But for those of us who are refugees from the One True Church, the church of Christ, this is pretty awesome.
For us refugees, adding a piano to the worship service isn’t a big deal, but fellowshipping with other churches is huge.
And thanks, Bro. Tom, for the link.
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Only in fundie churches is “fellowshipping” used as a verb.
You are most probably right.
Which “Church of Christ” is the One True Church? There are two at least, and the article hints to a third branch and maybe a fourth.
There are most likely more than that. It’s non-denominational and as such there isn’t any quality control. The church in which I was raised, sprung from the Stone-Campbell movement, considered itself the One, True Church. I can’t speak for the others. I believe my own church was just about as strict/harsh/exclusive as any.
I like the part where there were “too many denominations,” so they started another one. And it’s interesting that, even though there is no church hierarchy (right?), there are still critics.
But I’m confused, too. This helps, but only a little:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ
That IS confusing. Maybe if you typed in “One, True Church, the Rest of Y’all Are Burning In Hell and the Flesh’s Gonna Melt From Your Bones.” Church-of-God-in-Christ Holiness Tabernacle of Faith. Yeah, it’s long, but there you are.
Still working on your book. I’ll learn more, there.
I was surprised a few years ago when the new One True Church minister (?) came to Birmingham and we became good friends. I even invited him to make remarks at my retirement party.
We still go out to eat at an Indian restaurant whenever he comes to Montgomery. He doesn’t mind at all that the restaurant is operated by non-One True Church people. The food and the conversation is good, and that’s what matters to us!
He’s gone rogue, then. HAHAHA and ha.
Well, he got a divorce and I went with him to his house when he had to confront his now ex-wife.
Phew. Hope things worked out for him and the ex.
Their divorce is final and they have sort of joint custody of their three children.
BTW, he’s with the “a capella only” branch of the OTC.
Ah, there are more hoops through which to jump. When they took communion, did they use one cup or a lot of little shot glasses? This is imporant. Well, it isn’t really important but my church split over this once.
Don’t know about one-cup or shot glasses in his church. I’ve only been to one of his services, and that was a funeral–no communion.
Ah. There are further divisions based on how one takes one’s communion.
“Too many denominations,” that’s for sure. There are about 100 Baptist denominations in the USA.
Then, of course, there are the so-called “non-denominational” churches, which don’t have controls or obligations to anyone but themselves. They get to keep the entire collection and do what they please with it.
That is a possibility though I have to say that for all the issues I had with my One, True Church, no one seemed to have cooked the books or taken money, etc.
Just for clarification–churches of Christ are not the only group that in the past and still in some cases in the present considered themselves the one true church. It does not make it right–but that sin has been universal.
Oh, absolutely. And bless all their hearts.
Jones had died and gone to heaven and, as a reward for a most exemplary life, was given the grand tour. To his amazement he found that heaven was made up of many sectors, each utterly different.
He passed though the Jewish heaven where millions of people in prayer shawls sang exultantly before the Ark of the Covenant. Then there was the Catholic heaven filled with organ music and incense, where an eternal mass was celebrated in a star-high, skywide cathedral.
“Oh,” said the archangelic guide, “we’re ecumenical here; we have something for every taste. After all, a good man is a good man and deserves his reward whatever little difference in ritual may exist. Over there is the Moslem heaven with its houris; yonder the Budhist heaven of contemplation and nirvana. An here — here is rather a little curiosity.”
They crossed a bridge of the firmament and entered into a scene of whitwashed simplicity in which a relatively small number of men and women were singing hymns.
The guide tiptoed past and whispered, “This is a small sect of Christians called Sandemanians. There were only a few thousand altogether. The great scientist Michael Faraday was one. You can see him there.”
“Fascinating,” whispered Jones. “But tell me, why are we whispering?”
“Because they musn’t hear us. They think they’re the only ones here.”
– as told by Isaac Asimov
That came from Isaac Asimov? We used to tell that one on ourselves — church of Christ. Cool!
When Jesus got to UU heaven, he found a big coffee urn, and folks forming committees to have Social Justice and get everyone in, while supporting those who had different versions of heaven. And there was a potluck.
My kinda heaven…