[aron]

Originally Posted by Ohio

As you said, Paul in this book endeavored to correct problems in Corinth, rather than mandate methods for all time. If there was a mandate, however, it would be love, which always seems to be the first thing discarded when zealots go searching for the right way to "play church."

Romans 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Paul clearly got the message: love is the fulfillment of the heavenly command. If ecclesiastical structures at least do not interfere with love, fine. But if they in any way steal our attention, affection, or "affiliation", I am quite suspicious as to whether we are leading ourselves astray.