Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
Denominate is to give a name. Please identify the problem with a name besides the possibility of some group with a name actually being in error on something. Is the name itself an error?
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Our name is Jesus. We don't refuse others because of a name, but nor do we require a name beyond that. Denominationalism is a red herring used to divide. Jesus is the name that brings us together. Names are irrelevant. "The church in Tokyo" is just as divisive as another; even moreso because it condemns others for what itself perpetrates.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
Denominations have a headquarters. Please identify the problem with a headquarters other than the fact that it can be abused.
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The problem with headquarters is it
can be abused. Errors don't remain local; they are "universalized" across the fellowship of saints. Errors are a given, the question is, do they remain localized, and contained until the fruit is evident, or are they "metastized" across the system until by the time we realize it we have thousands of saints cut off. Conversely, it stifles local experimentation, because we sit waiting for directives from headquarters. The voice of the Spirit is quenched.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
I believe that to the extent that some actual error can occur in an assembly with a name and/or with a headquarters you will find that in a community in which there is only one actual Christian assembly with no name and only local elders, essentially every error laid at the feet of a denomination, or a free group with a name on a sign can be duplicated with little effort.
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True, but the error is localized, and contained until it may be corrected. All believers have error. All groups of believers are partly in error. Only God is perfect. We struggle forward, making mistakes as we go. Do we set up a system where errors become codified and are not allowed to be questioned? That is what some do. Others try to be flexible. I am more comfortable with the latter approach. Headquarters is a step toward codification. I will fellowship with Jerusalem, with Rome, with Anaheim, with Cleveland. But as peers, not as a franchise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
The error of a name is if it is a boundary for “in” and “out” or if it is exalted above that of Christ. In Corinth, the issue wasn’t so much the names, but the exaltation of those names as a way to be superior to others and take sides. It was an attitude of the heart that argued they were following the best teacher. (Seems that even without adding Lee’s name to the LC, the heart of the LC is that they are following the best teacher and that all others are poor.) The error in a denomination is not that there is a hierarchy or a headquarters, but in actual errors that may be added even where no denomination exists.
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The "boundary" is Jesus Christ. The "in" or "out" is faith, or it's absence. Either you believe or you don't. That's it. Now that you have believed, keep from sin, and try to go on.