On labels and control
One of the subthemes of this blog is the call to rise above all of the "-isms" that plague the church and simply to proclaim Jesus Christ and him crucified. That's why I enjoyed Dan McGowan's recent post on the absurdity of labels in both life and the church:
I am not a Charistmatic or Pentecostal or Presbyterian or Baptist or Methodist or Conservative or Liberal or Emergant or Postmodern or Revolutionary - - those are titles and labels.Sounds right to me.
I am a Christian - who follows Christ - who is SOMETIMES charistmatic & pentecostal & reformed & conservative & liberal & childish & impatient & emerging & revolutionary & stubborn...
Label me if you must. But your labels have nothing to do with who I REALLY am.
posted by Milton Stanley at 11:19 AM
4 Comments:
Sorry, Milton ... gotta disagree with that one. If everyone in the church universally agreed in even the smallest matters of doctrine, that would make sense, but we can't even determine how to govern ourselves uniformly, nor can we determine to worship uniformly. We have more things about which to disagree than I could possibly list here. If McGowan is saying that he's ready to go become a part of the one Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, the ONLY church of which I know that insists it's THE Church and has said so consistently for its entire existence the longest, then perhaps I'd buy it.
But he isn't. And since he isn't, the claim is ACTUALLY boastful and elitist in the worst kind of Corinthian way -- "I am of Christ," i.e., I don't identify myself with Paul or Apollos, these "mere men." No, I follow Christ alone! Sounds great, but the way I read Paul, it's no better than the rest of us "splitters."
Being labeled a Christian is being labeled. So it isn't the labeling that is being contested, but only the degree of labeling. And then there are all sorts of disagreements on the defintion of "Christian"! I think the argument is only one that can be made to sound good on paper, but which can never be put into practical effect.
You're right there -- ALL arguments sound good on paper! :)
Still, there remains the issue of how we choose to order our life in Christ together, and THOSE issues are real.
Mike and Anon: Thanks for your interaction with both this and Dan's posts. Mike, you're right that "of Christ" can become a divisive label in itself. As always with your dissenting comments, you've prompted me to take a second look at my position. Peace.
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