Amongst Evangelicals, I’ve encountered Acts 2:42–47 (with much emphasis on verse 46b) being adduced in order to endorse this notion. I’ve no doubt that in such company you’d find people who would assert that the idea is “biblical.”
Just what IS postmodernism? The word is always popping up. As far as I can work it out it just means ‘something I don’t go along with’.
That is a very good question. It is nebulous enough that one definition might not look like another; but at least I can explain how I use it (and how my seminary/ministry friends use it). It is basically a reaction to the Modernist/Enlightenment approach to life. It grew out of the destruction of the early 20th Century, and it is best personified in the general sarcastic disdain for all establishment that we see today among the post-WWII generations. Modernists believed that everything must be proven, demonstrated, tangible; there was a disdain for the spiritual in favor of the physical. Progress was emphasized over tradition; industry was emphasized over the natural, etc. Postmodernism, as a reaction, believes that very little can be proven. The old & traditional may be bad, but the new is just as bad. It’s a very cynical outlook that ultimately is a rejection of authority and of anything that claims authority. A Modernist might reject transubstantiation because he can’t “prove” it; a Postmodernist rejects it because “what makes this so-called priest any different than the rest of us?” A Modernist opposes “organized religion” because it stands in the way of “Progress,” while a Postmodernist opposes it because it’s just a bunch of groupthink and people who can’t find their own meaning in life.Just what IS postmodernism? The word is always popping up. As far as I can work it out it just means ‘something I don’t go along with’.
But the folks that Steph mentioned who are dropping out of church to get into this trendy house church movement - these are people who tend to not value (or not believe in) the benefits of corporate worship. I fear that too many Protestant churches are all about the sermon or the music, and therefore seem “skippable.” Sermons are online; music is on the radio.As a former Protestant the issue is that since they are young they are taught Sola Scriptura. That being said the Church becomes a social club and during times of frugality clubs are not needed so they retreat to their houses… My thinking anyway.
Sigh. I know what you mean. And there’s no reasoning with such people; they only leave that fad when they get burned by it.
Most of the Protestants that I know who are drawn to such things say that 1) Jesus didn’t found an institution, 2) There’s no such thing as clergy or priests/pastors because “Jesus taught the priesthood of all believers” and 3) The real Church is supposed to meet in homes. They hold to these beliefs as though their lives depended on them. They then spin these wild yarns about Constantine and Nicaea, and finally conclude that all “organized religion” is false, manmade, and heretical. It’s how cults are formed, frankly…but in our increasingly feel-good & me-centered culture, people would rather believe a lie sometimes.
Sorry…I’ve seen a lot of friends go off the deep end with this stuff lately, and they all give the same reasons why. It’s so postmodern that they refuse to even be reasonable; your interpretations are fine, but they don’t have to listen to them or accept them. We must pray for guidance with such people, because this movement is more about rejecting authority than anything else. And if 2 or 3 gather to pray, Christ certainly is there; but if a handful of postmodernists gather to misinterpret the Bible and reject the Lord’s Church, his ordained teachers, his sacraments, and the fellowship of the Faithful in real churches…how do they know that Christ is “with them?”
Thanks - now at last I have an idea of what it’s all about!
Reminds me of a funny church sign I saw once. “Why change churches? Does it really matter which church you stay home from?” LOLSigh. I know what you mean. And there’s no reasoning with such people; they only leave that fad when they get burned by it.
Now I believe church is very important. But on the other hand a church is not a building or a building with a altar and fancy art. A church can be anyplace, in your home, outside, in a barn, I’ve even seen a priest hold services form the tailgate of a truck. Church is where ever you choose to worship God. I don’t think God is impressed or even cares that you choose to worship in a big fancy church. When Jesus had the sermon on the mount, was it in a church [building] or was it out in the open? I do church services in a nursing home dining room. Does that make it any less then a fancy place? Do the people that come to the services not get the same kind of worship that they would get if they went of a fancy church.Are they not worshiping and honoring God in that dining room? Isn’t the main idea behind church to worship God, to praise and honor God. Isn’t God always with us as long as we believe in him and accept him? Where does it say in the Bible that you must go to a fancy church [building] to worship him?
I think what it all really boils down to is really the primary difference between Catholics and Protestants - the Eucharist. We attend Mass every week to receive Jesus. He is the center of our worship. But in protestant Churches, it COULD just as easily be held in the basement, the home, or wherever. Of course a Catholic Mass could be held anywhere, too. But when it is, Jesus is still truly present.
Ok I admit…I was there. I was hiding behind that big tree and listening in.Wow, you pretty much summed up the argument I heard from a woman today. It’s like you were there
I think you’re right. There’s a very different reason for being there if you attend a sacramental church.
Or one that reads: “Ch ch” what is missing?
This mentality is exactly what we are talking about. Since you ask, I assume that you were expecting a different answer, because, no, it is not just a house of worship, nor is that it’s primary purpose. It is a dwelling place, a sacrificing altar, a temple, and to understand a church’s role, you must understand the role of the Temple of Jerusalem.