The Whole Body of Christ

[kerravonsen]

Something struck me as I was reading http://thereluctantatheist.blogspot.com/ (the earlier blog written by the author of http://www.conversiondiary.com/, which izhilzha pointed me towards) - the Catholic insistence that Catholicism is the True Way because they have an unbroken line of tradition is just the same kind of thing as the Charismatic insistence that theirs is the True Way because they have the Gifts of the Spirit. They're both right, in that these are aspects of the True Way, and they're both wrong in thinking that they're the only ones who have it. I mean, I realized a couple of years ago, when I went from a Charismatic church to a Presbyterian one (me, I hold myself non-denominational) that it isn't that non-Charismatics don't exersize the gifts of the Spirit, they just use different words to talk about it. Likewise, I realized just now, that it isn't that the Protestant church doesn't have an unbroken line of tradition and authority, they just use different words to talk about it.

All Christians belong to Christ, no matter the label they put on the door.

Comments

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

Here, here!!

That must be what the many rooms are for. The same way as at a party all the mums end up in the kitchen talking schools while the men are in the living room talking cars and the children are playing games somewhere else. (Sorry to be so stereotypical.)

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Word.

I mean, to some extent one must be convinced that the church one is in has something right (or does something in a way that makes more sense to you than the others) in order to choose to dwell in that community, but it's far less of a split than many people make it out to be.

I have no issues with having grown up in a charismatic denomination (Vineyard), attended a lovely little Anglican church during university, and now a member of a Presbyterian congregation. The Spirit moves through the people of Christ, whatever they may call themselves.

[kerravonsen]

Yes, the Spirit goes where he wills, I'd known that for some time. But this realization is that Catholics seem to think that Protestant churches are so individualist that any old idiot can interpret the Bible however they like, but what tends to happen in practice is that the congregation turns to the minister for guidance in how to interpret the Bible, so that's one aspect of the "tradition and authority" bit.

The other assertion that Catholics make is the "unbroken line of authority" and that Catholicism is the only one that has that. I'm not so sure I follow their reasoning for that; but it seems to be that (a) someone who has just spent a lot of time studying the Bible isn't good enough to interpret it, they have to be part of a tradition (b) the whole laying-on-of-hands thing with ordination. Thing is, in the Protestant church, there is both a tradition of teaching, learning from those who have gone before, and also the laying-on-of-hands for ordination. In other words the actual practices are not very different. And the Spirit blows where he wills, and no human traditions can control Him.