If I Could Start a Church
First of all, I wouldn't call it a church. Second, I wouldn't be the one starting it.
Erik recently told me about how he might start his own church someday - something that's not completely SDA, or completely Jewish, but it would have elements of both in it. I'm assuming there would probably be some Pentacostal, some Mormon, and a few other elements in it as well. Anyway, between that, and this one time when my mom mocked me by asking "if you could start a church, what would it be like?," I've decided to just lay out here what I think about the whole idea.
It wouldn't be a cult. What defines a cult? For one, there's a human being (or several) who is the leader. Everyone does what they do, and follows what they say. For another, if you are in the cult then you're cool, but if you're not "in," then you're damned to hell. Third, the leader(s) believe themselves to either be God/Jesus or they believe that they take the place of God/Jesus in making decisions for their followers. Fourthly, there is often child sex abuse involved, either from the leaders, the adults, or other kids in the cult, and this is considered by the leadership to either be "normal" or be something they can't do anything about. Fifth, cults either cause the deaths of their members, or the deaths of people who refuse to join them, in the name of doctrines, practices, or politics, all of which God is blamed for. Sixth, children and adults alike are often taught songs and games which brainwash them through peer pressure into believing that they have all the truth and a duty to go out and brainwash the masses with their truth.
Ok, so I just pretty much defined every religion out there, one way or another, as a cult. None are gultless. And if you really think about it, as far as Christianity goes, the whole dang thing is one big cult! I mean, the Catholics insisted that everyone woship/Believe as they do, then all these protestant variations came out who operated under the same idea, one after another. Why else are there sects? It's because each sect thinks it has all "the truth." None will admit to this openly, but it's engraned into every facet of how each sect operates. Look at the requirements for baptism, and how baptism equates to church membership, and you'll see the problem. Organized religion pretty much = cult.
I do NOT include 1st century Messianic Jewish and gentile Believers in this statement. They did not employ such tactics, and in fact in one way or another, taught against them. So, that brings me around to the point I was going to make. If I could REVIVE the way those early Believers did things, keeping their culture and customs intact, and aligned with Biblical truth and not a lot of modern Christian misbeliefs, I would.
What were those times like? Well, I invite you to open your Bible, think about Israili Judaism and how the NT applies to it in every facet, nook and cranny, and then start the journey to answering that question for yourself ;)
Erik recently told me about how he might start his own church someday - something that's not completely SDA, or completely Jewish, but it would have elements of both in it. I'm assuming there would probably be some Pentacostal, some Mormon, and a few other elements in it as well. Anyway, between that, and this one time when my mom mocked me by asking "if you could start a church, what would it be like?," I've decided to just lay out here what I think about the whole idea.
It wouldn't be a cult. What defines a cult? For one, there's a human being (or several) who is the leader. Everyone does what they do, and follows what they say. For another, if you are in the cult then you're cool, but if you're not "in," then you're damned to hell. Third, the leader(s) believe themselves to either be God/Jesus or they believe that they take the place of God/Jesus in making decisions for their followers. Fourthly, there is often child sex abuse involved, either from the leaders, the adults, or other kids in the cult, and this is considered by the leadership to either be "normal" or be something they can't do anything about. Fifth, cults either cause the deaths of their members, or the deaths of people who refuse to join them, in the name of doctrines, practices, or politics, all of which God is blamed for. Sixth, children and adults alike are often taught songs and games which brainwash them through peer pressure into believing that they have all the truth and a duty to go out and brainwash the masses with their truth.
Ok, so I just pretty much defined every religion out there, one way or another, as a cult. None are gultless. And if you really think about it, as far as Christianity goes, the whole dang thing is one big cult! I mean, the Catholics insisted that everyone woship/Believe as they do, then all these protestant variations came out who operated under the same idea, one after another. Why else are there sects? It's because each sect thinks it has all "the truth." None will admit to this openly, but it's engraned into every facet of how each sect operates. Look at the requirements for baptism, and how baptism equates to church membership, and you'll see the problem. Organized religion pretty much = cult.
I do NOT include 1st century Messianic Jewish and gentile Believers in this statement. They did not employ such tactics, and in fact in one way or another, taught against them. So, that brings me around to the point I was going to make. If I could REVIVE the way those early Believers did things, keeping their culture and customs intact, and aligned with Biblical truth and not a lot of modern Christian misbeliefs, I would.
What were those times like? Well, I invite you to open your Bible, think about Israili Judaism and how the NT applies to it in every facet, nook and cranny, and then start the journey to answering that question for yourself ;)
posted by Caroline Talita Ishshah | 8:03 AM
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