by rusmeister » June 17th, 2008, 2:57 am
I'm just thinking about when people say, "my church". To a typical Protestant/Evangelical, it frequently means "a local building/place where they teach what I believe". It winds up being de facto a self-contained cosmos.
To Orthodox and Catholics, "my church" simply means "my parish" (a local branch of a Church whose teachings are accepted and not disputed by all of its members).
Of course there are loose-knit organizations that have agreement on major doctrines, but the 'independent' church (as in something having the right to secede or go its own way) is the supreme unit.
The problem is that when a church is "led its own way" to break with a larger organization, who is to say who is right and who is wrong? Everyone claims the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and points to Scripture that seems to support their position, yet we know this cannot be so - the Holy Spirit is not divided against Itself, or seeking more division between Christians.
There must be Something supreme, that can say that these Christians are interpreting Scripture rightly, and those are not. And this is precisely what Scripture can and does not tell us.
It's just that when you say "my church" you are effectively saying "my divisible unit"; in effect, not THE Church (definite article in the singular, denoting a unique thing; the only one).
"Eh? Two views? There are a dozen views about everything until you know the answer. Then there's never more than one."
Bill "The Blizzard" Hingest - That Hideous Strength