ClarkeComments.com

Hello all:

Just over a year ago, I wrote a post asking what people though about the apocrypha. Since then, I’ve done a lot more thinking on the subject.

The Apocrypha, or the Deutero-Canonical books as the Catholics call them, was included in the Christian canon until Martin Luther excluded them in 1534. Luther also excluded Esther, Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation. Luther stated that he wished Esther had never been written, and he called James “an epistle of straw.”

I am not saying that apocrypha is scripture…and I am not saying that it is not; I am saying, however, that I think we should re-visit the apocrypha, that we should read it, and that we should carefully and prayerfully consider whether or not these writings hold a place as sacred scripture.

Some questions I have:

What gave Luther the right to remove these books from the canon?

The apocrypha was included in the canon for 1500 years. Would God allow these books to be considered scripture for such a long period of time if they did not belong in the canon?

What makes Esther, Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation acceptable, but the apocryphal books unacceptable?

Shouldn’t we, as a group of churches that values “Restoration,” consider whether or not the apocrypha is in need of restoration in the Protestant church?

-Clarke

Hello all:

I’ve been pondering church finance as of late. My congregation is having money problems, as I have written before. We just had a member move out of the area, one that was a significant financial contributer.

On Sunday, our minister led the Lord’s Supper and took the collection. There was no Lord’s Supper reflection, which is not the norm for our church…but there was a lengthy reflection on giving…of a type I’ve never heard in a Church of Christ yet. Our minister spoke about how giving money can be equaled by others through their giving of time and energy. He was rebuffing a comment made by another member recently about how our worship ministry should respect the wishes of those who give the most money.

Every time I look at our bills and church finances, I see a trend. Our congregation treats people different based on how much money they give. We seem to “employ” some people who are in need of money and have a certain status, yet we take money from others. A case in point:

We employ two widows, one of whom was an elder’s wife, through our pre-school. None of the students in this pre-school attend our church, so, in essence, we take money from non-believers and give it to church members. The pre-school doesn’t break even… no matter how much a couple of members claim… they generate thousand dollar energy bills which the church ends up subsidizing to provide two “jobs” to two widows. At the same time, we rent our parsonage to another widow, a member of the church….. we take her money, along with rent subsidies that the state provides… the money she gives us in essence bankrolls the pre-school. We take money from one person is deemed “not as worthy” to give to someone else that is deemed “worthy.”

To top it off, we also receive rent from Cingular Wireless, as they have a cell-phone tower on our property. Never mind the immoral acts AT&T is involved in….we take their money and subsidize the pre-school and the church.

Our $2.5 million building is falling apart. I’m not sure if that is a good thing, or a bad thing.

-Clarke

Hello all:

Who ever thought that you could make a game out of church history and politics? Check this out… Vatican Board Game.

-Clarke

Sometimes I reflect on growing up in the church and what we were taught….and then I reflect on what being a Christian is really about.

How did the real meaning of what it means to be a Christian get lost in some Churches of Christ? Campbell and Stone worried much more about being a real Christian than in having every last detail right..so how did it happen? Lipscomb and Harding, the separatists that they were, were very worried about being true Christians….so Sand Creek wasn’t the turning point as far as it all goes….how did it happen?

-Clarke