Church?

[Sabatismos]

Perhaps, "church" doesn't really mean "church" in Greek? Anyone agree? Does "ekklesia" mean something different besides the "Anglo" understanding of the English word "church"?

Sabatismos

 

[MikeMcK]

Perhaps, "church" doesn't really mean "church" in Greek? Anyone agree? Does "ekklesia" mean something different besides the "Anglo" understanding of the English word "church"?

Sabatismos

It doesn't literally mean "church". Literally, it means "the ones who are called out". That is, seperated for a holy purpose. The idea behind it is like a group of sheep seperated from a larger herd.

But we see the word applied to the church throughout the scriptures because that's essentially what the church is: Christ's sheep seperated and called out of a large herd of goats.

 

[E.C.]

Perhaps, "church" doesn't really mean "church" in Greek? Anyone agree? Does "ekklesia" mean something different besides the "Anglo" understanding of the English word "church"?

Sabatismos

I believe it actually means "assembly".

Someone posted what it means in TAW.

 

[mont974x4]

Here's the Greek, from Strongs Concordance

G1577
ἐκκλησία
ekklēsia
ek-klay-see'-ah
From a compound of G1537 and a derivative of G2564; a calling out, that is, (concretely) a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both): - assembly, church.


Looking in the NT the context varies so the application varies. IN general it is every believer that makes up the Church at large, or the univeral church...like in Matthew 16:18. However, it also means specific fellowships....local assemblies such as the church at Corinth or the ones that met in specific homes (1 Cor 16:19, Col 4:15, Phm 1:2)

 

[cyberlizard]

spooky thing is, ecclesia and synagog are interchangeable words (mind numbing)... i could say i am going to synagogue on sunday (that would confuse folks)

 

[Peter]

spooky thing is, ecclesia and synagog are interchangeable words (mind numbing)... i could say i am going to synagogue on sunday (that would confuse folks)

Then tell them you're Orthodox!!!!

 

[MrGoodbar]

spooky thing is, ecclesia and synagog are interchangeable words (mind numbing)

I don't think this is true. The roots are different, from essentially those "gathered together (synagogos)" to those "called out ones (ecclesia)." They may get translated in a similar way, in boiling both down to "meeting" or "assembly" but the nuance in Greek is lost if so.

 

[cyberlizard]

I don't think this is true. The roots are different, from essentially those "gathered together (synagogos)" to those "called out ones (ecclesia)." They may get translated in a similar way, in boiling both down to "meeting" or "assembly" but the nuance in Greek is lost if so.

read the septuagaint, and stop reading ecclesia 'as called out ones' - this is the definition usually trotted out by christians to justify their own position. Both words do mean the same thing (if your grasp of greek is good, you could look at some secular greek books of the period).

Steve

p.s. the word ecclesia was not simply invented for the 'church'

 

[MrGoodbar]

Respectfully,

I don't think its "trotting out" a definition when you break down a compound Greek word into its components. I'm not going to argue with you, and I certainly don't think the word was invented for the church. Contrary to what you seem to have taken from my post, I have no evangelical motivation behind my translation. I was posting as one interested in nothing more than the Greek. These two terms may be used at times to refer to similar things, but the words themselves are not "interchangeable."