2013 is looking to be quite a year in the Christian blogosphere concerning issues of sexuality. Several bloggers are taking up series of posts concerning sexual abuse, homosexuality, etc., and doing so in a way that reaches out in a spirit of reconciliation between sides and respect for Scriptures.
I wish I could be one of them.
Maybe it's just the gray weather getting to me or the beginnings of a cold, but I just can't see why anyone tries to make any sort of appeal to the hearts and minds of fundamentalists. They've shown that they have no intention of giving any consideration to the arguments from the progressive section of the church, so why waste the time and energy?
Maybe it's time for a good old-fashioned schism.
Conservative church people get apoplectic when it comes to opinions that disagree with theirs, much less having a congregation split over such a difference. What would they think of an official schism in American churches? And why would they really care, since they basically do that to the Body as a whole whenever they withdraw fellowship or excommunicate someone for having a differing opinion. They would say that they don't want a schism, but their actions and sermons prove otherwise. Perhaps they just want to control the thoughts of all "Christians"; maybe they just want to feel "right" in their opinion.
Maybe several centuries of the progressives and the fundamentalists completely ignoring each other, refusing fellowship to each other, declaring each other "heretics" and "false teachers", etc., would do the church some good. Look around; it's already beginning, so why not make it official?
"But this would destroy the church as we know it!", you say. Really? The Great Schism of the Eastern and Western churches didn't destroy The Church.
And if it did destroy "the church as we know it" today, would that be a bad thing? Please note the differences when I write about the capital 'C' Church and the lower case 'c' church/es.
No schism has ever destroyed or damaged The Church, but they have wreaked havoc on the churches of denominations and sects.
I'd love for the work of people like Rachel Held Evans, Richard Beck, Wade Burleson and Eric Elnes to bring about a sea change in the hearts of the churches in America. I'll pray for their success, but I won't be holding my breath awaiting it.
Mostly, I'll just pray for myself and everyone to grow into a deeper understanding of what Christ meant when He told the Pharisees to "go and learn what this means,"I DESIRE MERCY, AND NOT SACRIFICE.""
I wish I could be one of them.
Maybe it's just the gray weather getting to me or the beginnings of a cold, but I just can't see why anyone tries to make any sort of appeal to the hearts and minds of fundamentalists. They've shown that they have no intention of giving any consideration to the arguments from the progressive section of the church, so why waste the time and energy?
Maybe it's time for a good old-fashioned schism.
Conservative church people get apoplectic when it comes to opinions that disagree with theirs, much less having a congregation split over such a difference. What would they think of an official schism in American churches? And why would they really care, since they basically do that to the Body as a whole whenever they withdraw fellowship or excommunicate someone for having a differing opinion. They would say that they don't want a schism, but their actions and sermons prove otherwise. Perhaps they just want to control the thoughts of all "Christians"; maybe they just want to feel "right" in their opinion.
Maybe several centuries of the progressives and the fundamentalists completely ignoring each other, refusing fellowship to each other, declaring each other "heretics" and "false teachers", etc., would do the church some good. Look around; it's already beginning, so why not make it official?
"But this would destroy the church as we know it!", you say. Really? The Great Schism of the Eastern and Western churches didn't destroy The Church.
And if it did destroy "the church as we know it" today, would that be a bad thing? Please note the differences when I write about the capital 'C' Church and the lower case 'c' church/es.
No schism has ever destroyed or damaged The Church, but they have wreaked havoc on the churches of denominations and sects.
I'd love for the work of people like Rachel Held Evans, Richard Beck, Wade Burleson and Eric Elnes to bring about a sea change in the hearts of the churches in America. I'll pray for their success, but I won't be holding my breath awaiting it.
Mostly, I'll just pray for myself and everyone to grow into a deeper understanding of what Christ meant when He told the Pharisees to "go and learn what this means,"I DESIRE MERCY, AND NOT SACRIFICE.""
No comments:
Post a Comment