Monday, August 14, 2006
A Depressing Thought
Last Thursday I wrote about the increasing uselessness of the term "evangelicalism." I blamed much of what is happening on the fact that the term has come to be associated with political power and that much internicene squabbling has broken out in pursuit of that power.
Which set me to thinking. The Roman church chased power to the point of corruption, the Reformation occurred. The Reformation lead inexoriably to democracy and the traditional Protestant denominations gained power through that, again to the point of corruption. From that rose the movement we now know as Evangelicalism, and again the corruption rears its ugly head.
Seems like there's a cycle here, doesn't it? That's depressing enough, but here is the really depressing thought: If we worship a redemptive God, why do we keep making new churches, movements, etc. - instead of redeeming the existing ones?
Are we missing the point?
Related Tags: reformation, evangelicalism, corruption, church, power
Which set me to thinking. The Roman church chased power to the point of corruption, the Reformation occurred. The Reformation lead inexoriably to democracy and the traditional Protestant denominations gained power through that, again to the point of corruption. From that rose the movement we now know as Evangelicalism, and again the corruption rears its ugly head.
Seems like there's a cycle here, doesn't it? That's depressing enough, but here is the really depressing thought: If we worship a redemptive God, why do we keep making new churches, movements, etc. - instead of redeeming the existing ones?
Are we missing the point?
Related Tags: reformation, evangelicalism, corruption, church, power
