Ecclesial Repentance The Churches Confront Their Sinful Pasts

Churches have been repenting, apologizing, and asking forgiveness for beliefs and practices they once justified. These often high-profile statements raise questions such as: Can a church repent for things that happened centuries ago? Is it possible for a church to sin or to be forgiven? What difference will repenting make? Is this just more church hypocrisy? In this book Jeremy Bergen tells the story of ecclesial repentance in recent decades and explores the theological issues its raises. He argues that because it is grounded in the doctrines of Christ and the Holy Spirit, ecclesial repentance requires the church to articulate in new ways its own nature and mission.

Introduction\PART I: Counter-Witness and Scandal: Repentance for Historical Wrongs. Four chapters that tell the story of ecclesial repentance in the 20th and 21st centuries, in breadth and in depth\Chapter 1: Division Among the People of God. An account of churches' repentance for sin against the unity of the church, and against the Jewish people\Chapter 2: Western Colonialism and its Legacy. Repentance for the oppression of Aboriginal people, African slaves, South African apartheid, and ongoing racism\Chapter 3: Sexual Abuse, Violence, Injustice. Repentance with respect to clergy sexual abuse, war, crusades, women, homosexual persons, science, and the environment\Chapter 4: Day of Pardon. Examination of one complex and high profile instances of ecclesial repentance - the Roman Catholic Church's "Day of Pardon" during Lent 2000\PART II: Doctrine and Practice: Frameworks and Implications. Three consecutive chapters draw from the doctrinal tradition in order to explain the theological bases of ecclesial repentance, and then show how ecclesial repentance and the sinful histories it names require a reshaping of doctrine\Chapter 5: The Communion of Saints. This docrtine makes it possible, meaningful, and even necessary for a present church to repent for the actions of the church in the past. Repentance for sins against the unity of the church presupposes the Christological constitution of the church and promotes a healing memories\Chapter 6: Sin and the Holiness of the Church. Both Protestant and Catholic conceptions of the holiness of the church are unable to respond to the challenge of historical particularity implied by the acnkowledgment of sins of the church. Repentance for sins against Jewish people and Judaism is an occasion for the church to recover holiness as n unmerited gift to the whole people of God, rather than an institutional or moral possession\Chapter 7: Forgiveness and Reconciliation. Drawing from the sacrament of reconciliation and instances repentance for slavery, racism, and colonialism, I argue that the church's mission of reconciliation is grounded in its reception of forgiveness. This has particular implications for how a penitent church pursues concrete reconciliation with those it has offended\Conclusion\Bibliography\Appendix: Instances of Ecclesial Repentance\Index