Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
They may be called a church, and that's why many Christians refer to themselves as "evangelical," including you.
What conditions have I put on a meeting? Other than we must gather in His name?
I can't answer for anything Hank has done.
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The conditions you put on a meeting were them having a born again leader and actively preaching the gospel of salvation. These conditions are not satisfied by a number of denominations I can think of. You know it's even possible for an atheist to get a theological qualification and lead a church. Relevant article here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-church-canada
I note this statement:
A progressive Christian denomination that began ordaining women in Canada 80 years ago and for decades has allowed openly gay men and women to lead ministries, the church has been left questioning its boundaries.
This is my point exactly .Where do we draw the boundaries? You seem to have drawn the boundary at having a born again leader and preaching the gospel. Others may just be happy having a born again leader. Others may not see having a born again leader as necessary, as long as they are theologically trained and qualified to hand out communion bread and wine - as long as they are caring and loving and can visit the sick in hospital, conduct marriages and funeral services. And they all think they are "meeting in Christ's name" too. 80% of the church may be genuine believers, who knows.
My point all along is that this way of thinking is wrong, this system is broken. Getting rid of the clergy-laity distinction would resolve this problem immediately. Pastor is gay or atheist? One way to solve this is just get rid of the pastor position, let every member function. No theological qualification required for handling the bread and wine, just being a believer in Christ is enough.
In Christianity the general trend away from God has been progressing since the New Testament times. First it was denominationalism to split the church, then the ordination of women, then the acceptance of gay marriage and next will be the rejection of God completely by acceptance of atheist church leaders.