by Stanley Anderson » February 23rd, 2009, 6:56 pm
As I've read comments from other threads here about the Church, I find that I would like to ask, really in a non-argumentative way, how people view the Church, the Body of Christ, from their point of view. Obviously, I have a Catholic point of view and see it differently (I assume) from many Protestant points of view. And in the process of posting this, I want to say what at least one side of that Protestant view seems like to me (since I am sure it varies from church to church in Protestant circles. I would guess that my (intentionally simplistic) impression of the Protestant's view of the Church will seem wrong to them, and my reason for posting that impression will be for the express purpose of being corrected (though I suppose one possible, though unlikely, reply might be "yes, that's essentially correct, Stanley").
As I said above, I see this as being primarily non-argumentative -- more as simply an explanation of how various groups see themselves and how they see others and how they think others see themselves and so on. But of course I won't mind either if this thread should then turn into a debate and discussion (or "argument" in the good sense of the word) about this subject. Such things, I think are healthy and interesting and informative if done with charity and respect, even if no one comes out convinced of the "other" side.
Anyway, so. Here is what I want to say (and remember that I'm making this intentionally simplistic and unfocussed so that people can clarify it more properly):
The impression I have of the -- I'll call it "strong" Protestant view of the Church (to distinguish from more "liturgical" churches like many Anglican and Lutheran views that may be closer to the Catholic view) -- is that the "The Church" is primarily simply a "collection" of people who are identified as Christians, not unlike, perhaps, any other "arbitrary" collection --say, people who collect matchboxes, or whose last name begins with "Q". As such, they may gather together every once in a while for a kind of family reunion, where they raise a toast to each other or talk about mutual relatives and long-lost cousins or even start fights, but really, they're just as happy when the weekend is over and they can get back to their business back home.
Aside from the common factor of matchbox collections or initials, they don't identify the group as something that goes out and "does" things as a group -- at least consciously. They may very well individually happen to do many of the same things and "happen" to accomplish things that only large groups can do, but it is not so much a conscious "organized" effort as it is a sort of serendipitous happenstance or a "led by the Holy Spirit without us actually being aware of his particular purposes" result that is seen only in retrospect after the fact.
Again, I've written the above perhaps somewhat provocatively to elicit responses to correct and clarify this vague impression.
(And remember that I'm using here some of my own memories of being in a "strong" Protestant church in college and for some time after, though I suppose I always did feel a bit uneasy in those sorts of places. For instance, I remember, even shortly after becoming a Christian in college and being still pretty unknowledgeable in many areas, nevertheless having the distinct impression from reading the NT of some kind of extreme importance of taking Communion. The church I was attending only had Communion services once a month and it seemed by chance that I was always unavoidably gone on those Sundays the first couple of months, and I remember being terrified that I might happen to die without ever having received Communion because I hadn't "gotten around to it". I distinctly remember thinking "Why don't they have Communion more often so that we can be sure to partake of it regularly?")
Well anyway, part of the purpose of this thread is to say not only how it seem that others view the Church but to say how I see the Church. And being Catholic, the contrast seems to me (but of course correct me if it seems wrong to any of you) that Catholics view the Church as not only a collection of those people who happen to be Christians, but that it is also an active visible "entity" that Christ intended to use (via the Holy Spirit) as his primary instrument for carrying out the "physical effects" of his Resurrection and "mechanics" of our Salvation, if you will, by means of the Church structure and its teaching and its administration of the Sacraments and such. That's probably badly worded, but my intention is to say that the contrast is, as the thread title suggests, that the Church not only IS something, but that it DOES something actively and consciously and visibly and is something its members can look to and follow for guidance and assurance and verification, and, most importantly, for the means of their transformation into being part of the Body of Christ through the Sacraments.
And all this is not to suggest that the Church is a sort of "Here, Jesus, let me help you out there" sort of thing, but rather that the Church is the very manifestation or realization of Christ's plan of Salvation in us. I've used the illustration elsewhere of the Catholic Church appearing to Protestant eyes from a distance, as a bunch of fancy but artificial decorations laid upon a Christmas tree (and of a tree chopped down and supported and propped up by a metal stand at that). But that when one gets up close to examine the tree "from inside the Church", as it were, one discovers, first, that the tree has not been chopped down, but that it is actually rooted in the ground and alive and growing. And second, one discovers that the "decorations" that seemed from a distance artificial and "separate" from the tree and only laid on top, turn out to be flowers actually growing out of the very branches of the tree.
And in fact that those flowers are not just there to be "pretty", but are actually the tree's way of blossoming forth and propagating into the world. And that not only does it "happen" that way, but that we can see it happening, and that we are supposed to see it happening, and that it is our duty to be part of that "visible" flowering of God's plan, yes, acting "individually" as the opportunity avails us, but more importantly, also as an intentional "portion" of that flowering tree, doing our part to help it grow "as a tree" and not as a simple collection of branches and leaves and flowers that happen to be located together over the plot of ground.
Ok, so there. I've given my impression of what the Protestant view of the Church seems like to me, and also what I think the Catholic view of the Church is, and the contrasts between them. Of course I don't for one minute "really" think that Protestants see the Church only as an arbitrary "collection" that doesn't actually "do" anything (though I do think it is often hard for them to "point" to anything in particular). I've set this up as a means for that -- admittedly artificial and provocative -- impression to be corrected and discussed and clarified. Again, purely for informational purposes, if you like. But also open to debate and discussion if anyone feels like it (I'll probably not press the initialization of the debate side, but may respond -- with delight and enjoyment -- if anyone wants go in that direction).
Any thoughts?
--Stanley
…on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a fair green country under a swift sunrise.