Reading!

I am now reading a book by Cecil Hook, actually, he only put it together. The book is really written by Leroy Garrett and Carl Ketcherside. It is about "our" heritage in the cofc.

There are several things in this book that have spoken to me. The realization that the restoration movement was much like today in that there were opinions being stated as "scriptural" and people used their own beliefs and interpretations to judge others' standing with God. Nothing new under the sun! Yet, they pursued to change things. One statement Garrett makes concerning Thomas Campbell towards the end of chapter 2 is that Thomas set forth unity principles. "The church, he insisted, is by its very nature one, and cannot help but be one, if it be God's church." There is no truer statement and yet it seems to be hard to accomplish and learn. If only we could come to some understanding of this statement!

Another statement in chapter 3 which caught my eye was Campbell's thesis which stated, "private opinions are not to be made the basis of Christian communion." It readily conceded that there would be differences of opinion in interpreting the scriptures, and this would not be discouraged. "Opinions are private property, and a man was entitled to as many as he desired. But he was not to make his opinion a test of fellowship or make his own interpretations a means of judging others."

These two statements are large to me. This is the crux in my mind as to what is happening in the cofc today, which is turning people out rather than bringing them in. We must make certain it is God who decides who is in or out, not us. Ketcherside's mantra became "Wherever God has a child, I have a brother or sister." And when asked about accepting "brothers in error", he would reply, "That is the only kind of brothers I have!"

We are all sinners and we should all be searching. The minute I think I have arrived, I think I have failed. So come along with me on this journey down the searching path and I would love to hear what you think about these musings and other topics.