Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Self Made

 

Since the time of the Reformation, and to a much lesser degree in the centuries before, there has come into existence a great number of churches not in communion with the historic Christian faith. Of the literal thousands of Protestant/Evangelical denominations that exist, each one has been made in the image of its founder. That which defines Protestantism/Evangelicalism are the concepts of private interpretation and individualism.

Protestant/Evangelical churches exist because someone, somewhere decided that the churches that currently existed were lacking or faulty in some manner and therefore a new church needed to be formed. This formation and codification came into shape based on what one individual or group of likeminded individuals decided was the “correct” interpretation of Holy Scripture.

Summarily stated, each new denomination and/or congregation is made in the image of its founder. And this in itself should be troubling. The source of this problem is a foundational one. The belief that each individual has the right or responsibility to interpret the Bible as he sees fit creates a theological landscape of autonomy. But the body of Christ is one and not a scattered group of individuals. There is one, holy, apostolic Church.

Jesus taught his disciples exactly what they needed to know and understand and then, in the giving of the Holy Spirit, assured the Church that he would never leave them alone. He also promised them that evil would never overcome or destroy the Church. These two truths have been in place since the formation of the first century Church. The apostolic faith has then been handed down from one generation to the next and has no need of being reformed, corrected, updated, or modernized. That which the Church has always believed and taught is still believed and taught today.

One could argue that at the foundational level, all “Christian” churches believe the same things. But this claim needs to be followed up with the question of, “Why then are there literally thousands of denominations and independent church that are not in communion with one another?” Why were all these groups started in the first place? Why seek to redefine the Christian faith when that which Jesus taught the disciples is perfect and has been handed down to each generation.

If one starts at the beginning and works forward in time on the belief that Jesus’ teaching has been handed down, led by the Holy Spirit, and protected by Christ as the head, one needs to question the existence of multiple thousands of disconnected churches.


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