Religion (3)

This is about alligience, doctrine and denominations. Mostly its just an attempt to put this thought down clearly. That may not be happening, but that's the attempt.

In many ways it is close to identity. At the outset of this nation, we had Virginians who were American. I am an American who lives in Arizona. Post Civil War we saw a change in identity that way. But in terms of the church: Am I a Christian who is Baptist? Am I a Presbyterian who is Christian? Can I be a Christian with no affiliation? Maybe a Catholic but not Christian? That last one we see all the time. Social congregations, or at least people in the congregation who are only there for social reasons. Whether that be for socialization or to relieve social pressures, 'cause after all you should be in church. The third one, no affiliation, I see more and more often. It's not just the freaks anymore. A lot of people who are fed up with the crap at church. I think there is a cause and effect relationship with those social goers. But the first two, I think there's a line there that's been so blurred that nobody knows there's a line anymore. I think there's a critical difference between those two. The difference? Those who grow, and those who don't.

We've gotten together into groups, decided what is right amongst ourselves, and written it down. It's the writing that ruins it. We're people. We know that if it's written then it must be true. So we continue to follow what we wrote. For the most part what we wrote about the Bible has become more supreme than the Bible itself. After all, any idea or plan that we take to the congregation gets screened past our doctrinal statement, not past our Bible. That's because our doctrinal statement explains what the Bible means. We don't really understand the Bible when we read it, but our doctrinal statements are in a language we actually speak, in a form we actually speak it in. KJV is great, but I've never heard anyone speak that way, except when they pray, or do Shakespear, or are joking around about the Bible or Shakespear. So we go with our easy to understand doctrines because they're written down so they must be true and right. So who's right? Well the Baptists have their doctrine, they're right, just ask 'em. The Presbyterians have their doctrine, they're right, just ask 'em. The Catholics have their doctrine, they're right, just ask 'em. So far I'm okay with this. But then I notice that the Baptists are Baptist, not Presbyterian or Catholic. Same with the others. In fact, every denomination that isn't Baptist isn't Baptist. And Baptists aren't any other denomination except Baptist. It turns out that Baptists are the only Baptists, even when I thought there might be some other Baptists somewhere else, no, no other Baptists except Baptists. Same for the others. There are all these different denominations because the denominations are different. I said I wanted to state this clearly, and you can't get much clearer than that. When I was in grade school we studied math. We would get quizes to keep us motivated. On the quizes were math problems. The whole class got the same problems. A lot of different answers wound up on the teachers desk. I don't remember any-one who turned in an answer because they thought it was wrong, that didn't start until middle school. Inevitably the teacher would only accept one answer as correct, claiming that was the way of it. Only one answer was true and correct. I think God is as bad about that as my math teacher. My math teacher wasn't math, but God is God. He knows what is of him and what isn't. He knows his desires and his commands. He knows his standards and how plainly he laid them out. Out of all the denominations out there, with all their subtle differences, and all that aren't so subtle, there is the possibility, and I won't even say likelihood, that as many as one is right. At least all but one are wrong, and probably more than that. Only one more, but still, that's more. So I'm going to say this, and I'm saying to you, directly to you: Your church, and for that matter your personal, doctrines are wrong. I mean that in the way of no partial credit. You shouldn't take it to mean that your church doctrine says no sacrificing babies so you'd better start sacrificing babies. Please keep that part. Those doctrines were set by a group of people that were all at their individual points along the journey of getting to know God. I don't imagine that any, and certainly not all were at the point in that journey we'd call a finish line. So the standard that we use, in each of our churches, except maybe one, is flawed, but that's our standard. If ever we, in our personal lives, come to an intimate knowledge of God and, in our communion with him come to understand a better truth than what is offered by the church doctrine, what happens? We can share it, and hope to overcome the reluctance of the church to change the doctrine, which has been tried and shown itself true for all this time. After all, we're the one church that's got it right. That reluctance is great, and it should be. A lot of people make the claim of knowing a better truth, that's how a lot of denominations got started. Usually, I don't think it came from a deep, personal, intimate relationship with God where he showed you something. In that regard denominations are good, but even that is bad. We shouldn't be thrown about by every new doctrine, we should be solid. But we should be solidly on the truth. Instead we're solidly on what was given to us by the last generation of Christians of our particular affiliation. These differences that we take as truth on a church by church basis are huge. I'm not talking about which hymnal we're going to use. When we listen to someone talk about their openly homosexual lifestyle, will we ordain them? Some churches, holding it out as the truth of God, say yes. Other churches, holding it out as the truth of God, say no. I don't think both are the truth of God.

So there's the question of alligance. I know it's hard to see. You read your Bible. You see what God says a pastor needs to be. Among other things is sexually moral, by God's standard, not Cosmo's. You read through, cover to cover. You see what God's standard of sexual morality are. This guy has just told you that he's actively gay. You happen to be in one of the congregations that accepts this. Where is your alligance? Now it's not a question of homosexuals. Your perspective new pastor wants to give the congregation a feel for him. So he tells you he's single, but dating. He has a beautiful girlfriend and they're talking marriage so there could be wedding bells just around the corner. Of course, in the mean time they're living together and checking their sexual compatibility because that's such an important part of marriage. That's okay with your church doctrine. What about you? Do you go with the standards set by that group of guys or the one you find directly in God's word? What about the leaders in your church?

For the most part I have to think that the church leaders would support the church doctrine. They got to be leaders because the bought in to the doctrine, it is how they believe, it is what they teach. They teach the congregation to believe the doctrine. Because it's written down, so it must be true. In this way it perpetuates itself. Unfortunately, it is most peoples great aspiration to rise to the lofty heights of the church doctrine. That's not what they say. They say the lofty heights of God's word. It's just that in reality, in practice, they aspire to doctrine as Bible.

I've worked with kids. I've worked with kids in church. In church one of the most disheartening things I heard, and heard often was the answer, "Because that's what I was told" to the question, "Why do you believe that?" There you have young people developing a relationship with the church, not a relationship with God. And an alligance to the church, not to God. That's how you get a congregation that will confirm that single, sexually active and proud of it because she/he is hot candidate.

Back to that revelation. The other option is breaking from the church. Maybe just a little, maybe just here and there. Maybe more. Maybe it's a question of having alligance to God before and above alligance to this or that congregation or denomination. My statement for today: There are those who grow and those who don't, the difference is where your alligance is. You may grow in your church, you may grow in your social standing, you may be revered because of your speaking, teaching, singing or instrumental abilities,but you will not grow in God if you are not in him.