From: Ascmjk@aol.com
Date: Sun Nov 21 2004 - 23:28:31 GMT
In a message dated 11/21/2004 4:49:15 P.M. Central Standard Time,
marshalz@i-2000.com writes:
I do not see a separation between the church and Christianity, even if
there is a variety of practices. You tell me, what makes a person a
Christian? Who teaches Christian beliefs? How long would Christianity,
as a system of belief, survive without the church?
I believe you CAN separate Christianity from the church, as you can separate
embracing patterns of thought while rejecting the schools that first taught
them (you could have something to add to their initial theory, which they
reject). One could argue that Christianity existed before the Christian church
did. Those who we now label as the first Christians, did not even call
themselves "Christians" (that was a term that, for all practical purposes, evolved
into existence, in much the way nations like France evolved into existence).
I've always rejected the line of thinking that says you can't deviate from
agreed-upon (official) definitions found in dictionaries, especially when
thinking in theoretical terms. An "inch" doesn't exist in reality--people have
agreed how much is an inch, as with weight. Stories exist...before the books
record them...and after the books are burned. That is the truth.
Jon
MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org
Mail Archives:
Aug '98 - Oct '02 - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
Nov '02 Onward - http://www.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/summary.html
MD Queries - horse@darkstar.uk.net
To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at:
http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon Nov 22 2004 - 03:13:28 GMT