Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi

“Schaff made himself available to students, even inviting them into his home once weekly for free-wheeling discussion groups. IN such a setting, not tied to carefully prepared lecture notes, Schaff shared the very essence of his irenic and ecumenical spirit with his students.” (33)

“Schaff tried to develop and appreciation for the creeds of ancient Christianity as most truly ecumenical of all the creedal efforts…. To Schaff there was something almost sacrosanct about [the Apostles’ Nicene, and Athanasian creeds].” (36)

“In the Protestant tradition, Schaff valued the Heidelberg Catechism of 1563 more than any other and urged an awareness of its essence. He judged it to be the best product of Melanchthonian interest in peace and ecumenics as well as a kind of middle ground, or synthesis, between Lutheranism and Calvinism.” (36)

“…Schaff believed that the fate of the Reformation would be decided in America. What the nature of this union would be he was not sure. One facter was certain, though. The union in the age of ‘evangelical catholicism’ must finally be God’s act.” (41)

“Always interested in unity, Schaff believed that the Sabbath [note from Tim: referring here to Sunday] acted as a unifying bond between denominations as well as a check on secularism and radicalism.” (47)

“Out of his own life and experience [Schaff] spoke to students at Union on the subject, ‘The Method of Theological Study, Words of Counsel to Students.’ His suggestions have a cogent contemporary ring of truth. ‘Be regular in all your habits, punctual in all your appointments. Sleep no longer than is necessary for your health. Make wise distribution of the day between study and recreation and between the different kinds of study. Get up early in the morning and keep wide awake during the day….Postpone the lighter studies and the miscellaneous reading to the afternoon or evening….Do not waste the precious morning hours on newspapers and content yourself with the telegrams and the editorial summary….Goodness is better than greatness; godliness better than scholarship….Put the spiritual before the intellectual, the devotional before the critical….The first and the last book of the theological student is, of course, the Bible….Read it face to face in the original Hebrew and Greek…Get the best books of the best editions, which in th eend are always the cheapest. The value of a library depends upon the quality not the quantity. A library is a good index of the taste and character of a student….Do not confine yourself to theological reading….Reading is not enough. Digest as you eat; write as you read….Do not become a bookworm and a recluse….While we can have but few friends, we may have many acquaintances.” (70, Schriver quotes from “Autobiographical Scrapbook” published by Union Theological Seminary)

“From the early stages of planning [the World’s Parliament of Religions held in Chicago] Schaff had supported the concept of a gathering of representatives from all the major religions of the world. He believed that it would offer the ‘broadest platform for the broadest study of comparative religion.’ He never believed that he was compromising any of his Christian principles by participating in dialogue with Moslems, Hindus, and Buddhists with no embarrassment or qualms of conscience. His optimism was so strong that he believed that the truth of the Christian religion would only be enhanced by comparison with other religious systems. On the other hand, Christianity had nothing to lose by such a Parliament; on the other hand, he was convinced that the non-Christian world had a great deal to gain. To Schaff the Parliament was ‘an epoch-making fact, a new departure in the history of religion.’ ” (103)

“…Schaff was willing to admit that there were excellences and merits in all the various branches of the Christian church. The primary barrier to union was not denominationalism, as such, but rather that kind of sectarian spirit that promoted selfish exclusiveness and provincial bigotry.” (104)

“Philip Schaff was a pioneer and a visionary in the ecumenical movement. He insisted that church union must be christological, historical, churchly, and liturgical. The agenda of ‘faith and order’ as well as ‘life and works’ in the twentieth century is virtually a list of Schaff’s own concerns and interests in ecumenical matters. Schaff did not want ‘tea and cookies’ ecumenism; he did not strive toward sentimental niceties. He was an idealist without illusions but an optimist all the same. Though aware of the obstacles in the path of church union, he was optimistic about the successful future.” (110)

“The unity Schaff longed for was not one of uniformity. he subscribed to unity in diversity and diversity in unity as well as to the principle of conciliarism. Each section of the church has a contribution to make to the church catholic, and for this reason he desired no immediate and fabricated unity, for it would have stifled uniqueness and individuality. On the other hand, he insisted that each section of Christendom must come to the realization that its tradition does not possess the whole truth nor the fullness of catholicity. Certainly, it might be conscious of a share in the history of the whole Christian community, but it must never insist that its tradition is the whole tradition. To do so would be the essence of sectarianism, the worst enemy of all things ecumenical.” (112)