When I came across this article, I was very
interested in what the author had to say because lately I have been struggling
with the church. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in God and all of the teachings
in the Bible, but I have some issues with the way the church is structured. I
was just expressing my concerns to my friend and she felt the same way as me.
Sometimes I wonder why we should go to church. Why not just follow your beliefs
instead?
So when I came across this article, I was
curious to see what the author’s argument would be. He believes that the church
is important for us because of the community it provides. After I read this, I
realized how true this was. It is the sense of support and communion with
others that makes the church so important in our lives. It is where we can
share our triumphs and failures. It is a place where people accept us for who
we are, no matter what we have done in the past.
There was an argument that the author made
that really caught my attention. He observes that the “church was, is and never
will be perfect”. This is such a simple point, but it something that I had not
thought about. Of course the church is not perfect. It is an institution run by
humans. We as humans are not even close to perfect, and therefore, all of our
institutions, including the church are not perfect. The author furthers this
point by saying, “we need the church to be what the church is for. And why we need it to be what it always
has been: wandering, flailing about, desperate, and broken, and misguided. And
yet, still bringing people together to search for the divine hidden in all this
mess”. After I read this, I realized that the church was flawed, but it is a
necessary for our spiritual growth. We need the support that the church
provides.
I strongly agree that we need church and the community that is formed by engaging in worship with others. Also the Bible says to keep sunday holy and I take this as meaning we should be in a state of holyness and church puts us in that state. I agree that humans are flawed. The intstitution headed by the Pope and bishops has been corrupted before and there have been signs of human weakness in its ranks however the church under God's guidence has been an on going structure for something like 2000 years. No other orginization or civilization has lasted as long and still kept the same basic beliefs. The way you see the church is completely a personal perspective. Some may love the tradition of apostolic succession while others may see it as an old ritual that is no longer relavent. Some people think they only need to pray and believe in God and thats their religion. Catholics believe that church every sunday is an obligation to God.
ReplyDeleteAnother way of looking at church is that its an hour long prayer which celebrates Jesus' sacrifice. If people who are spiritual pray they can think of church as a prayer that they can do.
Its true that there are cases of priests or even lay chrictians doing wrong but that doesnt mean that the catholic church is wrong. Those are cases of human error that just happens to be in the church and so people pick that apart and use it as a reason for their actions.
I know many people who say they are christian and have a problem with the structured church because they see it as something that doesnt help them in their spiritual life. This makes me think that how can someone be christian and not believe the same things as the established church does. Wouldnt that make them not christian? No matter how other humans treat you, that shouldnt affect your faith in God. If your faith in humanity fails keep your faith in God because humans are imperfect while the God you believe in is perfect.
I think you are right in saying that the Church is more about community and relationships than anything. An interesting point that also needs to be made is that the Church itself is a massive institution with over one billion members. In the grand scheme of things, a few rouge priests or members should never taint the overall image of the group. In fact, when I sit here and think about it all of my closest family friends were all met through the church. Granted, the church was a part of the private school I went to, but it's interesting to note all of the connections that we made. This was probably the most important thing to us as members.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a very interetsing article. I loved how it was written by a pastor-I feel like it brought a different viewpoint to matters and views of the church. I also agree with what Kate was saying in how the church is important because of the community it gives to humanity. Community is important, and I feel like the fellowship that sometimes is found in the church is emphasized in the New Testament as being a vital part of the body of Christ. I also liked how the author talked about how there was never a "golden era" in which all was right with the world, and then goes on to mention humanity's brokenness in that our humanity will always get in the way of perfection. I think that is true, and that humanity will always be broken until Jesus comes back again. Ephesians 2:3 talks a little bit about this, about how we were originally "by nature deserving of wrath," being imperfect because of the sin that entered the world, and then how we were saved through grace. That talks a little more of the nature of humanity before one is saved and reconciled by the blood of Christ, but I think it still shows how humans are not perfect. Most of this to say is that I agree with the author in that that is what makes us need the church community, and points us to a greater power that we need in our lives: Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI once asked my father what the purpose of church was. He told to think about it, pray about it and see what God told me. as I started to think about it i realized it was the community that was important about church. It was something powerful about many coming to agree as one that moved things. It was the support of others that the reason to go to church, its a sense of family. It also brings the misguided closer to Him and let them know that they are not alone in this world. Now i think of church as a home away from home.
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