in relating
to them. Suddenly I saw a vision of a target with a bull’s eye in the center.
Immediately I knew that the target represented a person and the bull’s eye
represented whatever was central in that person’s life. The circles represented
their doctrinal beliefs with the inner circle representing that which they
considered of utmost importance and each ring representing doctrines of lesser
importance as they moved outward.
I saw
immediately that if Jesus is truly Lord then He will occupy that place of
centrality--the bull’s eye—in the target. I also saw that two different
individuals who hold different doctrinal beliefs can have a basis for
fellowship if Jesus is truly central in both their lives. Their common ground
is the Lordship of Jesus. If, however, a doctrine becomes central, then there
is no basis for true fellowship with others unless they hold to the same
doctrine with the same tenacity. But in that case, Jesus is no longer Lord, but
has been replaced by a doctrine.
As I reflected
on this vision, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “The issue is not baptism, but the
Lordship of Jesus in their lives.” Based on this word from the Lord, when the
two women returned, we did not discuss the doctrine of water baptism with them.
I merely asked, “Is Jesus the Lord of your life?” They both answered “yes.” I
then replied, “Then if you believe He is telling you to be immersed in water,
do it. If you do not believe He is telling you to be immersed, don’t worry
about it.” There was a lake nearby and one asked me to immerse her and the
other did not; and that was the end of our discussion.
Summation
The path to Christian unity does not lead to Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Springfield, Cleveland or any other city; but to Jesus Christ Himself. Christian unity will never happen
organizationally. The Roman Church’s approach to unity,
that unity will occur when all the “separated brethren” return to the Catholic
fold, is not compatible with Scripture, history or reason. But so as not
to point the finger solely at the Roman Church in this regard, many Protestant
churches and Pentecostal-Charismatic churches are just as prideful in their
sense of ecclesial importance and superiority. Kung, himself a Roman Catholic,
went right to the heart of the matter when he wrote, “The road to unity is not the return of one Church to another, or the
exodus of one Church to join another, but a common crossroads, the conversion
of all Churches to Christ and thus to one another” (Hyatt, Pursuing Power, 57).
May
the Lord hasten that day!
Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is an ordained minister with over 40 years of ministerial experience as a
pastor, Bible teacher and professor of theology. He holds the Doctor of
Ministry from the School of Divinity at Regent University and the M.Div. and
M.A. in Historical Theology from the Advanced School of Theology and Missions
at Oral Roberts University. He also did one year of post-graduate studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. His passion is to see genuine Spiritual awakening
in the church, and at the same time, see minds renewed to think biblically in a world that that is increasingly hostile to biblical truth.
