“‘Brethren! These divisions are disgraceful! Our proposal for eliminating them is for everyone to stop being obstinate and join us!’” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 54).
The Kingdom is a Fleet
“The day is coming when certain Christian communions, bobbing around in their own little boat, will stop claiming that the water exists for their boat only” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 53).
Messy Kingdom
“Jesus never gives us any image of the growth of His kingdom throughout the world that would ever make us think of the phrase ‘nice and tidy.’ The kingdom of God is like a dragnet that brings in all kinds of fish, beer bottles, and a bicycle tire” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 52).
Baptismal Succession
“Christian baptism is the inundation of the world and, like the water flowing over the threshold of Ezekiel’s Temple, it only gets deeper and deeper as it goes. The farther we get away from the apostolic era, the wetter the world gets” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 51).
Do I Hear a Second?
“I know what to think of Second Nicea on the basis of the Second Commandment, which I consider to be a senior ‘Second’” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 48).
As the Fellow Once Said
“In answer to the question, ‘Where was your Church before the Reformation?’ the answer is, ‘Where was your face before you washed it?’” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 46).
And Some of Them Really Uncertified
“Throughout the long history of the covenant people, God has always loved to send disreputable messengers out of the wilderness into the royal and priestly courts and, once there, to have them behave in uncertified ways” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 45).
Asking Hard Questions
“If the kingdom of God were like a pure line of Labrador retrievers, where we always had to have our pedigree papers stamped by the authorities in Jerusalem, then certain notables of our faith would be in trouble. I speak, of course, about John the Baptist. Tell me, was he authorized or not? Was he …
Blood True
[The Spirit] “manifests His presence through love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. None of this is possible without full and free forgiveness, and this is not possible without a blood-true gospel” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 41).
Simple Testimony
“Just as John the Baptist pointed to Jesus without outranking Him, so also the Church pointed to the Scriptures in the Canon without outranking the Canon” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 40).