The Desigrejados Rev. Augustus Nicodemus Lopes For me there is little doubt that the institutional church and organized is today at the center of heated discussions in virtually all quarters of Christendom , and even beyond . The emergence of thousands of denominations , the apostolic power of neo-Pentecostal churches , institutionalization and secularization of historical denominations , the professionalization of pastoral ministry , seeking theological diplomas recognized by the state , the endless variety of methods of church growth , success pastoral , the scandals in the churches , the lack of growth in traditional churches , the failure of emerging churches - all this has led many to desencantarem with the institutional church and organizada.Alguns simply abandoned the church and faith . But others just want to leave the church and keep the faith . They want to be Christian , but without the church. Many of these are just disappointed with the institutional church and try to continue to be Christians without belonging or attend any . However , there are those who , in addition to no longer attend church, took this flag and began to openly defend the total failure of the organized church , the need for a Christianity without the church and the need to get out of the church in order to find God. These ideas have been disseminated through books , lectures and media . Became a movement that is growing every day. Are desigrejados . Many recent books have advocated desigrejação Christianity ( * ) . In general, the desigrejados argue the following points . 1 ) Christ did not leave any form of organized and institutional church . 2 ) In the early centuries, Christians have turned away from the teachings of Jesus , organizing themselves as an institution , the Church , creating structures , making crafts to replace the charisms , developing hierarchies to protect and defend the institution itself , and so is organized than just leaving God out . With the influence of Greek philosophy in theology and formalization of Christianity by Constantine , the church became corrupted completely . 3 ) Although the Reformation have risen up against this corruption , Protestants and Evangelicals just dropping in these very same mistakes when creating organized denominations , interconnected systems of hierarchy and processes of system maintenance , such as discipline and exclusion of dissidents , and the elaborate confessions of faith , catechisms and statements of faith , which plastered the message of Jesus and prevented the free theological thought . 4 ) The true church has temples , regular services on Sundays , treasury , hierarchy , crafts , offerings , tithes , official clergy , confessions of faith , church membership , properties , schools , seminars . 5 ) According to Jesus , where two or three who believe in it , there is the church , for Christ is with them , as promised in Matthew 18 . Thus , if two or three Christian friends meet at Frans Café on a Friday night to talk about the spiritual lessons of the movie The Book of Eli , for example , there is the church , it is not necessary absolutely nothing like going to church on Sunday or belong to an organized church . 6 ) The church , as a human organization has failed and fallen into many mistakes , sins and offenses , and done a disservice to the Gospel . We need to get out of it in order to find God . I agree with many of the points made by desigrejados . Unfortunately , they are right about the fact that many evangelicals confuse the organized church with the church of Christ and have fought tooth and nail to defend his name and his church , even when they do not truly represent the values of the Church of Christ . I also agree that the church of Christ does not need temples built , nor of the whole apparatus necessary for its maintenance. She actually survived vigorously in the first four centuries gathering in homes , caves , valleys , fields , and even cemeteries . The Christian churches were erected only after the formalization of Christianity by Constantine in the century. IV. The desigrejados are right to criticize the defense systems created to perpetuate the structures and hierarchy of organized churches , forgetting the people and giving priority to the organization . I agree with them that we can not identify the church with organized cults , endless schedules during the week , duties and functions as Sunday School superintendent , internal organizations such as unions young men , teens, ladies and men , and methods such as cells , Marriage Encounter and young people , and so on . And I agree with the finding that the institutional church has made many mistakes in the course of its long history . That said , I wonder if it is still correct abandon the institutional church and follow a Christianity in solo flight . Still wonder if desigrejados are not throwing out the baby with the dirty water of the tub . At the end , it seems that their revolt is not just against the institutionalization of the church , but against anything that impose limits or restrictions on their way of thinking and acting. I get the impression that they want to get rid of the Christian church in order to be the way they understand , believe what you will - being free thinkers without conclusions or convictions set - do what they want , to be able to experience everything in life without fear of penalties and corrections . This kind of attitude anti - establishment , anti-discipline , anti - rules , anti - authority , antilimites of all kinds fits perfectly into the secular mentality and revolutionary of our time , entering the churches under the guise of Christianity. It is true that Jesus did not leave an institutional church in this world . However , he said some things about the church that led his disciples to organize themselves into communities even in apostolic period and long before Constantine . 1 ) Jesus told his disciples that his church would be built on Peters statement that he was the Christ , the Son of the living God (Matt. 16.15-19 ) . The church was founded on this rock , which is the truth about the person of Jesus ( cf. 1 Pet 2.4-8 ) . What deviate from this truth - the deity and uniqueness of Christs person - not the Christian church . No wonder the apostles were ready to reject the free - thinkers of his time , who wanted to give a different interpretation to the person and work of Christ different from that which they received from Christ himself . The churches have been instructed by the apostles to reject the free - thinkers like the Gnostics and Judaizers , libertines and disobedient , as the followers of Balaam and the Nicolaitans ( cf. 2 John 10 , Romans 16:17 , 1 Corinthians 5:11 , 2 Thess 3:6; 3:14 , Titus 3:10 ; Jude 4 , Rev. 2:14 ; 2.6,15 ) . It is virtually impossible to keep us on the rock , Christ , and the tradition of the apostles recorded in Scripture , without being church, where we are taught , corrected , admonished , warned , confirmed , and where those who deviate from the apostolic truth are rejected . 2 ) Jesus statement above , that his church stands on confession about his person , shows the close link , organic and indissoluble link between him and his church . Elsewhere , he illustrated this relationship with the figure of the vine and the branches ( John 15 ) . This union was well understood by his disciples , who compared the relationship between the head and the body ( Eph 1:22-23 ) , the relationship between husband and wife ( Eph. 5:22-33 ) and between the building and the stone on which he sits ( 1 Peter 2.4-8 ) . The desigrejados want Christ , but do not want their church . Want the groom , but reject his bride . But what God has joined together, let not man put asunder . We can not have one without the other . 3 ) Jesus also instituted what we call disciplinary process when he taught his disciples how they should proceed in the case of a brother who has fallen into sin (Matthew 18:15-20 ) . After repeated warnings in particular , Brother wrongful , however hardened , should be excluded from the church - it is , Jesus used the term - and should no longer be treated as part of it ( Matthew 18:17 ) . The apostles understood this very well , because we found in his letters dozens of warnings to the churches they arranged for it to depart and to exclude those who would not repent of their sins and not to walk according to the apostolic truth . A good example is the exclusion of brother immoral church at Corinth ( 1 Cor 5 ) . I do not understand how this can be done in a free and informal brotherhood that gathers to sip coffee on Friday nights and discuss cultural issues , where there is no consciousness belong to a body that is guided by the rules established by Christ . 4 ) Jesus ordered his followers to make disciples all over the world , and that the baptize and teach them everything he had commanded (Matt. 28:19-20 ) . The disciples understood this very well . They organized the converts in churches who were baptized and educated in the apostolic teaching . They established spiritual leaders of these churches , which were responsible for instructing converts , warn defaulters and the needy (Acts 6:1-6 , Acts 14:23 ) . Clearly defined the profile of these leaders and their roles , ranging from the spiritual government communities to prayer for the sick ( 1 Timothy 31-13 , Titus 1:5-9 , James 5:14 ) . 5 ) It did not take well to the apostolic Christians draw up the first statements or confessions of faith we find ( cf. Rom 10:9; 1 John 4:15 , Acts 8.36-37 ; Phil. 2:5-11 ; etc. . ) , Which served as the basis for catechesis and instruction of new converts , and to examine and reject the false teachers . See , eg , John using one of these statements to repel freethinkers Gnostic churches of Asia (2 John 7-10 , 1 John 4:1-3 ) . Even in the apostolic already found signs that the churches had been organized and structured , with priests , deacons , teachers and guides , an order of widows and even presbyteries ( 1 Tim 3:1; 5.17,19 ; Titus 1:5 ; Phil. 1:1 , 1 Timothy 3.8 , 12 , 1 Timothy 5.9 , 1 Timothy 4:14 ) . The earliest example we have of this organization is the meeting of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem to deal with a case of doctrine - the inclusion of Gentiles in the church and the conditions that had fellowship with the Jewish converts (Acts 15.1-6 ) . The decision of what became known as the Council of Jerusalem was taken to be obeyed in other churches (Acts 16:4) , showing that there were soon a hierarchical network among the apostolic churches , a few years after Pentecost , many years before Constantine . 6 ) Jesus also told his disciples met regularly to eat the bread and drink wine in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:14-20 ) . The apostles followed the order , and met regularly to celebrate the Lords Supper ( Acts 2:42 ; 20.7 , 1 Corinthians 10:16 ) . However , given the nature of the Supper , earlier introduced standards for participation in it , as is evident in the case of the Corinthian church ( 1 Cor 11.23-34 ) . Im not sure how desigrejados celebrate the Supper , but it must be difficult to do this without us being in the company of brothers who share the same faith and who believe the same thing about the Lord . It is curious that the passage of desigrejados favorite - Where two or three are gathered in my name , there am I in their midst ( Mt 18:20 ) - was uttered by Jesus in the context of the organized church . These two or three that he mentions are the two or three who will try to win the offending brother and bring him back to the fellowship of the church (Matt. 18:16 ) . That is, are the two or three that are acting to preserve the purity of the church as a body , not two or three that split from the others and decide to do their own little church informal or go solo as Christians . My point is this : that long before the post-apostolic period , the intrusion of Greek philosophy in the theology of the Church and of the decree of Constantine - the three frameworks which according to desigrejados are responsible for the corruption of the institutional church - the church of Christ has was organized , with their crafts , hierarchy , discipline system , smooth operation , creeds and confessions . The point Paul refers to it as the pillar and bulwark of the truth ( 1 Tim 3:15 ) and the author of Hebrews rebuke those who failed to assemble with other Christians (Hebrews 10:25 ) . The book of Acts makes several mentions of churches , referring to them as bodies defined and organized in cities ( cf. Acts 15:41 ; 16.5 ; see also Romans 16.4,16 , 1 Corinthians 7:17 , 11:16 , 14:33 , 16.1 ; etc. . - the relationship is very large) . In the end, I get the impression that desigrejados actually not against the organized church merely because they desire a purer form of Christianity , closer to original form - as this original form was born organized and structured , the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament . I think they really want is freedom to be Christians in their own way , believe whatever they want and live the way they think proper , without being accountable to anyone . Belonging to an organized church , especially those who are religious and historically have constituted authorities , boards and councils , means submitting our ideas and our way of life to the scrutiny of the Gospel , as understood by historic Christianity . For many, this is too much to ask . I have no illusions about the current state of the church . She is imperfect and will remain so long as I am a member. Reformed theology leaves no doubt as to the state of imperfection , corruption , unreliability and misery that the church militant is at present awaiting the coming of the Lord Jesus , when he will become the church triumphant . At the same time , teaches that Christians can not be without it . That despite everything , we need each other , we need the preaching of the Word , and the discipline of the sacraments , the communion of brothers and regular services . Unchurched Christianity is another religion , the religion of individualistic free - thinkers , forever in doubt , unable to take your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. NOTE : ( * ) We can mention among them : George Barna , Revolution ( Revolution ) , 2005, William P. Young, The Shack : a novel ( The Shack : a novel ) , 2007; Brian Sanders , Life After Church ( Life after church ), 2007 , Jim Palmer , Divine Nobodies : shedding religion to find God ( Johns - one divine : leaving religion to find God ) , 2006; Zener Martin , How to quit without Quitting Church God ( How to leave the church without leaving God ) , 2002; Julia Duin , Quitting Church: why the faithful are fleeing and what to do about it ( leaving the Church : that the faithful are coming and what to do about it ) , 2008; Frank Viola , Pagan Christianity ? Exploring the roots of our church practices ( Pagan Christianity ? Exploring the roots of our practices in the Church ) , 2007; Paulo Brabo , Basin of Souls : Confessions of a former dependent of the church (2009 ) .
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 23:31:24 +0000
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