In order for there to be Christian unity we need look at what the Church is. We Christians have various notions on what the Church is, and we tend to disregard others' views of the Church when those views differ from ours. How do we see the big picture, that is, see the whole Church in its entirety, and at the same time not add man-made things to it?
Let's start with some quotes from our Pope, Pope Benedict XVI, who spent lots of time thinking about this; quotes are from the book
Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith, the Church as Communion, written while he was Cardinal Ratzinger:
"
What makes the Church the Church, accordingly, are those
elements that do not derive from merely
human activity. They alone distinguish the Church from all other communal groupings and accord her the quality of being unique, being irreplaceable.
"
Division within the Church thus
consists of a split in the confession of faith, the creed, and in the administration of the sacraments themselves; all other differences do not ultimately count: there can be no objection to them; they do not divide us in the heart of the Church. Division within the
central sphere, on the other hand,
threatens the real reason for the Church's existence,
her very being."
He goes on to say that we need to distinguish human divisions from theological ones.
"Purely human divisions like to give themselves the importance of something essential; they hide themselves, so to speak, behind this: what is human... is declared obligatory, as being divine."
This sounds like the hard part -- seeing what comes from us, and freeing ourselves from it. Let's say we get thru this step. Is Ratzinger's (Pope Benedict's) vision a Church where we all think alike... where there are no differences? Let's see:
"Then it follows that the
variety by no means needs to disappear, because it does not detract from the nature of the Church: this can be special in some way and that can be different, but these things do not have to be compulsory for everyone.
A tolerance for different things had to be aroused, not founded on indifference concerning the truth, but on the
distinction between truth and mere human tradition."
Something to think about...
Comments (6)
The church is not a building, it is simply put; a person. Each and every one of us and that is the misconception that many Christians have. It doesn't say in the bible that you need to go to church to be saved, but what it does say as that you should spend your time with a few people talking about God and being that community. That is what the definition of a church is.
In my strict opinion, a church could also be a building where the people gather, who share the word between themselves like it was supposed to be, but many churches these days are so consumed with pointless rituals and money that they loose the point that they were made for in the first place... A gathering place.
Good post.
@devour_my_broken_soul - thanks for the rec on this. Here is a audio track for you to check out.
http://provokingthought.xanga.com/audio/348293537721/ "The Church"
Sir, I normally avoid commenting on this type of post but I thought you did such a good job of not making it a catholic vs. protestant point, I will continue in that spirit
I think we get a few clues from early NT history. First, the church was local, so your town or city had a church. There was one church in which believers gathered. Corinthians highlighted what a culture adjustment that was for peoples of different stratas of life to come together as the body of Christ.
In my town of less than 10000 we have pages of churches in the directory and even four RC Churches. It is a divided body surely. Human pride in leadership stops many like minded believers from uniting , keeping them proud of their distinctives rather than seeing their unity as the bride of Christ. It surely makes for a less effective body just from the duplications of the efforts and the duplication of use of resources being seperate.
I really enjoyed reading your church post. Its very thought out.
@ProvokingThought - Thanks for the comment. God Bless.
@devour_my_broken_soul - Thanks for the thoughts. I get so sick of people saying that the Church is just the place where people gather (as though it is only there for us, and our social needs).
The Church exists in eternity, too. There is the visable building and the flock, then there's the invisable part with one foot in Heaven. It is this hidden part that I feel the need to point out. God Bless.
@secretshadowlady - Thanks for stopping by, and for the comment. God Bless.