William Knelsen As I wait in hope for the Lord.

Archive for the Emergent Church Category

Pure Water

April 17, 2011

If the church is the glass and the water is the message, Bonhoeffer would not like what is happening in the emergent church in regards to preaching:

Anyone who is thirsty will drink water from any utensil, even if it is somewhat inconvenient. And it is better to take some trouble in getting the water pure than to drink polluted water out of a glass. (A Testament to Freedom, 151.)

The emergent church is attempting to make the church inviting for anyone by preaching non-threatening messages. By saying that their message is just part of a conversation, and that they don’t actually have the truth (Listening to the beliefs of emerging churches, 179.), they are presenting polluted water in a clean glass.

More to come on Bonhoeffer as I finish the first draft of my paper.

The Bible as Final Authority

April 16, 2011

I am working on an essay for my Issues in Contemporary Theology class, for which I am reading about the emergent church. One of the books I’m reading is called Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches, in which Doug Pagitt raises an interesting question. He believes final authority is better placed in the Holy Spirit rather than Scripture. He quotes John 14:23-26, which is Jesus instructing his disciples to obey his word, and goes on to say that the Holy Spirit will teach and bring remembrance all that Jesus said to them.

My question is, what’s the difference between placing final authority in Scripture or in the Holy Spirit? Isn’t Scripture inspired by God, thus being the very words of the Holy Spirit? Could bringing remembrance mean that the disciples would record the words of Jesus and we would one day hold the Scriptures in our hands and read them? He doesn’t address this in the book, but I wonder how he would respond. Another question that comes to mind is whether or not Doug believes Scripture is indeed inspired by God.