Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
There are three ways to respond to the imperfections of the Church, aka "organized Christianity."
- Do as Andrew Sullivan recommends and "forget about" the Church and just "follow Jesus."
- Work within the Church, doing your best to contribute and be a positive influence in whatever flavor of the Church you find yourself.
- Start your own "ideal Church," with special ways and rules, and which, by means of a rigid culture, is designed to drive away anyone who doesn't fit in. Strengthen the internal image of your church by claiming it is the true way and that all other groups are pretenders, rebels, Babylon, etc, etc.
#1 is obviously not a scriptural option. We've had several come by these forums which have taken this path.
#2 is the best path, IMHO.
#3 is the path the LRC took.
But each choice is a way to deal with the issue of the Church not being perfect. Which, history tells us, is not going to change any time soon. |
I ignored this thread because I didn't like the choices given in this post. However, I feel it has become interesting so I would like to return to these choices.
I view the situation differently. I see the church as a tree and this tree releases acorns every year. As a result new trees are sprouting and growing, but in my mind it is just "one" oak tree. The DNA is the same, the nature and expression is the same. The fact that we have an oak tree here and another one there doesn't equal a division rather it equals a forest. This is the practical way in which an oak tree can evangelize the entire earth.
So then, if you become an acorn, that is not that different from the account in Acts where the saints were scattered. You may have to leave the great big oak tree and begin with a small sprout but that is the way the church has been spreading for thousands of years. Now that new sprout may take years to grow and develop before it starts pushing out acorns. Likewise you might be an acorn from an old, diseased tree and when the new sprout comes along it seems to be "brand new" and "ideal". Again, the brand new tree, working within the tree, and leaving the old tree are all part of the cycle which has been going on for the last 2,000 years.
So I would like a fourth choice "All of the above".