MennoNet.com

Coifi wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:29 pm Coming from an Anglican background and then moving to the Orthodox Church, I cannot understand why there is such a blanket prohibition again jeweler these communities. @Ernie, can you take pity on a poor, ignorant Orthodox Christian and explain why? And maybe add in a bit of commentary regarding this topic in relationship with Colossians 2:20-23?

I bring this up knowing full well that the same request for commentary with respect to something like fasting applies to me, but the Orthodox Church has an interpretation that addresses the apparent contradiction and I trust that Anabaptists have the same. I merely seek to find the points of continuity and discontinuity between us.

We believe we follow Colossians 2:20. At the same time, we feel it is best to follow simple interpretations of other scriptures, such as when we are exhorted to avoid gold and costly garments. (After all, why would a Christian want to pursue costly garments?)

We do not believe the New Testament has a teaching that the church or a body of believers cannot decide on various standards of lifestyles at all. We realise that many other Christian groups don't agree with this, and indeed often make it almost central to their faith that Christianity and the church should somehow not have anything to say about lifestyle at all. It should be obvious that embracing such a belief means abandoning plain or conservative Anabaptism.

Part of the genesis of the plain church was a reaction to the very ornate and very expensive cathedrals of the 1500s, which were generally inaccessible to the masses (but they were also taxed heavily to pay for). Likewise, we don't see much value in the rich living fancy, ornate lives whilst the poor have nothing. It seems to us to go against biblical teaching to live a modest and simple life of contentment.

Going deeper into Colossians 2:20, probably your best well to draw from would be in your Anglican heritage, and particularly N. T. Wright's "New Perspectives on Paul"; I interpret that as strong teaching against following the Old Testament law including the dietary laws, and as a subtext also against teaching that a Christian must respect various holy days or engage in Sabbath keeping, since that is what the text of Colossians 2 directly says.

I do not interpet Colossians 2 as (for example) saying that Christians or the church should not teach against, say, using heroin to get high. I think it is obvious that Christians shouldn't do that. And I don't think the Bible teaches that it would somehow be wrong to teach against abusing drugs for recreation.