Accountablity vs. Consumerism
This is interesting on a lot of levels.
posted by Adam Phelan @ 8:35 AM
Friday, May 26, 2006
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5 Comments:
This is really scary. What scares me even more than the church's insane policy is the courts fear of standing up to it. The courts are so scared so stand up to the religious right it is impeding on the right of the individual. The right of the individuals privacy should be paramount in this case. Man this is screwed up!
Pax
Stephen
I agree that the church doesn't have the right to go out and tell the larger community about whatever it is this John Doe is doing. But we live in an age when many churches are almost afraid to talk about sin and are willing to let people do whatever they want. Joining a Christian community means giving up a certain level of autonomy. I may disagree with their method, but I respect this church for trying to offer correction and discipline.
I totally disagree for this church. Maybe mainline and liberal chuches do not talk about "sin" as much but a Community Church in Texas I am sure talks about plenty. If I remember correctly when I was in the Baptist church, that is all we talked about, sang about and prayed about, our wretched selves and our heart of evil and sin. I do not think churches need to talk about sin more, I think it should be more grace and love. Jesus rarely talked about individual sins, it just did not seem that important to him. Paul and Constantine had alot to say about it but not Jesus. I do agree, joining a Christian community does means giving up an autonomy, it does not however mean you give up the right to cut yourself off from that community and do so without the fear of blackmail. THere are some churches I have been connected to that I no longer desire to assosciate with, should I have to?
Pax
Stephen
I think one can talk about sin without having to make people feel dirty and guilty. Sin is a reality in the world today that damages our relationships with God, others and creation. Again I stress that I don't agree with the actions of this church, but correction has a place in the body of Christ. Do we leave a church when we disagree with the correction they offer? Most of us do. You and I often talk about the monastics we respect, and even call this place poMONKS, so we have to remember that one of their lifelong vows is correction from their teachers, whether they agree with it or not. So what's a healthy way we can bear that out in the Protestant church today?
This seems to be a boundary issue too. This church seems to be forcing its way of spirituality (of discipline & forgiveness) on these people. I understand (I think) the principle they are trying to apply from the gospel of Matthew, but is there also not a place for these people to simply be "excommunicated" from this community? When someone chooses to leave, and not be a part of the community, might the church just trust them into God's care? Just leave them alone!
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