Intelligent quotes of the day
I find it sad, and surprising that 8/13 do not like church, any church, me included. Why? I was surprised because I thought I was almost alone in that. It's not just the post WCG syndrome. I have many, many friends who were likewise disappointed, offended, hurt, abused and wounded by their church experience. Most of them don't go anywhere anymore.
The Catholic Church has wonderful theology, but they are bigoted. They think they are the ones with the "fulness" of the truth, that the divisive Assumption and Immaculate Conception dogmas are infallible, that the Orthodox are schismatics, and that only those in agreement with Rome are going to heaven, unless out of "ignorance" they cannot agree with Rome.
The Orthodox Church likewise has wonderful theology, but they are bigoted. They believe that it is Rome that is apostate, yet it is they who created silly Pharisaic rules about things such as Iconography and beards, music and so on.
The Protestant Church is so divided and cannot even agree among themselves as to what is right and wrong, yet they too are so bigoted against both the Catholics, Orthodox and even themselves, even though they are just Johnny come latelies and factious.
The so called 4th branch, the Pentecostal Church claim that making money and speaking in tongues makes them spirit-filled, when what they are full of is materialism and seeking outward, physical manifestations. Their so-called spirit-filled bigotry against other Christians, is just the latest version of disgusting Christian one-up-man-ship.
The cults continue to grow too, with their wacky, unhealthy, uneducated, back yard theologies. We can't even escape Flurry out here in the Australian Outback. He's on TV every bloody morning.
The whole thing to me is a money-grabbing, power-hungry, control-freak, empire-building rather than kingdom-building. Most churches seem to be just human enterprises that have little to do with what Jesus taught, how Jesus lived and how Jesus sacrificed.
Why is it that in the business world we have ethics that seem so far above that of the church? I'm talking about lack of confidentiality and misrepresentation. In the business world you can go to jail for breach of confidentiality and misrepresentation, yet week in and week out in the church, people cannot keep their mouths shut let alone honor a request for confidentiality, and people who claim that their wacky idiotic twisting of scripture was given to them by the Holy Spirit, because they are too lazy or lame-brained to actually study the Bible.
I am supremely impressed with God and supremely disappointed with the church. I am impressed that he has a love for a church that I do not, he died for it when I find it so offensive. Why? Why can't I overlook it all like God seems to?
---Koey Koala's brilliant tough minded assessment on the far-from-perfect Christian Church today on his post on JLF (Jesus Loves Fellowship) called "The Thing About Church (on the human level) is?..."
I like your summary too. The only critical thought that came to mind was that it is the sick that seek out physicians, not the well. Of course, that can be taken wrongly about 3 different ways, so I'll add that I don't mean that those not attending church are entirely well, nor that all those in church are entirely sick, and sometimes we don't even realize our own condition.
But I see churches that are all music and arm waving: shallow fluff.
I see churches that get overly wrapped up in making money, especially with "seed fatih" scams: wrong emphasis on where treasure is.
I see some that do nothing but preach and preach, typically about OPS (other peoples sins). Jimmy Swaggart was great for this before he got caught with a prostitute: too self-righteous by comparison.
I see mainstream churches so bound by their tradition and liturgy that they come across as suffocating. Proper form is more important than feeling the joy of the gospel.
I see churches where people jump up and down, gibber uncontrollably, scream, fall down, weep and howl all over themselves. God is not the author of confusion.
Yet there is a time to sing and praise God, to hear from his word, to enjoy the traditions founded many years ago, to encourage people to give and to have ambition in their lives, and to have the Holy Spirit move them. I hope one day to find a church that keeps all of these things in balance and doesn't treat single people like they have a disease that needs to be fixed.
---KMS's smart two cents on the same issue on the post on JLF
