how reformed are we?
Last night, at a rather fun 21st that saw me zipping up to Sydney for, met a guy called Dave. Dave's a theology student up in Sydney, and we got talking about the church as we find it in this day an age, in Australia (and the greater western world in general too).
One of the things that was brought up was the question of how reformed we are in our "modern church"? Dave put forward an interesting position that all modern christianity and all it entails (particularly the way we go about structuring our life and activities in terms of our faith) is merely reformed Catholicism, nothing more. Making the focus the Sunday services is reforming Mass. Whereas, if we wanted to actually get back to the way the early church structured and balanced life/faith, it'd be a whole different way of life.
What seems to be holding us back is the culture that we have built Christianity into. If we were to shuck the traps that have become of our faith, then it'd require a complete breakdown and rebuilding of the culture it has been married to.
Any thoughts?
posted by burks @ 12:08 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
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agreed, it is the culture in which the modern, 'reformed' church finds itself.
As I hooned around town with my mum today we were listening to the news as it took a look at Australian Law. Traditionally these laws were created based on biblical principles, yet as years pass we are increasingly beginning to see a society which is attempting to create it's laws based less and less on biblical morals and standards. This is where it becomes more difficult for the modern church. When you compare Australia with, say, any islamic nation, we see their religion so heavily ingrained with their law, bringing their religion very much into their lives. This religion does not find itself in conflict with it's national laws, they are one and the same.
I fear that comprehension for the reader may indeed be an issue if I continued right now :p
Perhaps I will comment again once I can express myself at a more timely hour, with less brain friage.
hmmm, don't get me started!
a couple of quick thoughts:
* I think the reformation did "re form" and it did go beyond merely catholicism, the areas in which it did so is the point. Structurly - both physically and organisationally - much of the church/culture influence was present and remains so. Theologically, there was a large shift...
* the culture is never the problem, the culture is always the problem! I think jezika's comment demonstrates the shift in culture, but Christianity has often been in conflicted with a nations laws, so how well they line up is not overly important.
* What I believe is important is the way in which we need to recognise how much (and it is a large part) of our church stuff is culturally bound: sundays, services, projectors, 40 minute, 3 point sermons, small groups, rallys, bibles, budgets, pews...etc...
Pretty much all of this stuff is "church" to us now and was not in the first century. (That is a generalisation on the "us" part). Is it good? Bad? Better? Worse? Both? Neither?
The point here is that when we recognise the "culture-bound-ness" we can then go on to re-form aspects of it, which the church has always done and always needs to do.
There has been a great recognition of this in recent times and some awesome churches/ministries/people/groups/etc that are rethinking many aspects of church and culture in a positive way - seeking to find God in and through whichever culture they find themselves in.
(hmmm didn't even mention the PoMo thing...:)
Just a quick one before I head to work,
this is part of the reason (which you well know) why church frustrates me so much.
I can go and basically be a spectator on Sundays knowing perfectly well that many people, myself included, will do little else to intentionally live the Christian life during the rest of the week. Which brings out an exceedingly cynical view to what I know as 'church' (not always a good thing).
There is cultural adaption, and relevance, but it often tends to swallow what should be.
I guess the point is, that a lot of people are talking about 'reforming', doing it differently but from what I can see there's still that shaky balance of being in the world but not of it and how it all fits.
(well thats off the top of my head gtg.)
-Bec
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