Darn tootin' you know where this is going. So you are the guy who will know what is objective and what is subjective when it comes to morality. Good to know.
Now my problem is that others have told me the exact same thing. And I will guarantee that you and all of the others will not have the same views when it comes to determining the solution to moral problems. I don't know what denomination you are but I'm sure that you know that there are very many. Agreeing on some things but not on all. And many divisions within each denomination. Who disagree with each other. And many disagreements between people within those divisions (I won't even bother mentioning that there are other monotheistic religions with drastically different views on moral matters).
So...all these others who have told me the same as you just have. And who say that they have different messages from God as to what is right and wrong. Are you the only one who is right? How do I determine who really knows?
So yeah, that's where it was going.
That, actually, was not where I thought you were going. But it is a valid question to ask. I think, in large part, the problem is basically a human desire to be in control, and we're largely just forgetful and lazy creatures in general. The answer to your question, though, is that there are people in just about every Christian denomination that are connected to God in this way (or at least I would like to think so). But God's church has, for the most part, stopped being a living ambassador for Jesus Christ on the earth, and has become largely just another institution trying to do good in it's own way, but really lacking in connecting people to a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, by faith, and with His Spirit living in them and guiding them. All through history, Christianity has experienced times of Spiritual vitality, and periods of people trying to do what only God can do, and eventually falling into being an institution, not a living organism filled with the life of God's Spirit, dedicated to bringing people into relationship with God through the gospel. I am not familiar with every Christian denomination, of course, so I cannot speak accurately of them all. To illustrate, let me use three current church groups as examples. If you want to skip the history lesson, and just get to the meat, check out the last paragraph.
The Catholic Church has been around in it's basic form for a VERY long time. It is thanks largely to Catholic monasteries that we even have as many copies of the Scriptures as we do, and for that, faithful Christians everywhere owe them a debt of gratitude. And it was very important as an evangelizing force for Spiritual life during turbulent times, and it helped transform the Roman world. BUT... at some point, probably before the 5th century ended (if not much earlier), the church became much more a political power, building temporal authority, for selfish purposes, than it was a Spiritual organism dedicated to bringing people into relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As the church moved farther and farther down that trajectory, over the centuries, even the form of it's faith became distorted by traditions that were instituted largely for the purposes of keeping the church in power rather than really understanding God and His purposes in the world. Eventually, this led to faithful people within the church trying to reform it, with some limited success for short periods of time, but it never really stopped being a political institution with Spiritual roots more than a Spiritual institution with political goals. To it's credit, the church has gone through some needed changes over the last few centuries, but despite many faithful members in it's pews, and even in positions of authority, it still is what it is. Most protestant church history books, and even some Catholic ones will acknowledge the church lost it's way at times, will paint a similar picture, so this is not just my opinion. No offense intended towards Catholics, as I said, there are many, many faithful Christians still in this church.
I am currently attending a United Methodist Church. This church finds it's roots mainly through the ministry and teachings of John Wesley. Wesley was a minister in the Anglican Church, and he openly confesses that he really wasn't "saved" until spending many years as a minister, and even attempting an ill fated missionary journey to North America (in the decades preceding the Revolutionary war). Wesley did end up having a notable conversion experience, and after that began to really dedicate his life to seeking how to live the Christian life as God wanted. He began trying to reform the Anglican church's worldliness (kind of a theme, huh?), and began forming small groups all over England, and eventually in America as well. In many ways, he was a man who defied the conventions of his time, speaking out against the slave trade, focusing on actually living out the Christian faith in very practical ways when the church overall was more a political institution with high ideas and poor actions in general. Yet, he was still a man of his times in other ways... Rationalism dominated the philosophical atmosphere in those times, and perhaps it could be said that he gave to much thrift to rationalism, and also perhaps to church tradition (where it didn't contradict Scripture). The Methodist church went on to be a force to be reckoned with during the 1st and second Great Awakenings, but as the divisions over the charismatic movement took shape, many spirit filled believers left the denomination to join churches that were more open to Spiritual gifts. Over the decades, the church merged with other denominations, and in an attempt to be open to many different doctrinal perspectives, while staying true to the basic teachings of Wesley (do good!), the church has in many ways become an institution for doing good in the world... not a bad thing, BUT NOT a living organism that seeks to bring the world into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. No offense to my Methodist brothers and sisters, but I must ask you: in doing all the good things you are doing, are you routinely sharing the gospel with people, and are you really holding true to the idea that God is both loving AND holy? Does He care about love only, or is He in the truth business as well? Can doing kind and caring things for someone, but not sharing the gospel, save them?
My roots as a Christian are in the Calvary Chapel movement. It started in the 70's as a big part of the "Jesus Movement" on the west coast. Even though he told the movement before he died not to, the philosophy and Bible teaching of the church are basically that of it's founder, Chuck Smith. It was notable in that there were many reports of God doing miraculous things, people being physically healed, prophecies being given and fulfilled, and also the controversial gift of "tongues". Doctrinally, they described themselves as "Bapticostals", a fusion of Baptist focus on the importance of teaching and believing the Bible and the Pentecostal focus on the reality and availability of the gifts of the Spirit in believers today, and always. I haven't attended one for over a decade (largely due to wanting to attend church with my parents, and also distance to the nearest Calvary Chapel), but I was saddened to hear of it's founder's death, and also to find that shortly after his death there was a split between many of the prominent pastors in the movement. My experience, though, was largely good there. I will say this, though... the church I attended was much more Baptist than Pentecostal in practice, and even though I understand that our resources as a small congregation were limited, I wish we would have been more active in practically serving the community. But I will say this, at least when I attended it, it was laser focused on being a living organism that was dedicated to bringing the gospel to the world, teaching all of the Bible as simply and clearly as possible, and trying to bring others into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and I first learned how to connect to God's Spirit there. I'm not sure how faithful the movement as a whole is today, but God bless them for what they were when I was there!
Just in case you're still reading, and to clarify something I know you'll be asking in a future post... where in all that did I answer the question? My answer, is that no single church institution always has everything right, because humans are prone to stray from being connected to God's Spirit, and doing things in their own understanding and strength. Same can be said for individuals... I am connected, but not always. I seek God to help me understand how to navigate moral decisions, but not always, because I'm still human! I get distracted, I get busy, I lose sight of my relationship to God, and end up forgetting what I'm about. I end up making decisions, doing things, and yes, even teaching in God's name without REALLY taking myself out of the way, and letting Him speak to me. I am literally a broken piece of pottery trying to hold water, but it keeps flowing out... and unless I deliberately, steadfastly keep letting God fill me back up with water, I get dry and pretty much useless. THAT is what I believe.
