Friday, April 11, 2014

The Emergent Church


The emergent church has its roots all the way back in the Middle Ages with Thomas Aquinas.  Thomas Aquinas, a monk, believed man had revolted against God and that, while the human will was corrupted, the intellect was fine.  Aristotle emphasized particulars (men and things) and sought to find a meaning for man and life. Aristotle also sought to find the basis for morals.  Aristotle’s teaching led to people questioning whether the Bible was necessary to find truth.  Later on in history, humanism began to enter the church and soon the authority of the church became greater than that of the Bible.  God’s commands were exchanged for church traditions.  John Wycliffe and John Hus said that the Bible is the only and supreme authority and men needed to return to it.  Here we see the beginning of the corruption of the Church by humanism.

Today the emergent church targets young people in their 20s and 30s.  Church leaders noticed a decline in membership among the young people who had been affected by post-modernist thinking.  One of the emergent church leaders said Christianity is not about uniformity.  While all churches may not worship at the exact same time each Sunday and may not sing the same songs, or pray the same prayers, God has told us in His infallible word the way He wants us to worship Him.  If we stray from what He has commanded, are we not wrong in our actions and worship?  The emergent church is to be a place of dialogue and conversation where one can go to experience God. Where can one go to experience God more than reading His word?  Emergent churches are simply traditions of men that are not rooted firmly in what God commanded. 

Postmodernism as seen by a comedian is the most aggressively inarticulate generation in a long time.  Under postmodernism is not cool to be knowledgeable or believe strongly in what you talk about.  It is not cool to be a nerd, to be personally invested in something, or to have strong opinions.  People are unsure, have conflicting feelings, lack conviction and speak declarative sentences as questions.  We need to combat this lack of conviction and personal investment that we see all around us today in America.
 
 

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