Family of God: [Church_of_Christ] The Swinging Door

(snippet from Al Maxey reflection) The reader, after examining some of my writings, believed that what I was teaching made sense. As a result, he sought to learn something about my "denomination." As many within my faith-heritage know, the "D" word is almost guaranteed to generate a very negative response from the ultra-conservative wing of the Churches of Christ. "We are NOT a denomination," they will insist (and with great vigor). And yet, no one is fooled by this denial except those persons making it. Denying the obvious only makes us appear foolish before everyone around us. By every aspect of the definition of the term, we are indeed a "denomination" -- a reality that certainly flies in the face of the confident claim by extremists among us that WE are the ONLY Christians; WE are the ONE, TRUE CHURCH ... everyone else is going straight to hell. Only WE have perfect understanding of everything within Scripture; only WE worship in a pleasing manner before our God. Everyone else's worship is an abomination in His sight. What outrageous arrogance!!

Some of us (and this is true of other groups as well; it's not just us) need a heaping helping of reality. We need to get over ourselves, but this will not happen until we can bring ourselves to finally admit who and what we are ... and that is perhaps the most difficult step for those deluded and/or in denial. AA meetings typically begin with an individual standing before others and declaring, "My name is ______, and I'm an alcoholic." This acknowledgement is a necessary first step toward personal transformation. A growing number among us have awakened to the reality of who and what we are with regard to our religious heritage, and for many it was a painful awakening. No, our little group is NOT the "One, True Church" in its entirety upon the face of the planet. Yes, there ARE genuine Christians in other groups besides our own. No, we do NOT have a monopoly on Truth; we are NOT the only people on earth who have it "all figured out." We ain't even close!! What hubris to piously sit in judgment upon everyone else as though we alone "have arrived." That's just how the Pharisees felt during the time of Jesus, and our Lord's most scathing rebukes were leveled against these rigid religionists. You'd think we'd learn!!

For complete article, see: http://www.zianet.com/maxey/reflx395.htm

__._,_.___

Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic

Messages | Database | Polls

Participation guidelines: List policies are posted in the files area as listpolicies.html

We don't want to see you go, but if you must, the address is Church_of_Christ-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com