Anyone have a crystal ball?

[unsafe]

Do you consider that the world is close to those later times mentioned in the text?

Ya --I do think we are living in the end times ---

 

[Mendalla]

For the last 40 years, people have moved away from institutions.

Evolution produces diversity. It would make sense for Christianity to become more diverse in how faith communities function.

Seconding both of these. I like the co-operative idea. It would also help wean people from the traditional church building and governance structures to something looser, more flexible, and more economical. Arguably, it could be closer to the original Christian communities, too. A bunch of people from diverse backgrounds meeting in a rented space or a meeting hall in the housing complex that the co-operative supports seems more like what you see in the letters.

OTOH, you'd need a certain amount of likemindedness else the whole thing could rapidly come apart over doctrinal disputes.

 

[Luce NDs]

Someone once wrote a book on the end of faith, or some doctrine, or protocol requiring faith in some powerful brute!

Subtle to that is a humble Samaritan or diabolical critter to their sense of overpowering hands!

Some say that from this sprouted the rub, Eframe of differences and Dan (old word for the diabolical deviation in evolution!

There are stories about a horse named Dan as a carrier in an arid state ... maybe Hernando in other traditions ...

Generally this stuff is poorly understood ...

 

[jimkenney12]

Some faith communities might form over doctrinal issues. Some will be formed over geography. Some over social issues. I can imagine the UCC splitting into something like the UCC Reformed and the UCC Universal.

 

[Luce NDs]

Some faith communities might form over doctrinal issues. Some will be formed over geography. Some over social issues. I can imagine the UCC splitting into something like the UCC Reformed and the UCC Universal.

Splitting is like macro reproduction ... divine reproduction by other than normal messing with the alternate? Would it cause as much debate and interchange of criticism? Thus the cosmological cranks ...

 

[Mendalla]

I can imagine the UCC splitting into something like the UCC Reformed and the UCC Universal.

I am a bit surprised that hasn't happened already. With the Anglican Communion looking like it's about to go that route (a conservative church centered in the developing world but with some congregations here and a liberal church centered in North America and the UK), maybe the UCCan won't be far behind.

 

[Luce NDs]

I am a bit surprised that hasn't happened already. With the Anglican Communion looking like it's about to go that route (a conservative church centered in the developing world but with some congregations here and a liberal church centered in North America and the UK), maybe the UCCan won't be far behind.

If we follow suite will we be Hines or hinds?

It is said that a Hine is a girl and thus a good chance in the feminization of the psyche as a broad spectrum device ... a wide sweep?

You just know that something will be sacred or hidden there ...

 

[paradox3]

So what would UCC Reformed and UCC Universal actually mean @Mendalla and @jimkenney12 ?

 

[paradox3]

Ate we predicting the un-uniting of the United Church?

 

[jimkenney12]

It is already splitting held together mostly by the law that gives the UCC ownership of the property.
The UCC Reformed would be the conservative church. The UCC Universal would be the church welcoming diversity in theology and people.

 

[paradox3]

It is already splitting held together mostly by the law that gives the UCC ownership of the property.
The UCC Reformed would be the conservative church. The UCC Universal would be the church welcoming diversity in theology and people.

So in this dichotomy you describe, where would I fit?

I am one who values tradition but holds a Universalist view of salvation.

Agreeing about the property implications. A congregation is unable to walk away and take its assets with it.

 

[Mendalla]

So in this dichotomy you describe, where would I fit?

I am one who values tradition but holds a Universalist view of salvation.

Agreeing about the property implications. A congregation is unable to walk away and take its assets with it.

You'd be on Jim's "UCC Universal" side, I think. My guess is that Jim's "UCC Reformed" is going to be churches like Byron here in London that lean more evangelical and are often more conservative in their outlook overall. Byron's "Know Jesus" page gives a good indication of their direction, I think.

 

[paradox3]

You'd be on Jim's "UCC Universal" side, I think. My guess is that Jim's "UCC Reformed" is going to be churches like Byron here in London that lean more evangelical and are often more conservative in their outlook overall. Byron's "Know Jesus" page gives a good indication of their direction, I think.

Just had a look at the Byron page.

I am not there in my thinking.

Nor am I with the uber progressives as you know very well. I am worried that a false dichotomy is being presented here.

 

[Mendalla]

Just had a look at the Byron page.

I am not there in my thinking.

Nor am I with the uber progressives as you know very well. I am worried that a false dichotomy is being presented here.

Yes, it is a false dichotomy. And those actually in the center will be the victims as usual when that false dichotomy comes to a head. They will be seen as too conservative by the hardcore of the progressives and too progressive for the hardcore of the conservatives. Same problem we have in politics. If you are not with me, you are against me attitude. It is bloody hard to be a centrist in anything anymore. Everyone wants there to be two easily opposed positions, so if you see the world in shades of grey or finer gradations of colour, you become an outsider. Even though, in reality, probably most people are there, not on an extreme.

 

[paradox3]

Meanwhile we claim to be an inclusive denomination. We also claim to be a big tent as far as theology goes. Is either of these things really true?

 

[Mystic]

Just had a look at the Byron page.

I am not there in my thinking.

Nor am I with the uber progressives as you know very well. I am worried that a false dichotomy is being presented here.

Mendalla, thanks for your reference to the Byron "Know Jesus" page. Other than consulting the Cruxifusion site, this is my first exposure to a specific UCCan evangelical church. So I found that page interesting.

Paradox3, I'd appreciate a detailed explanation of what you appreciate and dislike about their "Know Jesus" page. Your reaction might be conducive to a constructive dialogue on precisely the right spiritual balance for you.

 

[Mendalla]

Other than consulting the Cruxifusion site, this is my first exposure to a specific UCCan evangelical church. So I found that page interesting.

Actually, they have a link to Cruxifusion on their Links page. So I imagine their pastor (yes, that's the term they use) is a member.

 

[paradox3]

Actually, they have a link to Cruxifusion on their Links page. So I imagine their pastor (yes, that's the term they use) is a member.

Yes I think so.

 

[jimkenney12]

The UCC Universalists will be a mix of people from atheists like Gretta Vosper to charismatics and traditionalists along with those who are there for the music or the community. The hard core progressives will fade away or become UUs because without a sense of connection with a higher power or greater purpose communities lose a reason for being and habits can fade. I still remember the ads by the Unitarian Service Committee from the 1960s raising funds for South Koreans when they were struggling with famine under a dictatorship. Park will also raise negative feelings in me.

The Universalists who take spiritual development seriously may not increase a great deal in numbers, but they will increase in commitment.

 

[paradox3]

Paradox3, I'd appreciate a detailed explanation of what you appreciate and dislike about their "Know Jesus" page. Your reaction might be conducive to a constructive dialogue on precisely the right spiritual balance for you.

I don't really appreciate or dislike any aspects of the page. It's not my personal approach to faith, that's all.

@Mendalla shared it as an example of one end of our spectrum of belief. I think it provides a good illustration of that.