No Experience Necessary

"In the beginner's mind
there are many possibilities,
but in the expert's there are few."

- Shunryu Suzuki

I read a fascinating book recently; called "The Christian Conspiracy," by L. David Moore. It makes a very strong and convincing argument that most people who identify themselves as Christians today are actually followers of Augustine, Tertullian, Athanasius and Jerome, or, if Protestant, are followers of Luther, Calvin, Wimber, Fox, and many others rather than Christ, but they don't know it.

As in most arguments - there are at least two sides. One side would be represented by those who say that without the formation and organization of the Church by the founding fathers, it would not have survived in its true form. Then there are those that would say that it did not need to be "formed" as it is a Divine institution under the care of the Holy Spirit that is eternally present.

I can argue both sides of the issue. History has certainly shown that a lot of "damage" has been done in the name of Christ by those who claimed to be "preserving" or "purifying" the institution of the church. However, it could also be shown that a lot of great good has been done by those who acted upon the words of Christ preserved by those same institutions.

THE CHURCH AS A BOAT

When Jesus spoke to the people He would sometimes climb a hill so that they were able to see and hear Him more clearly, other times He would climb aboard a boat and push out from the shore and achieve the same objective. The important thing to Him was that everyone heard what He had to say.

I think that somehow over time we have grown to place too much importance on the means and not enough on the end result. In other words - the owners of the boat have perhaps overstated the value of their contribution to the delivery of the message!!

The early Apostles of Jesus were not experienced theologians or scholars - they were not illiterate perhaps, but they were certainly not "experts" on theology. Ironically though, seminary students spend years studying the words of a simple bunch of fisherman - for through them come the very words of God!

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

In the early days of the Church, i.e. the first two hundred years or so - there was a very fluid nature to the structure of the organization - when an issue needed to be resolved the leaders (those appointed by mutual agreement) would gather and come to a compromised solution. I find it ironic that in the very early days the issue of who Jesus was didn't seem to be a subject of disagreement, or even of that much importance compared to the more pressing immediate needs of the community. Even Jesus seemed to leave the decision about His true identity to the opinion of His close friends and disciples. (I guess He felt that it was more spiritually beneficial for them to figure it out than for Him to just tell them.) The whole messy debate over the nature of Christ didn't become an issue of disagreement until the organization of the Church became a matter of political importance under the rule of Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century. So the Ecumenical Council met and laid out the "standard" definition of the Trinity and the nature of Christ. Thus were created the positions of "experts" in theology. Thus the Church began to tell people what was true - rather than having the people experience the truth for themselves.

This seems to be the downfall of "experts" in any subject. They want you to believe what they say because they say it rather than for you to discover the facts for yourself through observation of reality.

When Jesus was challenged by John the Baptist's disciples to identify Himself as the Messiah, this is how He responded:

"Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them." - Matthew 11:4-6

Jesus didn't respond with a thesis or exposition on the validation of fulfilled prophecy - He merely referred to the evidence of observable experience.

ABANDON SHIP....(or boat)

Someone pointed out to me once that it is the nature of a successful student to copy the teacher - for example, when learning a skill, it's important to remember all the actions and instructions of the teacher and to repeat them until the practice becomes intuitive and natural. At this point, the student can then drop those parts of the process that are characteristic of the teacher but unnecessary for the student. In this way the student personalizes or owns the process. This is the nature of discipleship.

I can't help thinking that if the attitude of the disciples had been the same as that developed later by the Church - all sermons or homilies would be spoken off-shore in a boat!!!