Individualism In The Church

Christian ethics and theology with an Anabaptist perspective
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Sudsy
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Individualism In The Church

Post by Sudsy »

This topic has often been referred to as the affects the world has had on some church groups where the community or brethren togetherness has been replaced by individual forms of Christian practise. Some groups prefer having standards for all to follow whereas others prefer less control over their Christian practise. And there is quite a range of this within Anabaptism.

For those who care to, could we discuss individualism in the sense of individual groups within the church of Christ (meaning all born again believers regardless of church affiliation) and what this 'group individualism' does to the testimony of the bride of Christ.

The text - 1 Cor 1:12&13 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.” Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!

In the very earliest times of the church period we see The Church beginning to split into it's various groups and look at we are today. Split upon split. Division upon division. And most often, it is some attempt to follow the New Testament in a better way than the group being abandoned. Also, these breakaways have resulted in hatred and fightings, even wars, within Christianity and also within the sub group of Anabaptism. One can, and we do, argue that certain of these divisions were necessary to fight heresy. And so, we end up calling each other 'heretics' or 'liberals' or 'conservatives' or other names making sure we are known to be separate from them. And I think many of us agree that this does not make Christianity appear very unified.

I'm wondering if, instead of majoring on our differences, which is the bulk of threads here (whether it is between Anabaptists and non-Anabaptists or between the various sub groups within Anabaptism, the liberal to conservative range debates) we can find a way to focus on our oneness in Christ and as Paul says ” Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!

Now I know this isn't the first time this or something similar has been suggested here by others but we continue to spend much time and effort over what divides us than what unites us. Do we think this is something God approves ?

Just saying the individualism that is often fought against on a individual person level is also destructive as group individualism level as we do not treat others within the Church of Christ well as brothers and sisters in the Lord. All of these factions we are now involved in were not desired by Jesus so can we not say we are deliberately sinning to the extent that we point out each other's weaknesses in doctrine and practise ?

I believe a few comments I made here will trigger some challenges. I feel I have personally not been positive enough regarding our oneness in Christ and am guilty of challenging how others follow Him. I aim to correct this and would like to hear how others see this 'warring' that so often occurs on forums. This is not the only one, for sure.
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steve-in-kville
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Re: Individualism In The Church

Post by steve-in-kville »

Sudsy wrote:This topic has often been referred to as the affects the world has had on some church groups where the community or brethren togetherness has been replaced by individual forms of Christian practise. Some groups prefer having standards for all to follow whereas others prefer less control over their Christian practise. And there is quite a range of this within Anabaptism.
Here is my take on the subject: I think too tight of standards does not allow people to develop their own convictions. They may say they do... but do they really? Or are they blindly following the church discipline out of fear? The thing I have against a heavy rulebook is: 1) people will find a loophole 2) Or they just get sneakier and do it anyway.

I think we can make this argument in either direction.
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Re: Individualism In The Church

Post by Hats Off »

Sudsy wrote:This topic has often been referred to as the affects the world has had on some church groups where the community or brethren togetherness has been replaced by individual forms of Christian practise. Some groups prefer having standards for all to follow whereas others prefer less control over their Christian practise. And there is quite a range of this within Anabaptism.

For those who care to, could we discuss individualism in the sense of individual groups within the church of Christ (meaning all born again believers regardless of church affiliation) and what this 'group individualism' does to the testimony of the bride of Christ.

The text - 1 Cor 1:12&13 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.” Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!

In the very earliest times of the church period we see The Church beginning to split into it's various groups and look at we are today. Split upon split. Division upon division. And most often, it is some attempt to follow the New Testament in a better way than the group being abandoned. Also, these breakaways have resulted in hatred and fightings, even wars, within Christianity and also within the sub group of Anabaptism. One can, and we do, argue that certain of these divisions were necessary to fight heresy. And so, we end up calling each other 'heretics' or 'liberals' or 'conservatives' or other names making sure we are known to be separate from them. And I think many of us agree that this does not make Christianity appear very unified.

Some of the divisions were necessary so that we could all practise our faith in a way
and at a place where we are comfortable. What has never been necessary is to call each other names. I do attempt to let people know that there are some things we do not believe to be scriptural. Many years ago I wrote a letter to the editor of our local paper in response to news story about a Mennonite Conference held locally. Some of the items discussed were about using lottery money for certain church programs. There also was discussion about divorce and remarriage among Mennonites. I pointed out that this conference did not represent all area Mennonites; that there were Mennonites who do not believe that these topics are open for discussion. I did not knock that Conference but simply reported that not all Mennonites are open to considering the same topics. I did receive a long letter from an offended deacon in that Conference to which I did not reply because I was not interested in disputing what they were discussing.


I'm wondering if, instead of majoring on our differences, which is the bulk of threads here (whether it is between Anabaptists and non-Anabaptists or between the various sub groups within Anabaptism, the liberal to conservative range debates) we can find a way to focus on our oneness in Christ and as Paul says ” Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!

Now I know this isn't the first time this or something similar has been suggested here by others but we continue to spend much time and effort over what divides us than what unites us. Do we think this is something God approves ?

I feel quite strongly that their are topics which I do not agree with and will post my thoughts with the same intent as I wrote my letter to the editor. For the NMBs which frequent this forum, I want them to know that among Mennonites there are varying ideas on what is acceptable practise.

Just saying the individualism that is often fought against on a individual person level is also destructive as group individualism level as we do not treat others within the Church of Christ well as brothers and sisters in the Lord. All of these factions we are now involved in were not desired by Jesus so can we not say we are deliberately sinning to the extent that we point out each other's weaknesses in doctrine and practise ?

No, I would not admit to deliberately sinning when I point out how I feel about something. While I respect all believers, there are always things I need to disagree with, not stubbornly, but where scripture is plain to me I should not have to apologize for obeying as I understand it.

I believe a few comments I made here will trigger some challenges. I feel I have personally not been positive enough regarding our oneness in Christ and am guilty of challenging how others follow Him. I aim to correct this and would like to hear how others see this 'warring' that so often occurs on forums. This is not the only one, for sure.
I do agree that there are many areas where we can and do have common ground and we need to address those as well. But if I never express disagreement than I am not being honest either.
Last edited by Hats Off on Mon Oct 09, 2017 4:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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