Self-deception vs. Self-transformation
(posted by John)
Driving home tonight, I was struck by the thought that there exists another (invisible) danger in the modern splintering of the Protestant Church. Of course there is the John 17 unity issue, the lack of theological accountability, and good old-fashioned denominational (now even non-denominational) competition among other such challenges to being the perfect bride Christ calls us to be. But the thornier problem enters as a consequence of having many really good--though not perfect--churches. On my way home I drove by five, with a couple other maybes. So naturally I began contemplating how we, in America, decide which church to attend.
Back in the day (i.e. 500 A.D.), if you were a Christian, finding a good church to attend wasn't tremendously difficult; there was only one denomination--the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic church"--the same one where Peter, James, John and the rest of disciples previously worshipped, and you could generally find it by looking for the large building in the center of the town. (If, by chance, you weren't in a Christian area, you need only to look for the guy in a brown robe who talked about Jesus and whom the rest of the town was trying to kill.)
Today, however, it's a different story. With over 33,000 Protestant denominations and 300 more added each year, there are quite a few large church buildings around town. So how do we pick the right church? For most people, that involves the process of church-shopping; visiting the various churches in one's area and narrowing it down to the one with the best pastor/teaching, music ministry, childcare and perhaps even the best coffee/donuts. But this is where the thought gets scary. How is it that we determine if the teaching and worship are good/bad? Given the status quo 33,000 denominations, there are obviously a lot of Christians with different beliefs as to what constitutes good teaching and/or worship.
In the end, our choice of church will inevitably reflect our existing set of preconceptions as to what a good church should be like. In other words, the church we choose will mirror our existing theological framework. Unfortunately, this can become a vicious circle. We choose the church that reflects our theological understanding, and then this church, through its teaching and worship, in turn strengthens our pre-established set of convictions that will later influence our next decision of where to go to church. Yet, if this is the case, how is it that we will ever truly grow or be challenged in our understanding of God (theology)? If life is a constant uphill battle of trying to become more like our Lord, where our vision and understanding is far from perfect (1Cor 13:12), it seems regrettable that the churches we choose to attend, in simply mirroring our pre-established understanding of God and what it means to live a Christian life, are probably the ones least capable of genuinely challenging us in the next steps of our journey.
Driving home tonight, I was struck by the thought that there exists another (invisible) danger in the modern splintering of the Protestant Church. Of course there is the John 17 unity issue, the lack of theological accountability, and good old-fashioned denominational (now even non-denominational) competition among other such challenges to being the perfect bride Christ calls us to be. But the thornier problem enters as a consequence of having many really good--though not perfect--churches. On my way home I drove by five, with a couple other maybes. So naturally I began contemplating how we, in America, decide which church to attend.
Back in the day (i.e. 500 A.D.), if you were a Christian, finding a good church to attend wasn't tremendously difficult; there was only one denomination--the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic church"--the same one where Peter, James, John and the rest of disciples previously worshipped, and you could generally find it by looking for the large building in the center of the town. (If, by chance, you weren't in a Christian area, you need only to look for the guy in a brown robe who talked about Jesus and whom the rest of the town was trying to kill.)
Today, however, it's a different story. With over 33,000 Protestant denominations and 300 more added each year, there are quite a few large church buildings around town. So how do we pick the right church? For most people, that involves the process of church-shopping; visiting the various churches in one's area and narrowing it down to the one with the best pastor/teaching, music ministry, childcare and perhaps even the best coffee/donuts. But this is where the thought gets scary. How is it that we determine if the teaching and worship are good/bad? Given the status quo 33,000 denominations, there are obviously a lot of Christians with different beliefs as to what constitutes good teaching and/or worship.
In the end, our choice of church will inevitably reflect our existing set of preconceptions as to what a good church should be like. In other words, the church we choose will mirror our existing theological framework. Unfortunately, this can become a vicious circle. We choose the church that reflects our theological understanding, and then this church, through its teaching and worship, in turn strengthens our pre-established set of convictions that will later influence our next decision of where to go to church. Yet, if this is the case, how is it that we will ever truly grow or be challenged in our understanding of God (theology)? If life is a constant uphill battle of trying to become more like our Lord, where our vision and understanding is far from perfect (1Cor 13:12), it seems regrettable that the churches we choose to attend, in simply mirroring our pre-established understanding of God and what it means to live a Christian life, are probably the ones least capable of genuinely challenging us in the next steps of our journey.
posted by John at Tuesday, March 28, 2006
2 Comments:
After the fall of the Roman Empire there were several opportunities to find oneself a 'catholic' (one who prayed to the Trinity) in a non-catholic or Arian land. The Ostrogoths, among others, were Arians (their kingdom in Italy lasted from around 493-555). A major point of contention between Gregory I (540-604) and the Lombards, who succeeded the Goths and were also Arians, was that formerly catholic land was now under Arian control. Gregory hated the Lombards. Perhaps there weren't 33,000 alternative denominations, but Christian congregations in earlier periods always had rivals even if they were usually non-Trinitarian and they did not represent 'choices' for where one could worship as Protestant denominations do today.
Good point, Jay. In fact, I had thought about including a few lines in the post about there always being groups of people who followed teachings that were rejected by the Church as heretical (such as the Arians you mentioned). But for the sake of brevity and not getting overly technical, I opted out. So I'm glad you raised this important historical fact.
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