The Church as a commentary on Scripture...

I recently visited the most excellent Eastern Orthodox blog "Glory to God in All Things" (the author is, I believe, a collegue of The Pontificator) and read this fascinating (and thankfully not too long) post called Rethinking Reading.

The basic premise, drawing from several passages of the Bible, is that the Church of God is the Interpretation of Scripture.

This idea, as he fleshes it out, has really captivated my mind. He notes that in many corners of the Church (and this is not limited to American Evangelicalism, where it happens to be prevalent) the Church is seen as a sort of voluntary collection of believers who come together primarily in order to strengthen one another in the faith as they (individually) pursue sanctification and a closer (individual) walk with Jesus.

In contrast to this he presents a more Biblical, communal, and mystical view of the living Church of the Living Christ: the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the Pillar and Foundation of the Truth, the Holy Temple of God, and so on (there are, now that I think of it, many Biblical images that fly in the face of this popular and individualistic conception).

Check it out!

A prayer of St. Augustine

Breathe in me O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.

Amen.

Maybe Church buildings CAN be good

Lots of postmodern Christians have been very critical of the traditional practice of building church buildings and then expecting the people to show up for worship. Church buildings most certainly do bring some potential problems: the drain on resources and time for upkeep, the potential of developing an "attraction" attitude about the faith (so that the church operates like an entertainment venue) and so on. "Why not just operate as house churches (like the Apostolic Church mostly did) and be done with it?" they ask.

But some Post-modern church leaders are also discovering that having a building also brings great potential for creative ministry if we make good use of it.

Article of the Year!

Well, so far. This article, "Jesus is not a brand" in the latest issue of Christianity Today, is an extremely thoughtful exploration of evangelism (and theology) in a consumer culture, and suggests that the Church too often implicitly supports false idols of consumerism, radical individualism, and 'me'-ism in the way we talk about or attempt to "sell" the faith.

I may come back and add some quotes and comments...