Post by Soulfyre on Jan 24, 2005 2:54:22 GMT -5
One of the most difficult areas to address among evangelical Christians is the proper place of the church in the life of the believer. While some more fundamental churches have a multitude of activities, and their more active members find themselves at church every time the doors open, I believe that simply multiplying opportunities of Bible study, worship, and prayer so as to emulate a near monasticism among evangelical Christians is a fundamental understanding of the nature of the church.
In a manner somewhat unique to evangelicalism, our "religious" life is often severely compartmentalized. A variety of "spiritual" activities take place under the auspices of the church, but the church is otherwise viewed as outside our daily lives. This, however, is unusual in church history. Traditionally, the function of the synagogue, the most immediate predecessor to our church, in Jewish life was and remains the hub of the community. Although certainly responsible for worship and religious education, the practice of Judaism in not considered something inherently separate from the individual lives of the Jewish people. This characteristic is also true among many Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian believers. This calls into question whether evangelical practice is "fundamentally" (excuse the pun) flawed.
I believe that much of the reason for this development has been the evangelical tendency to view the Kingdom of God, as ruled by Jesus Christ, as something which is inherently future rather than present. While I am, in fact, premillennial, I nevertheless view the idea of a millennial kingdom as a culmination--something which will be experienced in its "fullness" in the future, but is nevertheless very real now. If the church is to be uniquely "God's people" in this era, then the founding of the church in Acts was essentially the establishment of a community with a Biblically-defined culture. It was not simply a cipher--a theological concept to be molded to the culture of the world--but a community and culture uniquely its own.
I will be interested to have your responses to my premise.
God bless and keep you,
Matthew (soulfyre)
In a manner somewhat unique to evangelicalism, our "religious" life is often severely compartmentalized. A variety of "spiritual" activities take place under the auspices of the church, but the church is otherwise viewed as outside our daily lives. This, however, is unusual in church history. Traditionally, the function of the synagogue, the most immediate predecessor to our church, in Jewish life was and remains the hub of the community. Although certainly responsible for worship and religious education, the practice of Judaism in not considered something inherently separate from the individual lives of the Jewish people. This characteristic is also true among many Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian believers. This calls into question whether evangelical practice is "fundamentally" (excuse the pun) flawed.
I believe that much of the reason for this development has been the evangelical tendency to view the Kingdom of God, as ruled by Jesus Christ, as something which is inherently future rather than present. While I am, in fact, premillennial, I nevertheless view the idea of a millennial kingdom as a culmination--something which will be experienced in its "fullness" in the future, but is nevertheless very real now. If the church is to be uniquely "God's people" in this era, then the founding of the church in Acts was essentially the establishment of a community with a Biblically-defined culture. It was not simply a cipher--a theological concept to be molded to the culture of the world--but a community and culture uniquely its own.
I will be interested to have your responses to my premise.
God bless and keep you,
Matthew (soulfyre)
