The Church with No Name?

[zeek]

Originally Posted by rayliotta

I could be wrong...but I thought I detected a bit of wistfulness in bearbear's post.

In any event...I'm pretty sure there are folks in the Recovery who view any candid acknowledgment of anything negative from the Recovery's history...or deceitful speaking or cover-ups within the Recovery...as exposing Noah's nakedness...and therefore...a curse...

It's spelled --

-C-
-U-
-R-
-S-
-E-

"curse"

That's one reason I focus more on orthodoxy then orthopraxy, on the teaching more than on the doing. Jesus said "judge not lest ye be judged." I'm not interested in judging the local church or people here. I focus on the truth of their propositions not their behavior. Not one person in the church or on this website has done one thing that isn't common to humanity. Really if we are familiar with humanity, there are few surprises. What I find interesting is the gap between what people do and what they claim. When that happens and is observed people get upset and call it hypocrisy. I think sometimes the indignation we feel when we see that conceals a clear dispassionate view of what is happening. Unless the person were to describe the experience to us or we commit our own hypocrisy, how would we ever know what the experience is like? I know what it's like and few have ever admitted to being a hypocrite to me.

Now when I was in the local church there was very little in the way of moral or ethical teaching. The focus of the meetings was almost always on following the Spirit in your spirit. And yet the social structure seemed quite rigid. It seems that although we were not permitted to talk about it, everyone was supposed to follow a strict but unspoken code. I wonder if that was how it seemed to a person growing up in the local churches. I was 24 yo when I got involved in the "church life" so I don't have that perspective.

Why would it matter to one's conscience if the name of the church went on a marquee or not? I don't think it would. It isn't the conscience that is offended. It's the losssof a distinction, the claim of uniqueness that is lost. the church becomes one among many instead of being the one and only. that's a big step down.