A Preliminary Response to Frank Viola’s “Pagan Christianity?”

I am currently reading the book ‘Pagan Christianity?’ and though I agree with some aspects of it I think that there are a few anomalies. I also have a problem with its purist and somewhat scathing tone. While the author makes several relevant points re Pastoral dominance, the unscriptural clergy/laity divide, congregational passivity, erroneous teaching on tithing and the Greeco/Roman influences on traditional Church worship among others, there are several areas where to my mind he falls down (too numerous to mention in this forum). The author does not do a good job of describing what the church really is in its essence. His impression of church (even while he cries down the institutional church) seems to suggest that church is somewhat limited and held captive by the tone and structure of its Sunday gathering. The church in his writing seems more defined by “doing” than “being” even while he tries to promote a concept of organic church. He  is still limiting his discussion to organisational church. What churches do on Sunday is merely but one expression of the Church and has nothing to do with the true organism of the church, the body of believers, who on the basis of an INDIVIDUAL experience with Christ, become a part of this organic body.

I think Viola misses the point by thinking that the organic church is merely a way of “doing church” that is “non-institutional” etc through open, participatory meetings. This is but one expression of organic church life which focusses on the gathering of believers; it is clearly not the only expression.The Church in its organic expression to my mind, crosses time lines, ethnicities, races, nationalities, and denominations. This is the Church of which Jesus spoke when He said that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. If this Church was truly held captive by the Church’s institutionalism over the centuries, then the gates of hell would have prevailed and we wouldn’t be having this conversation; the Church would have died. Viola’s tone also seems to imply that God’s hands have been virtually tied because churches which exist today may not be exact replicas of the New Testament paradigm of church. We are actually still the New Testament church which will continue to evolve till Jesus returns; this is one of the vagaries of being human and living in a fallen world among fallen, imperfect people and systems.

If the New Testament church was all that Frank suggests it was cracked up to be, there would have been no need to write epistles. Paul in fact wrote epistles/letters because he was attempting to deal with the many challenges and imperfections which the church faced then; just like today. The NT church was far from perfect; and I mean extremely far; just read any of the Pauline epistles and this becomes obvious. And by the way I am a part of an informal, simple gathering (similar to House church)but am a bit disappointed that the book is coming across as a case for the existence of house churches; nothing wrong with House churches but because I start my home business in my basement does not mean that it has to remain there to preserve the spirit or ethos of my values as a businessman. We must be careful not to adopt an attitude of following practices as a rigid “letter of the law” as opposed to understanding the principle/spirit of the thing. The global church today is much larger than what would have existed in the NT so chances are that we will continue to evolve different modes of functioning. Because our seemingly human ideas for church life are not found replicated in exactness in the NT does not make these ideas “un-biblical” as Frank repeatedly suggests in his book. The proof-test comes in determining whether what we do lines up with the principles  of scripture. And if we are obedient, submitted followers of Christ then He will emerge new ideas and innovations in us.

It seems trite therefore to be suggesting that because there are no worship leaders/worship teams in the NT that it is therefore un-biblical to have them now. There were also no new testaments to read in the NT church; yet we read and study them now don’t we? A good book to stimulate discussion but academically flawed in its failure to understand the role of history in shaping and emerging God’s eternal plan. God is not a static God of the past; He is the first and last, the beginning and the end ( and there is a lot of time-span and change in that loaded statement). Remember “Jesus Christ Lamb of God slain before the foundations of the world”? God is always several steps ahead of us flawed human beings, even when we do have a knowledge of and experience with Him. I think that several of Viola’s arguments, while well intentioned, degenerate and lose some credibility because of his dogmatic interpretation of a few verses of scripture. For example church was both open and participatory as well as governed by continuous teaching and preaching of the word; it need not be one or the other. Be assured this conversation will continue.

Christians and Culture

Over the years there has been a steady debate about the level at which Christians can be legitimately involved in the culture without corrupting themselves. While the description of ‘culture” often becomes limited to a focus on the arts, it is imperative that we understand that culture in essence reflects our lifestyle; our day to day interactions and our responses to such. I do believe that it is time we in the church stop running from the world in fear with our tails between our legs because we think the big bad world might infect us with its sin. We don’t seem to have much confidence in the light that we are. Try lighting a match in a dark room, no matter how small the flame, it will penetrate and alter the darkness; not the other way around.

Traditionally, especially in conservative evangelical circles, we have interpreted “Love not the world …’as abandonment of the world and its culture which was viewed as inherently evil. While the point has been made that culture isn’t inherently evil, some aspects of it will be because mankind is fallen and since culture is a reflection of who we are, it will mirror in some respects our “fallen-ness”. Clothing, music, art etc become volatile because man infects them with his sin. At the same time, man as made in the image and likeness of God, is also capable of reflecting so much that is positive. That is why as Christians we are called to invade and not abandon culture; if we dwell as transformed people, in the midst of the culture, yet without sin, then we are capable of presenting an alternative of which Christ is the essence. When people are transformed by the power of Christ, then the negative aspects of culture become transformed as well.

If we take our cue from Jesus, the very stories and parables he used, and his day-to-day interaction with the Jewish people, demonstrate that he was quite comfortable inhabiting the culture; even as he showed the scribes/pharisees and sinners at large, a more excellent way.This would have lent authenticity to His message and He is God Himself! Christ refused to imbibe the hypocrisy of the religious elite (which was an aspect of the religious culture of His day)instead He redefined the sabbath and the entire law by showing that He came to fulfill it. Nothing explains this better, than the concept of incarnation; the word becoming flesh and dwelling among men; God entering the culture of man, to redeem man. Need we say more?