Simple Christianity vs. Churchianity:

The Way Forward is Back to Basics

De: Stan Paregien

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

In this book, Stan Paregien’s goal is to instill hope in those who feel unspiritual, depressed, and defeated because they are caught up in the web of do-it-yourself, every-man-for-himself religion. Both ultra-liberalism and ultra-conservatism fall into the burdensome trap sometimes called Churchianity. That happens when clergymen or others set themselves up as infallible guardians of their sect’s warped idea of religious orthodoxy. Churchianity demands obedience to the “authority” of the clergy or to denominational rule books rather than the Bible. Loving obedience to God is replaced by robot-like rule-keeping. The people caught up in churchianity see the body of Christ as just another institution like a Country Club. They label non-conformists who walk outside of their man-made traditions as traitors and enemies, not as brothers and sisters who hold to alternative beliefs. They go about recruiting other “members” and their money by stressing the fringe benefits of “church membership.” Things like business connections, finding a mate, social activities, certain wealth and prosperity, and community prestige. Churchianity is a disease of the heart and a form of toxic pseudo-Christianity. Instead of that superficial religiosity, simple Christianity encourages each believer to study the Bible for himself. It urges each believer to use his God-given intellect to reach his own conclusions and to stand tall and to walk as a free person in Christ. It promotes the concept of “the priesthood of all believers.” Each of us has been given one or more gifts by the Holy Spirit, gifts which are to be used to bless others. That includes such things as the gifts of “preaching,” “teaching,” “hospitality,” “leadership,” “singing and music,” “organizing,” and much more. In other words, we are to mirror the life of Jesus by doing good, never harm, wherever we may go. Simple Christianity emphasizes the core beliefs of Christians that still draw people of faith together. Those are our belief in one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism (Ephesians 4:4-5). And the most important one, the essence of the New Covenant, was stressed by Jesus and must be by us as well:Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.” (Emphasis mine. Matthew 22:37-40; The Message version).We rejoice when a person comes to faith in Jesus and joins us in saying the most basic creedal statement of all, “Jesus is Lord” (i.e., Jesus is my ruler; see 1 Corinthians 12:3; Romans 10:9; Philippians 2:11). In other words, in simple Christianity we stress our many points of agreement with other believers rather than any points of disagreement. The author starts with man’s need for a Savior. Then he documents how God slowly revealed more and more of himself (his “light”) over thousands of years, culminating of the process of salvation by grace through faith. In Chapter 10, he tells in more detail how the original simple Christianity became today’s rigid churchianity. That is following by a story of how simple Christianity can flourish, again, by each of us being more and more like Jesus.