The search for a suitable church
Posted on March 24th, 2008 by catalyst into the Why We Blog categoryAndrew Sullivan quotes C.S. Lewis in defending the notion of staying in a church, even when the pulpit preaches falsely:
From C.S. Lewis
What He wants of the layman in church is an attitude which may, indeed, be critical in the sense of rejecting what is false or unhelpful, but which is wholly uncritical in the sense that it does not appraise - does not waste time in thinking about what it rejects, but lays itself open in uncommenting, humble receptivity to any nourishment that is going. … There is hardly any sermon, or any book, which may not be dangerous to us if received in this temper."
Sullivan adds his own personal experience:
God knows my own church has hurt me and others as deeply as anyone can be hurt. And I have felt very estranged and lost these past few years. But I cannot search for another church as if it were another club and I cannot and will not leave in my heart the church that taught me the greatest truths about human love and life, and that brought me the astonishing good news of Jesus. Church is like family. It heals and it wounds; goodness knows how it wounds. But it cannot and should not be disowned.
To be fair, Sullivan is talking about the Catholic Faith and not one specific church in general. I know a lot of people have left the City Church family, but still remain Christians.
However, it does beg the question, at what point do you disown a church? For me, it is when the church becomes nothing about Christ and everything about personal wealth. In my mind, a church that preaches wealth over compassion, deserves to be disowned. But I wonder what it is for the rest of you? I know some people have remained at the City Churches in the hopes of creating change, and honestly, I understand that setiment. I guess to each his own.
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March 24th, 2008 at 7:28 am
the fact that sullivan is a roman catholic (rc church) makes this statement totally understandable; i grew up a catholic and, at one time, wanted to be a catholic priest; and have attended 4 catholic educational institutions; and, in my view, catholics are taught that no matter how much good can be found in the protestant churches, referred to as “separated brothers,” catholics are taught that the ultimate truth is found in the rcc and no other church in the same way since Peter was the first pope who laid hands on so-and-so, etc.;
when someone is taught such unhistorical, lop-sided, self-righteous mumbo jumbo, no wonder s/he is going to justify such thinking in their minds by saying that one should stay with the rcc no matter what - even a child sexual abuse scandal cover-up that has been traced all the way to Rome and the present pope: see the shocking DVD written and directed by Amy Berg and produced by Lionsgate: Deliver Us From Evil.
http://www.deliverusfromevilthemovie.com/index_flash.php
the rcc have had a strong attitude against divorce, even though they allow for marriage annulments under certain circumstance, so it would seem that the “once and forever” philosophy toward marriage carries over to the area of church membership;
what i finally realized in the rcc, only by the grace of God, was that they no longer preach the true, life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ by which a person is born again; instead, theirs is a religion of sacramentology and social action rather than supernatural re-birth by the Spirit of God…
recently i wrote a letter to a long-time friend, a catholic priest, asking this question: if the Catholic Church teaching that a person is born again when they are baptized by the priest as an infant and that Catholics are sanctified through the receiving of holy communion, then why, for example, have their been more children baptized and more communion hosts consumed in the land of Ireland, a “Catholic country,” and yet the sin of drunkenness is as common as getting up in the morning? Where is the transforming power of Jesus Christ?
March 24th, 2008 at 7:39 am
i forgot to add…
when i was in 8th grade in catholic school, a nun came onto me sexually; fairly recently i went to a lawyer who was very involved in helping victims of sexual abuse in the catholic church about my case because I knew the local archdiocese was preparing to settle with many of its area sexual abuse victims;
after the lawyer heard the details of my story, he discouraged me from filing a lawsuit; he didn’t think that it would be worth my time; when i asked him why, he told me that even though what happened to me was wrong and immoral, my story was nothing compared to the other stories of those who were forcibly raped and sodomized by priests; so i did not pursue it…
March 24th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Dr. Laura uses the term “deal breaker” to describe a circumstance which will end a relationship. I cannot speak for all “City” churches, but I know that CBC has at least two deal breakers. If you cannot comply with these, you cannot have a place in their church:
1) You must be 100% “aligned” with the senior pastor.
2) You must tithe.
It does not matter if you are serving in a capacity you enjoy, have a history and network of strong relationship, and cheerfully keep your opinions to yourself. If you cannot do these two things, you are out. They disown you.