FOR FAIR USE AND EDUCATION AND DISCUSSION PURPOSES




II Corinthians 6:17..."Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye SEPARATE, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."


As I look back and see all of the arguments that happen between members of the "body of Christ", I can see where they ALL originate. They come from PEOPLE who sit in a pew to learn FROM OTHER MEN the doctrines they believe. Where do Pastors (or "educated" Bible teachers) learn their doctrines? From other "men" or from those who have had "seminary training".

I respect our "webmaster" and his decision to not argue doctrine, but as a member of the "body of Christ", I feel that I must point out to others that what they learn may not be the truth because of the ORIGIN of their doctrines.

I Corinthians 14:33..."For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."

A "church" has NEVER been a building, nor was it ever meant to be. But, it seems that Satan has put this BUILDING (set up by men) as the GREATEST HINDRANCE TO THE TRUTH that there has ever been....and it has caused ENDLESS CONFUSION, ARGUMENTS, AND DIVISIONS in the "body of Christ".

Another site I came to today by "accident" which seemed to exude just about everything I have been thinking lately....and what God must be thinking and feeling as He watches his "one body" disintegrating into fragments:

http://www.wickedshepherds.com/TheChristianChurchDistortedandDeformed.html


Piece of one of the sections in the article:


"It was not long after Jesus left this earth that Satan came among the disciples and began to change their focus and consequently, what they were doing. Using his "craftiness" and his "burning arrows," Satan changed the center of their attention from Jesus and each other, to an organization; a building called the church. He changed what they spent their time thinking about and doing; from serving the Lord, to serving the church and it's been that way ever since.

Anyone who has ever participated in the building, maintenance and operations of a church building knows how time-consuming that can be. Many conscientious people believe they are serving the Lord when they are serving only the needs of church-owned real estate with an uncontrolled appetite for time, effort, and money. Just think of the time, energy, and money each building takes that otherwise would have been spent doing the things the first century Christians did.

Not only that, instead of depending on the Lord for the words to say, the things to do, and the places to go, as the early disciples did, Satan taught us to build theological seminaries, preaching schools, leadership training schools, ministerial academies, and to conduct endless pastoral workshop conferences. How else can the church find qualified ministers, pastors, preachers, elders, deacons, if they don't have a system to train them properly in that particular church's doctrine? Think of the time, effort and money siphoned away from the work of our Lord with that stratagem of Satan's!

Then, there is the whole mentality of "image" and "formality," Satan's chicanery at it's finest. When you read the New Testament, you don't see anything very formal among the early disciples. Can you imagine Paul, placing himself on an elevated platform (stage), behind a pulpit (which he must have to hold his notes) at the Corinthian church plant with all lights focused on him, talking to a group of people whose seating is arranged for the best view of him (even though they are looking at the backs of each other's heads)? "

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Arlene