Christian Direction and Identity

[JackRT]

I have only just noticed that rather surprisingly this thread is in the Creation and Theistic Evolution Forum. Teilhard de Chardin spent most of his life working on this, which for me establishes with Christian Identity and Direction.
He saw evolution moving from the geosphere, then through the biosphere towards a noosphere (not his word), culminating in the Omega, the Second Coming of Christ. The noosphere would be a universal joining of minds under the authority of his God (he was a Roman Catholic priest), anticipating perhaps the World Wide Web.
I trust that addresses the title of this thread.

Here is something that I wrote about 25 years ago:

Back in the 1950's the Jesuit priest and paleontologist Pere Tielhard DeChardin wrote a book in which he attempted to reconcile evolution and theology. It is called "The Phenomenon of Man". He posits that intelligence and consciousness are tied to the complexity of the entity, starting with elementary particles and on up. For example, an atom would have more consciousness than its component protons, neutrons and electrons. At the atomic and molecular level the degree of consciousness is still too small for us to detect. He also suggests certain critical ‘quantum jumps’ like when a very complex hydrocarbon molecule becomes a living cell. To cut to the chase, he suggests an "Omega Point" when humanity is so linked that the planet itself becomes a living organism of a higher order. The comparison is made to a beehive. The individual bees display a low order of intelligence and consciousness but, when we consider that of the hive as a whole, it is orders of magnitude above that of its components. The hive itself behaves as an intelligent and conscious entity. Is this the fate of humanity? Is it possible that the internet itself might be the very sort of linkage by which such a quantum leap might be facilitated? Are we approaching Tielhard's Omega Point?

 

[timothyu]

Is it possible that the internet itself might be the very sort of linkage by which such a quantum leap might be facilitated? Are we approaching Tielhard's Omega Point?

The internet leaves little space for higher intelligence Like in society when self interest overrides responsibility, the structure weakens. There is a reason God scattered the people at Babel.

 

[LoG]

Haha great topic even if it is perhaps in the wrong section. Could say it fits under the Evolution of Christianity!

In all honesty I learned more about the bible and how to be a Christian through doing the 12 Steps of a recovery program then I did growing up in a Orthodox Reformed church. Perhaps I am just denser than most and needed the precise and explicit directions I found in 12 step groups, fueled by realizing I was drinking myself to death and all the prayers (when i could bring myself to pray) weren't helping.

Looking back I would say that "by faith alone" is just not enough and one must come to a point of realizing that "faith without works is dead". The church I grew up in emphasized the former rather than the latter and I suspect that is the case with many churches today.

My understanding of first century Christianity is that it was like how these 12 Step groups operate. Groups of believers meeting together and sharing among themselves how to overcome the various problems each had through living the sort of life through the spirit that Jesus talked about in the Gospels. No Priestcraft or heavy reliance on any sort of leaders.

 

[eleos1954]

In the decades and centuries following the earliest post-Resurrection days of Christianity, the Greek language and philosophies, the Roman law and institutional concepts, Mediterranean art and previous deities, and so on, all influenced the formulation of the Christian religion.

Yet the original 'church', the Way, was not a religion but a way of life built upon the principles of putting the will of the Father ahead of our own and loving all as self... living an almost communal lifestyle. Had it been allowed to grow, what would the world be like today? Which direction more emulates the Kingdom of God?

Jesus called himself “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Early Christians were called followers of “the Way”, not simply because of the way they lived, but precisely because of who they followed. The Way is not simply a set of behaviors, but a person. It is only by trusting in and following the one who is the Way (Jesus) that we enter into the life that is truly life and come to know the Father.

The Way ... are those following believing in and following Jesus and are His church.

 

[Norman70]

As with all of God’s gifts to man, science, technology, engineering, etc., given to us to enable us to draw closer to Him, the devil intervenes and causes us to abuse them. But it is our choice, we cannot blame the devil. Another of God's gifts was our free will.
I have started writing a story, but I am unlikely to finish it. It is pure science fiction based on a world wide anarchist society thousands of years from now, which came about, not only from present day political unrest, but also the spread of information by the use of the Internet and the general population learning about the ways of living by present day, again, intentional societies. I think they are onto something.

 

[timothyu]

My understanding of first century Christianity is that it was like how these 12 Step groups operate. Groups of believers meeting together and sharing among themselves how to overcome the various problems each had through living the sort of life through the spirit that Jesus talked about in the Gospels. No Priestcraft or heavy reliance on any sort of leaders.

Like I mentioned...'The narrow path listens. They are the ones within a minority within Christianity that help their fellow man without judgement, offering to stand by those who have become lost physically or morally, so that they may not feel alone while others judge or shame them.'

 

[timothyu]

As for where this thread should go.. one needs a doctorate to figure out this website. But the mods are free to place this where they want.

However consider that God created a timeless, universal system for us to live within, loving others as self, putting others before self (including God). Man builds a religion which evolves and grows, influenced by societal/cultural standards of the time as mentioned in the op.

 

[Eloy Craft]

The first CHristians gathered around a ritual. The breaking of bread. Not only was it a religion it was a cult.

 

[Peter J Barban]

In the decades and centuries following the earliest post-Resurrection days of Christianity, the Greek language and philosophies, the Roman law and institutional concepts, Mediterranean art and previous deities, and so on, all influenced the formulation of the Christian religion.

Yet the original 'church', the Way, was not a religion but a way of life built upon the principles of putting the will of the Father ahead of our own and loving all as self... living an almost communal lifestyle. Had it been allowed to grow, what would the world be like today? Which direction more emulates the Kingdom of God?

I don't think the earliest church was God's long term intended model. It is certainly not taught in the Bible as the community we should become.

However, if you like that kind of community, you can certainly find or create a Christian commune that simulates what the Bible describes. I lived in one such community for a month in the Philippines.

Communal living works great as long as the money keeps coming in from the outside. But when external money dries up, communes fall apart. That is because communes attract freeloaders. Of course, you could ask the Holy Spirit to kill all the freeloaders.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

I don't think the earliest church was God's long term intended model. It is certainly not taught in the Bible as the community we should become.

They obeyed Jesus. THEY heard the Shepherds Voice and followed Him. WHO DOES TODAY ?

You think something else should be done instead of obeying Jesus !?

 

[timothyu]

I don't think the earliest church was God's long term intended model.

It is the model of the Kingdom. Putting others before self has been his will since the beginning.

I wasn't talking communes but the concept of communal sharing, helping out all in a jamb, good Samaritan ideals. etc.

Jesus told us not to rebel against the governments and ways of man,but instead to live in the way of the Kingdom . A way which runs contrary to the traditional self serving ways of man. The world will hate us for it as He said it would because we don't play by the rules of their system..

 

[Peter J Barban]

The Apostle Paul was the first intentional missionary and church planter. His letters contain all manner of instruction and correction for churches, yet there is nothing about communal living.

Likewise, the Council of Jerusalem is silent on communal living.

 

[timothyu]

yet there is nothing about communal living.

See post 51.

As an added note, Paul's letters may have been used in the establishment of the religious system, but there are also three references to him teaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. This of course would not appeal to those more interested in religion building. It is a pity more of His teachings about Jesus's Gospel were not included. They must have existed.

 

[Peter J Barban]

This utopian thinking is outside the mainstream of Biblical theology. But it is common in cults.

Everything is great until you have to drink the poisoned cool-aid.

 

[timothyu]

outside the mainstream of Biblical theology

So was Jesus' Gospel of the Kingdom. The Kingdom was called upside down compared to the world and ways of man. So was His commandment to put the will of God before our own and love all as self. Also upside down to the traditional ways of man. Theology is but religious human philosophy.

 

[Sketcher]

In the decades and centuries following the earliest post-Resurrection days of Christianity, the Greek language and philosophies, the Roman law and institutional concepts, Mediterranean art and previous deities, and so on, all influenced the formulation of the Christian religion.

Yet the original 'church', the Way, was not a religion but a way of life built upon the principles of putting the will of the Father ahead of our own and loving all as self... living an almost communal lifestyle. Had it been allowed to grow, what would the world be like today? Which direction more emulates the Kingdom of God?

It was a religion by the time James wrote James 1:26-27, which was very early in the history of the Christian faith. One can make various points about the character of the religion, but it was and is still a religion.

 

[JackRT]

It was a religion by the time James wrote James 1:26-27, which was very early in the history of the Christian faith. One can make various points about the character of the religion, but it was and is still a religion.

The Letter of James dates to about AD 100. At that time Christianity was on its way to becoming a religion but was still a Jewish sect. Certainly by the end of the second century it could be called a religion.

 

[Norman70]

Jesus never intended to start a new religion. There were plenty of them around, and had been for the thousands of years that evolution brought homo sapiens sapiens onto this world, cave paintings, belief in life after death, rituals, sacrifice and all. All of them the constructs of man. Jesus offered something else, a spiritual connection with a single God, the creator of the universe. Atheists stay away from this discussion because even science, a gift from this God, is showing more and more that the universe did not come about by chance, nor life within it.
Of course Christianity is a religion, and that is where it all went wrong. I was introduced to the phrase the universal church of Christ by an SDA Quarterly "Oneness in Christ", I was impressed, writing "church" with a lower case "C", saving the upper case for established mainstream denominations, sects and cults. The Quarterly is used in their Sabbath School for discussion purposes, and one question in it asked members to say what their own Church could do to get closer to the ideas of the universal church of Christ - an anarchist idea I thought, reading the Quarterly. They just laughed and said it would not work, they laughed at their own Quarterly.

 

[Eloy Craft]

I think when Christians were no longer welcome in the synagogue it was obvious they were distinct. The Christians worshipped on the first day of the week gathered around the table of the Lord to break bread. They did that religiously.

 

[timothyu]

on the first day of the week gathered around the table of the Lord to break bread. They did that religiously.

That was called breaking the fast of the Sabbath. The Gentile religion took subtle steps to de-Jew their religion, in this case redefining what was once done..