Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
Perhaps it is you who is confusing what the Lord said to the Samaritan woman. If you go back and read the account in John 4, one readily ascertains that the context of the story is all about the "proper place" to worship. The Lord then qualifies what is the proper place to worship -- "in spirit and in truth." The place has nothing to do with where our body is, but only where our heart (our spirit) is. This corresponds with His rebuke to Israel, "this people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me."
Of course, true to form, Evangelical's counter-argument introduces extreme and absurd scenarios to rebut our Lord's pertinent instructions. "What? So we can worship anywhere? Sisters' meetings at the Hindu temple? Middle aged saints meeting at a construction site? Meetings of the brothers at Brothels? Young people's meetings at casinos? God forbid! Let it never be! Isn't it obvious to everyone that Ohio has just gone off the deep end? He's taking the Lord's words way too literally."
The Lord also said "in truth," which can be translated "in reality" or "in truthfulness."
Such is Evangelical's "irrefutable proof" that all "true worship" of the Father must take place in LC meeting halls and training centers of the LSM. He also forgot to mention those dreaded denominations, evil free groups, etc. How could any true Christian ever worship the Father in those places? Actually, in the minds of true LCM diehards, denominations are worse than casinos and brothels.
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Jesus was addressing the how not the where. The Samaritan thought worship was about the where, but Jesus said it's about the how. This does not address the question about where people should congregate. We see from the New Testament, that the believers met in the temple and from house to house. The fact that the believers met in specific places and does not say that they met "wherever they liked" (e.g. on a boat, in a shopping mall, up a tree) proves that Jesus's words to the Samaritan woman did not mean they can congregate wherever they think best. Jesus held the last supper in a house, Mark's house, and the early Christians continued this tradition of meeting in houses. In fact, the last supper took some preparation (Luke 22:7-16)
10 And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. 11 Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ 12 Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.”
Jesus did not say like you have "guys, just find a place anywhere, the location does not matter, because we worship in Spirit and truth".
This fact disproves everything you say about meeting anywhere we like. The idea that we should not just congregate anywhere is also practiced by the denominations. Worshiping in a certain place is characteristic of the denominations. For example, a Catholic will not go to mass except in a Catholic church building, a Lutheran will not unless in a Lutheran church building. Ask anyone in such a denomination and they will tell you like I have - where we meet is important too.
Common sense tells us that we should not hold a wedding or funeral just anywhere. Because of the occasion we should hold weddings and funerals in an appropriate place. It is the same with the Lord's Table, we cannot just hold it in a place not fit for the occasion. If you want to meet anywhere you should join the New Age religion, they like to meet anywhere, in trees, on a park bench, on a beach etc. Probably this idea of meeting anywhere comes from the hippie Jesus movement not the Bible or church history.