I see so many churches that appear to be entities unto themselves. They have individual names, most of which escape me right now, and seem to establish themselves individually - i.e., they become a brand unto themselves.
So what if a family moves? Does it look for another freestanding big box church called "Glory" or "Calvary" or whatever? A storefront going in the opposite direction, with a tiny congregation and its own cryptic name?
To the extent that I had religious indoctrination as a child, it was in the Church of Christ, and ecstatic born-again experiences weren't part of the repertoire. It had very little central structure, if any, and doctrine literally varied from church to church - sharing a communion cup or not would be one example. Mine banned instrumental music. I always felt that the implication was, "Those other Churches of Christ (or churches of Christ) are doing it wrong."
When I researched the Church of Christ for a biography I wrote of my mother, I learned it had earlier been associated with the Disciples of Christ. They separated, and the Disciples moved well to the left, as far as I can tell, so that locally, a church branded "First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)" would actually be quite liberal, something like the Congregationalists, who likewise seem pretty tolerant to me. Mom is 90, living in an apartment on a well-regarded "campus of care" under the Congregationalist banner. Its directory features gay couples, without any fanfare or commentary. One entry I noted said something like, "Jim and Larry were legally married in California in 2008." (This is all based on what residents told campus officials).
These days, I don't see how these large charismatic congregations really relate to each other. They may all be united under a general "evangelical" tent, but there must be local and regional distinctions and I don't understand how people pick a church. Personally I would feel hypocritical attending any church whose doctrine I did not completely accept. So no church so far has proved to be a comfortable fit for me. Early on I figured the probability of "getting it right" was pretty small. The Church of Christ doesn't baptize infants, and by the time I was of age - 12 or 13 - I chose not to be baptized because I had recently become aware of the hypocrisy of some church members.
So what if a family moves? Does it look for another freestanding big box church called "Glory" or "Calvary" or whatever? A storefront going in the opposite direction, with a tiny congregation and its own cryptic name?
To the extent that I had religious indoctrination as a child, it was in the Church of Christ, and ecstatic born-again experiences weren't part of the repertoire. It had very little central structure, if any, and doctrine literally varied from church to church - sharing a communion cup or not would be one example. Mine banned instrumental music. I always felt that the implication was, "Those other Churches of Christ (or churches of Christ) are doing it wrong."
When I researched the Church of Christ for a biography I wrote of my mother, I learned it had earlier been associated with the Disciples of Christ. They separated, and the Disciples moved well to the left, as far as I can tell, so that locally, a church branded "First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)" would actually be quite liberal, something like the Congregationalists, who likewise seem pretty tolerant to me. Mom is 90, living in an apartment on a well-regarded "campus of care" under the Congregationalist banner. Its directory features gay couples, without any fanfare or commentary. One entry I noted said something like, "Jim and Larry were legally married in California in 2008." (This is all based on what residents told campus officials).
These days, I don't see how these large charismatic congregations really relate to each other. They may all be united under a general "evangelical" tent, but there must be local and regional distinctions and I don't understand how people pick a church. Personally I would feel hypocritical attending any church whose doctrine I did not completely accept. So no church so far has proved to be a comfortable fit for me. Early on I figured the probability of "getting it right" was pretty small. The Church of Christ doesn't baptize infants, and by the time I was of age - 12 or 13 - I chose not to be baptized because I had recently become aware of the hypocrisy of some church members.
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/1Ao96w6
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire