Well, it looks like I am going to have to wait until next week to find out why Paul had Timothy circumcised as Pastor is still preaching from Acts 15. I actually am starting to feel a bit better about this church. Mind you, I am still agnostic, I haven't answered the "altar call" and don't intend to, but as far as churches go, it looks like here I can be myself without too much difficulty. And I do need some kind of community. There are some really big changes that may be pending in my life, changes caused by events outside my control, and I simply can't go it alone on this. I am hoping that good will come out of it. My friend the elder says that God is in control and to have faith, that things will work out. So if I am not too active on Aspies Central in upcoming weeks it is because I have to take care of this issue. Quite simply, the trailer park where I live is to be sold at auction because of unpaid debts. What does it mean for us residents? Nobody knows. I did do some research and found out that the new owners are legally required to give us only 30 days notice to move our homes out at our expense; and around here there is a distinct shortage of places to move our homes to. And just when I was looking forward to a nice quiet summer now that my neighbors the drug dealers are gone. They got caught with a meth lab shortly after I started going to this church (is this a sign from God?).
Anyway, today's sermon continued on the same theme as last week; how the Gentiles in Antioch were upset to find out that they weren't "real Christians" after all because they didn't follow the Jewish laws. Oh, boy, can I ever relate to that one. I think I was in my teens when I learned that contrary to what everyone around me said, I really wasn't a Christian because I was Catholic. I mean I thought I was, but nope. I guess that is one of the reasons I am an agnostic today, I got told so many times I wasn't what my parents and religious teachers said I was that finally I agreed with them. No, I am not. Case closed. So yeah, in a way, I can relate.
He talked about how the council handled the situation with tact and diplomacy, recognizing that the Gentiles had been caused real distress by these irresponsible people, who the council was real quick to say were not from us. Perhaps if more church disagreements had been handled that way, we wouldn't see the divisions that we have. It's an intriguing thought, but I don't think that it would have stopped the Reformation. When the Reformation started, it's true that it was originally focused on "abuses" within the Catholic church, which even the Catholic church admitted were "abuses", and which were dealt with at the Council of Trent and the Counter-Reformation. But that quickly shifted into disagreements--major disagreements--over doctrine. Much like my slide into agnosticism started with "being hurt by other Christians" and eventually grew to questioning Christianity's core beliefs. Once you've gone there, it's hard to go back. And this is what the Reformation was about, not jumping ship because you didn't like the music or the service, or whatever, but very real deep differences over the heart and soul of the faith. These gaps still remain. He talked a few weeks back about the difference between Arminius and Calvin while making it clear he was more in the Calvinist camp, well, that is nothing compared to the Catholic-Protestant divide. How in heaven's name are you going to resolve that? Not all of them can be right.
And then he talked about the minimal restrictions that the Council gave to the Gentiles or as the New American Bible says, "we don't wish to put undue burdens on you." These were for cultural reasons to help the Gentiles get along better with their Jewish Christian neighbors. Because there were some things in the end that simply were not compatible with their new faith, and these things change from age to age. He said that you can run from culture, you can embrace it uncritically, or you can sift it to see what is good and what is not good. That takes much more discipline than the first two. Ironically, I first came across the "sifting" concept in a novel about an Orthodox Jewish woman who has a crisis of faith and goes to Israel, where she is told by a rabbi to "sift" through all the rules and regulations and see which ones work for her and which ones don't. Some people aren't comfortable with that idea because they think it is too close to picking and choosing or cafeteria religion, and I have to confess that I was like that in my youth. Since then I have changed quite a bit.
I think I will stay with this church awhile. I think it will be good for me.
Anyway, today's sermon continued on the same theme as last week; how the Gentiles in Antioch were upset to find out that they weren't "real Christians" after all because they didn't follow the Jewish laws. Oh, boy, can I ever relate to that one. I think I was in my teens when I learned that contrary to what everyone around me said, I really wasn't a Christian because I was Catholic. I mean I thought I was, but nope. I guess that is one of the reasons I am an agnostic today, I got told so many times I wasn't what my parents and religious teachers said I was that finally I agreed with them. No, I am not. Case closed. So yeah, in a way, I can relate.
He talked about how the council handled the situation with tact and diplomacy, recognizing that the Gentiles had been caused real distress by these irresponsible people, who the council was real quick to say were not from us. Perhaps if more church disagreements had been handled that way, we wouldn't see the divisions that we have. It's an intriguing thought, but I don't think that it would have stopped the Reformation. When the Reformation started, it's true that it was originally focused on "abuses" within the Catholic church, which even the Catholic church admitted were "abuses", and which were dealt with at the Council of Trent and the Counter-Reformation. But that quickly shifted into disagreements--major disagreements--over doctrine. Much like my slide into agnosticism started with "being hurt by other Christians" and eventually grew to questioning Christianity's core beliefs. Once you've gone there, it's hard to go back. And this is what the Reformation was about, not jumping ship because you didn't like the music or the service, or whatever, but very real deep differences over the heart and soul of the faith. These gaps still remain. He talked a few weeks back about the difference between Arminius and Calvin while making it clear he was more in the Calvinist camp, well, that is nothing compared to the Catholic-Protestant divide. How in heaven's name are you going to resolve that? Not all of them can be right.
And then he talked about the minimal restrictions that the Council gave to the Gentiles or as the New American Bible says, "we don't wish to put undue burdens on you." These were for cultural reasons to help the Gentiles get along better with their Jewish Christian neighbors. Because there were some things in the end that simply were not compatible with their new faith, and these things change from age to age. He said that you can run from culture, you can embrace it uncritically, or you can sift it to see what is good and what is not good. That takes much more discipline than the first two. Ironically, I first came across the "sifting" concept in a novel about an Orthodox Jewish woman who has a crisis of faith and goes to Israel, where she is told by a rabbi to "sift" through all the rules and regulations and see which ones work for her and which ones don't. Some people aren't comfortable with that idea because they think it is too close to picking and choosing or cafeteria religion, and I have to confess that I was like that in my youth. Since then I have changed quite a bit.
I think I will stay with this church awhile. I think it will be good for me.
