So on my 15 minute walk home in the chilly, glowing sunset, I got to thinking (hint: not a good sign). So I've organized Christianity into three branches--loosely: Catholic, protestant, and Orthodox*. At first I saw them respectively as a forward-slash, a backslash, and an underscore. Ten minutes of exploratory thinking later, and I write the following.
(*leaving out, for now, Islam, Jehova's Witness, and a few other offshoots)
The Catholic kingdom of God is like the mustard seed; it started small--with the completed revelation of Christ--and has grown and matured according to and consistent with its nature and mission.
Protestants see Catholics start with a simple faith--a small church--and tack on needless--harmful, even--additions. They have been trying to tear down that building which has barred men from a proper religion. Wycliff pulled out a brick; Luther pounded on the door, Calvin kicked it in; others have since thrown rocks through the stained glass, torn down sections of the wall in order to let the trapped Gospel out.
Eastern Orthodox christianity, on the third hand, remains constant. For nearly two millenia it has kept the same faith, the same scripture, the same doctrine, avoiding the Catholic tendency to construct and the later anti-Catholic revolt.
Posted by Tom at January 21, 2004 06:14 PM