Sunday, October 15, 2006
Freedom of conscience
Since I was in Wichita, Kan., on a Sunday morning, I attended University Congregational Church, the interim pastor of which is the father of the pastor of Mayflower Congregational UCC Church in Oklahoma City, where I'm a member.
Suffice it to say the pastoral acorn didn't fall far from the tree, the music was exquisite and I'm very glad I went.
Good stuff from the University Congregational Church flier:
We are covenantal, not creedal. That is, we make a simple "agreement" to live together as people inspired by Christ's life and teaching, seeking to know the truth and do good work in our world. While most churches place great emphasis on a creed -- a written or unwritten interpretation of important Bible verses one is expected to accept and defend upon becoming a member -- we have no such requirement. We do not make judgments about where people are before we accept them. We merely seek their company on a long, exciting road of learning about Christ and his kingdom of justice, peace and love in the world.
We really do believe in the freedom of individual conscience. With no formal or itemized creed, we do not bind statements of faith on our fellow seekers. We would not expect a person to become a member of this church who did not believe that Christ has the answers about how to live. However, just how Jesus came into this world, how he went out of it, whether he will come again physically, and what might be the accurate translation of what he said are all concepts left to each individual's conscience as we study the Bible together. We feel it is impossible, given the complexity of scripture and the differing mental attitudes and capacities of people, to create a church in which everybody thinks exactly alike.
Amen!
--ER
Suffice it to say the pastoral acorn didn't fall far from the tree, the music was exquisite and I'm very glad I went.
Good stuff from the University Congregational Church flier:
We are covenantal, not creedal. That is, we make a simple "agreement" to live together as people inspired by Christ's life and teaching, seeking to know the truth and do good work in our world. While most churches place great emphasis on a creed -- a written or unwritten interpretation of important Bible verses one is expected to accept and defend upon becoming a member -- we have no such requirement. We do not make judgments about where people are before we accept them. We merely seek their company on a long, exciting road of learning about Christ and his kingdom of justice, peace and love in the world.
We really do believe in the freedom of individual conscience. With no formal or itemized creed, we do not bind statements of faith on our fellow seekers. We would not expect a person to become a member of this church who did not believe that Christ has the answers about how to live. However, just how Jesus came into this world, how he went out of it, whether he will come again physically, and what might be the accurate translation of what he said are all concepts left to each individual's conscience as we study the Bible together. We feel it is impossible, given the complexity of scripture and the differing mental attitudes and capacities of people, to create a church in which everybody thinks exactly alike.
Amen!
--ER
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"We feel it is impossible, given the complexity of scripture and the differing mental attitudes and capacities of people, to create a church in which everybody thinks exactly alike."
Impossible, and besides, who'd want it?!
Great Covenant/flyer thingee.
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Impossible, and besides, who'd want it?!
Great Covenant/flyer thingee.
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