Political correctness in church: The church is not a democracy
The majority wins. That's the official mantra of the system of government which; in theory is part of the foundation of our voting system (in reality it is the congressional vote which determines winners; and a third party doesn't stand a chance).
We can compare this to a system such as the Pre Revolutionary British Monarchy that ruled our part of the world before we declared Independence where the Aristocracy ruled with their own interpretation of a church and state sort of reign. Neither type of system should be that which governs the local church.
That; of course is often the reality today; we have in megachurches a corporate leader with a few in the inner circle who act as a sort of glorified Robin Hood in the opposite direction; stealing from the poor and giving to the rich and in turn convincing the masses including those in impoverished regions in Africa that they will be blessed by giving; such are those deceiving and being decieved ( 2 Tim. 3:13). We have other houses of worship with similar behavior that pressure giving for legalistic reasons.
The opposite of this situation are places where anarchy basically reigns with whatever the masses want to believe being tolerated where we are asked to simply believe in His name with no change of the heart required ( Romans 10:9). This is clearly a violation of proper shepherding by those in the teaching and elder camp of authority along with an abregation of duty for proper discipline outlined by Christ ( Matt. 18:15); as well as the needed "judging" of certain actions within the church ( 1 Cor. 6:7) which should have been employed rather than boasting of the man involved in gross sexual sin ( 1 Cor. 5:1).
Thus we hear in church to vote for the lesser evil but would we want to do that if it involved someone in authority over us in the church? Would we prefer an adulterer to a thief?
It is true that neither the Church nor the U.S. is a pure democracy.
the Church is under the rulership of Jesus, who is King, Priest, Mediator, and head over all believers. We have received the Scriptures as our rule for living, the standard for correctly relating to God and to one another, the power of God unto salvation in the Gospel, and the way we judge our own motives, actions, beliefs, how we devote our time and energy. So, there is no democracy in how the Church universal is governed. In local congregations, believers have a say in many matters of practice, with by direct vote, decisions of elected elders, or that of synods, conferences or other governing bodies depending on the way a congregation is set up to be governed.
In the U.S., being a representative republic primarily with democratic choices are made in some things.
We can vote directly (democratically) in terms of passing initiatives and referendums in our states. When we vote in elections, state elections are decided democratically but presidential elections are decided part by voting of the people which then is subjected to the electoral college votes for each state. When laws are passed, it is not by popular democratic voting but by the work and voting of representatives and senators in Congress or in state legislatures.
There are also such things as executive orders at both the state and federal level where the executive has been given such powers by the constitution or by legislation passed by representatives in the House of Senate. And our judicial branch is not to create laws, as that is in the power of the both houses of congress, but the courts evaluate laws or suits according the constitution and the rights, privileges, and prohibitions contained in this binding legal document that is more objective and binding than any other aspects of government. The judicial branch is to be bound to rule according to the objective standards contained in the constitution.
The majority wins. That's the official mantra of the system of government which; in theory is part of the foundation of our voting system (in reality it is the congressional vote which determines winners; and a third party doesn't stand a chance).
We can compare this to a system such as the Pre Revolutionary British Monarchy that ruled our part of the world before we declared Independence where the Aristocracy ruled with their own interpretation of a church and state sort of reign. Neither type of system should be that which governs the local church.
That; of course is often the reality today; we have in megachurches a corporate leader with a few in the inner circle who act as a sort of glorified Robin Hood in the opposite direction; stealing from the poor and giving to the rich and in turn convincing the masses including those in impoverished regions in Africa that they will be blessed by giving; such are those deceiving and being decieved ( 2 Tim. 3:13). We have other houses of worship with similar behavior that pressure giving for legalistic reasons.
The opposite of this situation are places where anarchy basically reigns with whatever the masses want to believe being tolerated where we are asked to simply believe in His name with no change of the heart required ( Romans 10:9). This is clearly a violation of proper shepherding by those in the teaching and elder camp of authority along with an abregation of duty for proper discipline outlined by Christ ( Matt. 18:15); as well as the needed "judging" of certain actions within the church ( 1 Cor. 6:7) which should have been employed rather than boasting of the man involved in gross sexual sin ( 1 Cor. 5:1).
Thus we hear in church to vote for the lesser evil but would we want to do that if it involved someone in authority over us in the church? Would we prefer an adulterer to a thief?
More in the next post...
Agape. RP
It is true that neither the Church nor the U.S. is a pure democracy.
the Church is under the rulership of Jesus, who is King, Priest, Mediator, and head over all believers. We have received the Scriptures as our rule for living, the standard for correctly relating to God and to one another, the power of God unto salvation in the Gospel, and the way we judge our own motives, actions, beliefs, how we devote our time and energy. So, there is no democracy in how the Church universal is governed. In local congregations, believers have a say in many matters of practice, with by direct vote, decisions of elected elders, or that of synods, conferences or other governing bodies depending on the way a congregation is set up to be governed.
In the U.S., being a representative republic primarily with democratic choices are made in some things.
We can vote directly (democratically) in terms of passing initiatives and referendums in our states. When we vote in elections, state elections are decided democratically but presidential elections are decided part by voting of the people which then is subjected to the electoral college votes for each state. When laws are passed, it is not by popular democratic voting but by the work and voting of representatives and senators in Congress or in state legislatures.
There are also such things as executive orders at both the state and federal level where the executive has been given such powers by the constitution or by legislation passed by representatives in the House of Senate. And our judicial branch is not to create laws, as that is in the power of the both houses of congress, but the courts evaluate laws or suits according the constitution and the rights, privileges, and prohibitions contained in this binding legal document that is more objective and binding than any other aspects of government. The judicial branch is to be bound to rule according to the objective standards contained in the constitution.
This comment thread is locked. Please enter a new comment below to start a new comment thread.
Note: Comment threads older than 2 months are automatically locked.
Do you have a Bible comment or question?
Posting comments is currently unavailable due to high demand on the server.
Please check back in an hour or more. Thank you for your patience!
Report Comment
Which best represents the problem with the comment?