Accountability, democracy, equality, priesthood -- RSQUBF discussion forum

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Date Posted: 12:15:15 10/25/04 Mon
Author: Joe
Subject: Accountability, democracy, equality, priesthood
In reply to: bruce 's message, "Re: Christianity is a monarchy" on 08:09:47 10/25/04 Mon

The Church, under her Monarch, is an institution made up of sinful human beings, sometimes horribly sinful. So there needs to be accountability in the Church, something we like to harp on. But accountability is meaningless and toothless unless real democratic principles and practices exist in churches. And example of "meaningless and toothless" is the "Board of Directors" of UBF under Sam Lee, then Sarah Barry. So yeah, absolutely, there has to be democracy in the present-day Church.

Another principle is that there is no real democracy without equality. There is Christ the King, and beneath Him a kingdom of equals, all forgiven sinners, all eternal debtors to grace. There was leadership and there was authority in the early Church, but beneath it all I believe was the understanding of the Jesus-given principle that all believers are equal (the greatest is the slave of all; you have but one teacher). And Paul emphasized the importance of all members (all parts of the body) and the importance of all the gifts that members brought to the community. [The most powerful man in the world (GWB) will be subject to the will of the people (who vote) in a week, an expression of a certain kind of equality.] Martin Luther, for one, expressed this equality as part of the priesthood of all believers (in contrast to the Roman Church's fierce pyramid structure). UBF, which has made much of "priesthood" for the last ten years, does not know equality or democracy, so it does not know accountability.

>You know, I think there is a lot of room in
>Christianity for democracy. In fact, much of American
>democracy has sprung from the idea that ALL men are
>sinners and none of them should be trusted.
>
>Even the early church was democratic. Leaders and
>deacons were chosen by voting. Also, before that, in
>Judaism, synagogue leaders were chosen by the
>congregation. This process continued in the early
>church.
>
>I think democracy is a much better model for the truly
>Biblical church than authoritarianism.
>
>Anyway, America is supposedly a democratic nation. I
>think UBF should respect that.

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