Mere Christianity or Degraded Christianity?

[Cal]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

Lewis's hall does not exist, it is not real.

Christianity is one big room without any smaller rooms inside. Yet the denominations have constructed the rooms, it is a man made thing.

A person cannot believe in one Lord, one body one Spirit and one baptism and at the same time believe in denominations.

And people can't lose their faith. They can only lose something which they never had in the first place.

In "reality" there is one big hall with no rooms. That is the ideal. But we don't live in the ideal. Even Lee admitted this with his reality of the Kingdom vs appearance of the Kingdom dichotomy.

There are different rooms. That is the practical reality. Appealing that there is only one real room would be fine if you didn't insist that your room is that room. Doing that is worse than there being many rooms. No one is wise enough to insist that his vision of what the one room should look like is correct. Only nutballs do that.

So the practical reality is there are many rooms, small and large. Then there is one little bitty tiny room in the corner. It has one occupant who is busy hammering nails in his walls to make them stronger while insisting his room encompasses the entire hall. This is Evangelical's room. Please try to not let the hammering bother you.

[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by Igzy

In "reality" there is one big hall with no rooms. That is the ideal. But we don't live in the ideal. Even Lee admitted this with his reality of the Kingdom vs appearance of the Kingdom dichotomy.

There are different rooms. That is the practical reality. Appealing that there is only one real room would be fine if you didn't insist that your room is that room. Doing that is worse than there being many rooms. No one is wise enough to insist that his vision of what the one room should look like is correct. Only nutballs do that.

So the practical reality is there are many rooms, small and large. Then there is one little bitty tiny room in the corner. It has one occupant who is busy hammering nails in his walls to make them stronger while insisting his room encompasses the entire hall. This is Evangelical's room. Please try to not let the hammering bother you.

I understand the difference between practical reality and ideals. I just wonder how many other Christian ideals you ignore.

[Cal]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

I just wonder how many other Christian ideals you ignore.

He who is without sin let him cast the first stone.

[Freedom]

Originally Posted by Igzy

In "reality" there is one big hall with no rooms. That is the ideal. But we don't live in the ideal. Even Lee admitted this with his reality of the Kingdom vs appearance of the Kingdom dichotomy.

There are different rooms. That is the practical reality. Appealing that there is only one real room would be fine if you didn't insist that your room is that room. Doing that is worse than there being many rooms. No one is wise enough to insist that his vision of what the one room should look like is correct. Only nutballs do that.

So the practical reality is there are many rooms, small and large. Then there is one little bitty tiny room in the corner. It has one occupant who is busy hammering nails in his walls to make them stronger while insisting his room encompasses the entire hall. This is Evangelical's room. Please try to not let the hammering bother you.

I think that the ‘hall’ analogy is a good one, and given that C.S. Lewis clearly stated that he was not out to promote his Anglican affiliations, it would be hard for anyone to accuse him of promoting denominationalism or a certain state of Christianity. In his preface, he makes a striking statement: The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. For that purpose the worst of the rooms (whichever that may be) is, I think, preferable. It is fairly clear that he felt people should embrace what is available rather than to wait around for what they think they want. I would tend to agree with that.

Evangelical tells us that we can’t believe in the Lord and also “believe in” denominations. I’m not sure what to make of this type of reasoning, but one thing I do know is that denominations have been one of the primary ‘faces’ of Christianity. Who is anyone to question the legitimacy of such groups? By questioning the legitimacy of a group, it is also questioning the legitimacy of all of God's people who are involved in such groups. That is what I find to be the most troubling.

Unity is what happens when people find common ground. It doesn’t come by insulting everyone who disagrees with a particular point of view. That is what builds up wall in the first place. I have come to realize that the ideals that seem to be so enticing always turn out to be just out of reach. That is why I think there is wisdom in the advice to just pick a door and make the best of it.

[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by Freedom

I think that the ‘hall’ analogy is a good one, and given that C.S. Lewis clearly stated that he was not out to promote his Anglican affiliations, it would be hard for anyone to accuse him of promoting denominationalism or a certain state of Christianity. In his preface, he makes a striking statement: The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. For that purpose the worst of the rooms (whichever that may be) is, I think, preferable. It is fairly clear that he felt people should embrace what is available rather than to wait around for what they think they want. I would tend to agree with that.

Evangelical tells us that we can’t believe in the Lord and also “believe in” denominations. I’m not sure what to make of this type of reasoning, but one thing I do know is that denominations have been one of the primary ‘faces’ of Christianity. Who is anyone to question the legitimacy of such groups? By questioning the legitimacy of a group, it is also questioning the legitimacy of all of God's people who are involved in such groups. That is what I find to be the most troubling.

Unity is what happens when people find common ground. It doesn’t come by insulting everyone who disagrees with a particular point of view. That is what builds up wall in the first place. I have come to realize that the ideals that seem to be so enticing always turn out to be just out of reach. That is why I think there is wisdom in the advice to just pick a door and make the best of it.

The bible does not mention rooms or doors anywhere in reference to a church which is not a local church. That means if you attend a denomination you have a fake room and a fake door, and a fake church. From God's point of view they are all fake.

[Freedom]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

The bible does not mention rooms or doors anywhere in reference to a church which is not a local church. That means if you attend a denomination you have a fake room and a fake door, and a fake church. From God's point of view they are all fake.

The Bible doesn't mention the FTTA either. So does that make it a fake training???

On a more serious note, I think your concern highlights the point C.S. Lewis was trying to make. Once someone becomes a Christian, they encounter a certain 'state' of Christianity. It might be perceived as good or bad, but what they see in front of them determines what happens next. No one person is responsible for the state of Christianity. Not you nor I.

Regardless of how good or bad the state of Christianity is perceived to be, as Christians, God wants us to be around other Christians. That is the point. What we see in front of us may be confusing. But what we see is not something for us to attack. It's something to be a part of.

[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by Freedom

The Bible doesn't mention the FTTA either. So does that make it a fake training???

On a more serious note, I think your concern highlights the point C.S. Lewis was trying to make. Once someone becomes a Christian, they encounter a certain 'state' of Christianity. It might be perceived as good or bad, but what they see in front of them determines what happens next. No one person is responsible for the state of Christianity. Not you nor I.

Regardless of how good or bad the state of Christianity is perceived to be, as Christians, God wants us to be around other Christians. That is the point. What we see in front of us may be confusing. But what we see is not something for us to attack. It's something to be a part of.

Being around other Christians is definitely what the local churches are all about. Yet it does not mean to be around everything. God does not want us participating in all activities of other Christians, because not all are pleasing. There are things I participate in with Catholics for example, and there are things I do not.