Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Debelak
Though I don't believe the one-city-one-church model is a prescription, I also don't think the origins of the doctrine were as Machiavellian as [Igzy] sets out here. I think the elitism was a CONSEQUENCE of the doctrine...
|
As Christians we should be hesitant at ascribing base motives to others. But we do have the repeated example in the gospels of elitism ("We saw others preaching in Your name and we forbade them") and ambition (i.e. arguments about who was greatest), and we have multiple examples in the Acts and epistles of people with control issues. We see repeated instances of people who missed Jesus' admonition to "be the least", and somehow thought that "being great" in the church, and "lording it over the flock" would translate into heaven. And, of course, the record has continued in christian history up to the present age.
At some point in the historical continuum of the LC saga it should be clear that the one-city-one-church model allows such birds to roost quite comfortably in its branches. At some point it should be clear that we are setting our minds on on the things of man, and not of God.