Church's Practice Determined by Telos

"‘There can only be a distinguishable Christian social theory because there is also a distinguishable Christian mode of action, a definite practice. The theory explicates this practice… The theory, therefore, is first and foremost an ecclesiology’ (TST, 380)." (p. 232)

"To put this another way, the church is a community of peace, an authentic, positive peace of harmony, not the merely negative peace of stilled conflict. It is a community in which harmony is possible because it undoes the swirling eddy of self-love (and corresponding self-appointed teloi) by orienting the community toward a common telos that engenders charity." (p. 239)

"The Christian community, then, is a unique polis that is demarcated by (1) a distinct narrative that is recounted in distinct practices; (2) a different telos that transcends the contemporary order; and (3) the common presence of the Spirit at work among its members through Word and sacrament. As such, it stands in contrast to every other polis insofar as no other shares its narrative (the Scriptures) or is the site for the Spirit’s regenerative, sacramental, and sanctifying presence." (p. 239)

James K.A. Smith, Introducing Radical Orthodoxy