“What Does Your Church Believe?”: Part II- Freedom of Belief

May 16, 2012May 16, 2012 / Rev. Evan Dolive / 7 Comments

This is the second installment of my “What Does Your Church Believe?” series. Last week I discussed the notion of open communion and the importance of it in DOC theology (click here for Part I). This week we will look at “Freedom of Belief.”

Back in the 19^th Century when the what is now know as the Disciples of Christ was beginning to form as a movement, one of the pillars that many lifted up was the notion of freedom of belief. Our founders came out of a Presbyterian background. While there is nothing wrong with being Presbyterian, the founders did not like the use of creeds in worship and as tools for believing the ‘right’ types of things. Over time the motto of the Disciples of Christ became “no creed, but Christ.” This means that we are called as followers of Christ to seek out a relationship with God in a way that is meaningful for ourselves, just as long as we center our beliefs on that idea that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.

We all come from different backgrounds, life experiences, socio-economic status, generations and education levels. We are NOT going to interpret the same thing even though we are reading the exact same passage. Some passages that were meaningful to us five years ago do not mean as much today. I like to give this example. My daughter, Violet, was born on February 1. On January 31, passages in the Bible that mentioned parenting, God as a loving parent, or that the people of Israel were God’s children, it not mean as much to me as they did when I read them on February 2.

Now if there was just one interpretation, who would get to decide which was “correct?” Would the Catholic interpretation be favored over the Baptist interpretation? Would the Presbyterians be “more correct” than the Methodists? As you can see this would cause major dissention between the denominations (and there is already enough of that to go around.)

Does Freedom of Belief mean you can believe whatever you want? In sense no. When reading the scriptures one has to remember the original intent of the book or passage one is reading; we can’t make the Bible “say” something that it never was intended to ‘say’ in the first place. The Disciples of Christ sum it up by stating “Persons are free to follow their consciences guided by the Holy Spirit, study and prayer, and are expected to extend that freedom to others.” The key here is extending grace and acceptance to others. We may not all believe the same things, we may all see something different when it comes to the Bible, but if we are grounded in the one essential of faith, Jesus Christ, then everything else is secondary.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

“What Does Your Church Believe?”: The Beginning of a Series

May 3, 2012May 7, 2012 / Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

I wrote this for my church’s newsletter and I thought I would share it on here as well. I will be posting this series as they come out. How do you respond to people when they ask you “what does your church believe?”

Enjoy!

As a minister I am often asked “what does your church believe”? I try to explain to them that within the walls of our church (and more than likely theirs as well) we can have a wide range of beliefs on most issues. Generally this is a bit puzzling for them. The follow up question is usually “doesn’t that cause problems within the church?” I usually smile and say “all the time, but that’s OK with me.” I truly believe what I said. Conversations about our faith and the questions that arise are vitally important. People today are seeking answers to life’s biggest questions. For many years people turned to the church to help ‘sort out’ their inquires but sometimes the answers they received were not good enough. Today, for the most part, people do not want to be told want to think or what to believe. They want to experience it for themselves and have a place to discern and evaluate their experiences. This is where the church comes in. The church needs to be a place of openness, a place where the questions are asked and the discussions are held.

As members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) we pride ourselves on being open and accepting of other belief systems and interpretations. We want to have discussions about faith and practical matters. That is why our founders believed in the motto “No creed but Christ.” We are called to live out our faith in a way that is in accord to teachings of Jesus Christ. If we are able to believe and affirm that Jesus Christ is the son of the Living God and offers saving grace to all of God’s children, everything else is just secondary.

I have heard it said that Disciples of Christ churches are the ‘best kept secret’ or ‘if people just knew what we stood for, they wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.’ Well for the next five weeks I am going to be discussing the some of the theological beliefs and practices associated with the Disciples. This will be by no means an exhaustive account but it should give you a good foundation to build from.

We are never too old to learn, grow, change, think, rethink and think again about the issues of faith. Our faith is never stagnate. I hope that this series will be one that is informative as well as challenging.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

And You Wonder Why People Aren’t Christians….

May 1, 2012May 1, 2012 / Rev. Evan Dolive / 1 Comment

I’ve said many times before that I believe that some people who were Christians and left the faith or those who reject Christianity altogether do so not because of any objection to the teachings of Jesus Christ. They object to the actions of Christians themselves.

This is just another example of how one stupid act can make all Christians look bad.

I give you once again, Dr. Terry Jones, Minister of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainsville, Florida. You may remember him as the person who wanted to burn the Koran (the holy text of Islam) on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th; he dubbed it “International Burn the Koran Day.” This event (which was eventually cancelled) made national headlines. The President, The Pope and countless others followers of Christ rejected the burning and rightfully so. It was pointless and hate filled.

Dr. Jones and his band of 50 or so followers have a hatred for the religion of Islam. They have even gone so far as to proclaim that Islam is of the devil and that it has a 1400 year history of rape and slavery. Jones even went to far in 2010 to put the Koran “on trail” where he was the judge and jury and lo and behold he found the Koran guilty.

Now Jones has upped the ante just a little bit more, he actually followed through with burning the Koran AND a picture of Mohammed. Read more about it here. In a video posted on YouTube Jones and others speak of the ills of Islam and how the followers of Islam must be converted to Christianity to be saved in the end times. To be honest, I tried to watch the 40+ minute video (the burning starting around minute 35 or so) but I couldn’t handle it. I skipped around through the video and heard three different people say the same thing but in different words.

The message is one directed to the Iranian government who is holding a Christian minister in jail. Dr. Jones believes that the Iranian government’s mind will be changed if they witness their holy book with an image of Mohammed being burned. Iran was quick to respond and denounce the act (read more here). I believe that they minister should be released too, but you dont see me going around lighting holy books on fire. What kind of reaction about Jones give if he saw the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, burn a copy of Bible and call out all of the times and ways that the Bible has been misused for the destruction of others and the world? My guess… he would not take it lying down…it might actually fuel his Islam hate firm more.

But alas while this didn’t make huge public headlines, its still a black eye for Christianity. People outside of Christianity need to know that this is not indicative of all Christians. This is not what the gospel is about. Maybe Dr. Jones forgot that whole passage about the spec in your neighbor’s eye and the log in your own. Maybe he forgot about Christ loving his neighbor. Maybe he forgot that even people who practice Islam are children of God. Maybe he forgot….

What Dr. Jones did was terrible with a “T.” It was heartless and disrespectful to a religion which for the most part has not done anything wrong to him. In most religions you are going to find radicals and fundamentalist who take their religion and doctrines to the extreme. Dove World Outreach Center joins the ranks of Westboro Baptist Church. They are in an elite class of Christians who give Christians a bad name. Yes they are trying to live out their faith and yes they have that freedom. But when action go against the central teachings of Jesus Christ, then they have missed the point. Jesus Christ’s message was one that brought wholeness to people not hate. What good could be done in Gainsville if that small group of Christians turned their attention to the hurting, the forgotten, to the lonely instead of the “evils” of Islam.

Ironically, Jones serves a congregation named after the bird of peace… the dove. May he forgot that too.

Below is the video if you care to watch it.