I want to expand on these things this three day weekend. I may even mention a few on the Rock Mountain Religious Ride, a show co-anchored by my lifelong friend, SpiritualTramp. My thanks to TTK for some inspiration for a couple of these. Thanks also to Salguod for the article he sent to me.
1. Works Greater than These
This was an article sent to me from Salguod. It was a welcome perspective on some of the struggles I have had lately.
2. Ekklesia
The following verses all contain the word ekklesia. Note, ekklesia is a singular word, even if it appears as ‘churches’ or ‘assemblies’ in the English text. (Your translation may vary.) There’s 110 of them. It doesn’t include the gospels.
Act 2:47; Act 5:11; Act 7:38; Act 8:1; Act 8:3; Act 9:31; Act 11:22; Act 11:26; Act 12:1; Act 12:5; Act 13:1; Act 14:23; Act 14:27; Act 15:3; Act 15:4; Act 15:22; Act 15:41; Act 16:5; Act 18:22; Act 19:32; Act 19:39; Act 19:41; Act 20:17; Act 20:28; Rom 16:1; Rom 16:4; Rom 16:5; Rom 16:16; Rom 16:23; 1Co 1:2; 1Co 4:17; 1Co 6:4; 1Co 7:17; 1Co 10:32; 1Co 11:16; 1Co 11:18; 1Co 11:22; 1Co 12:28; 1Co 14:4; 1Co 14:5; 1Co 14:12; 1Co 14:19; 1Co 14:23; 1Co 14:28; 1Co 14:33; 1Co 14:34; 1Co 14:35; 1Co 15:9; 1Co 16:1; 1Co 16:19; 2Co 1:1; 2Co 8:1; 2Co 8:18; 2Co 8:19; 2Co 8:23; 2Co 8:24; 2Co 11:8; 2Co 11:28; 2Co 12:13; Gal 1:2; Gal 1:13; Gal 1:22; Eph 1:22; Eph 3:10; Eph 3:21; Eph 5:23; Eph 5:24; Eph 5:25; Eph 5:27; Eph 5:29; Eph 5:32; Php 3:6; Php 4:15; Col 1:18; Col 1:24; Col 4:15; Col 4:16; 1Th 1:1; 1Th 2:14; 2Th 1:1; 2Th 1:4; 1Ti 3:5; 1Ti 3:15; 1Ti 5:16; Phm 1:2; Heb 2:12; Heb 12:23; Jas 5:14; 3Jn 1:6; 3Jn 1:9; 3Jn 1:10; Rev 1:4; Rev 1:11; Rev 1:20; Rev 2:1; Rev 2:7; Rev 2:8; Rev 2:11; Rev 2:12; Rev 2:17; Rev 2:18; Rev 2:23; Rev 2:29; Rev 3:1; Rev 3:6; Rev 3:7; Rev 3:13; Rev 3:14; Rev 3:22; Rev 22:16
3. ICoC History and Disaster comparisons
Chicago Fire? A more apt comparison might be New Orleans. Along the lines of the Chicago Fire of 1871, though, here’s a couple thoughts:
Cause of the Fire
As with any tragedy, it seems to feel better if the blame can be laid at someone’s feet. This can be done in religion by making everything Satan’s fault or God’s fault. It can also be done by finding the one person responsible. Indicting a system, or indicting inaction is much more difficult. It’s easier to have “The Enemy” pointed out and punished as an effigy of our own feelings of loss.
O’Leary was an immigrant woman and Catholic. This made her the perfect scapegoat for the fire. The man that wrote the article claiming it was her and her cow retracted the story 22 years later. It did start in the neighborhood, maybe even in the barn.
Kreite wrote the letter and he made the perfect scapegoat as someone that unleashed it on the internet in a rash decision. Truth is, he wrote it to the leaders, it was another person that leaked it to the ICCDF, not Henry. After it was already out, Henry revised it a bit and re-released it publicly.
Warnings about a Coming Fire
Warnings can go unheeded because it is inconvenient to deal with the issues.
The Chicago Tribune had been writing for months that construction was shabby and that a great fire would occur if not corrected. Even a month before the great fire, an article was published that details the unsafe construction carries out in the name of economical propserity. The business community took great offense at this.
Folks had been warning the ICC for years that we were going to have a crisis. It wasn’t until a so-called fire swept a lot of things away that the idea of change was even introduced. Of course, any critics beforehand were marginalized and labeled as being divisive. It was not convenient to address the critics at all, much less as thinking adults that may actually have a point.
4. Better Living thru Breakfast Cereal
Our son recently decorated the living room with an entire box of oat ringed cereal. It was about 1/4 inch deep in places. The best remedy was a good laugh and enlisting his help with the cleanup. Pictures to follow.
5. Paradox of Faithful Service
Based on Yehuda’s article mentioned in a previous post.
6. Unity through Doctrine
Can unity be achieved through doctrine? It is the clarion call from many within the RM, but is it the right call?
Keep in mind that a conservative COC mindset comes from CENI (Command, Example, and Necessary Inference) and the prohibitiveness of silence. One criticism of the CENI hermeneutic is that all doctrine eventually becomes a salvation issue. When a conservative CoC calls for unity through doctrine, it is often a unity through everyone having the same doctrine. Coming from something other than a CoC mindset, is it realistic to call for an agreement that would mean the elimination of secondary doctrine?
1 Timothy 4:16 calls us to watch our life and doctrine closely, not just our doctrine. Is there something about my life and/or the life of the ekklesia that can bring about unity? Love. The apostle John is said to have repeated “love one another” enough that some thought he was senile. Can I love my brother with whom I disagree in matters of doctrine? Love comes first, doctrine may follow some time later. God is the ultimate judge – am I patient enough to love first and hope for uniform doctrine later?
7. The Abilene Paradox
A dangerous form of groupthink common in today’s American culture and business. Link here to the wikipedia article.