"Generous (evangelical) orthodoxy: catholic"

Scot McKnight of Jesus Creed has been blogging about Brian McLaren's Generous Orthodoxy. (See the link below, and scroll down).

I have appreciated the insight about a "generous orthodoxy."

The first fact is that we don't know who is Christian and the second fact is that God won't ask us to make the decision. Christians are those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, and anyone who embraces that gospel is a Christian.

[snip]

At no place is our commitment to generosity more important than here: while we embrace the gospel itself as our core, we are generous on the matters that are not at the core. The saying goes back to Augustine, I believe:

In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.

A narrow and cramped orthodoxy is very satisfying to our flesh. However, I doubt it has any effect on the work of the Holy Spirit in others, only in us.

In the "Screwtape Letters," CS Lewis writes that the church is "spread out through time and space and 'terrible as an army with banners.'" I have liked the image this presents. And now I can also enjoy its generosity.