Normal Is Not An Option

Long time, no post. I've been kicking around a lot of ideas for topics I could address but couldn't settle on any one in particular. So here, for your reading pleasure, are some things I've been pondering lately. 1. Why is the COC obsessed with the way things were in the 1950s? I can't tell you how many times I heard preachers reference the 50s as some sort of golden age to which society needs to return. The primary reason, of course, is that the era predated the feminist revolution. Most middle-class women didn't work back then. They stayed at home, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids. Men went out and earned the living, which gave them the right to be the boss at home. Gender roles were very strictly defined in society at large, so folks in the COC fit right in...which leads to my next point. The 50s were a time of strict conformity with social norms, and the COC loves conformity. No one is allowed an independent thought or attitude. Those who don...

I found the passage below at http://www.culthelp.info while I was looking for information on the International Church of Christ. Quote: Like Campbell, the Churches of Christ also viewed the Bible as a collection of facts. Common was a "concordance approach" to the Bible which indiscriminately strung together New Testament texts based on the appearance of a single English word or phrase with little or no regard for the historical context, the author's intention, or the literary form or function. [112] Thus, disconnected texts could be strung together into codified doctrinal "facts." For with this method the New Testament became essentially a law book or divine constitution for the church, with most of the doctrinal "facts" reduced to a level of equal importance. The Bible became atomized, broken up into separate little bits of doctrine which could be codified into law. It became a document filled with workable formulas, neat blueprints, ...

Here's something I've never understood about the church of Christ: they make a big point of teaching kids the Lord's prayer and making them memorize it. I remember earning an extra gold star on my Bible class attendance chart for being able to recite it from memory. However, the congregation never recites the prayer during worship service and, in fact, they argue that the prayer is no longer valid today. They claim that the line "thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven" makes the prayer invalid for today, because God's will was accomplished in 33 AD with the founding of the church. Since there is no more for Christ to accomplish here on earth, there is no reason to make that particular petition to God. They say that the prayer is simply a model on which we are to base our own personal prayers. But again, why bother teaching kids to memorize it if it's so unimportant? I think the real reason they reject the prayer's validity is their rabid anti-Cat...

One of the primary doctrines of the church of Christ is that the Bible is perfect, with no contradictions or discrepancies, and that every word of the Bible is literally true and able to be proven scientifically. I believed this when I was young. But when I started reading the Bible for myself, word for word and not just the passages I needed to read to fill out the workbook for my Bible class, I saw that there are indeed discrepancies in the Bible. Here are a few examples. 1. Job 26:7 says that the earth hangs upon nothing. Psalm 104:5 says that the earth sits on a foundation (some translations say "pillar") that can't be moved. If we must view these verses literally, instead of poetically or metaphorically, then one of them must be wrong because their assertions contradict each other. 2. There are a few discrepancies in the accounts of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. Acts 9:7 says that Paul's companions could hear the voice that was talking to him bu...

The title of this post comes directly from the Bible, the words of Jesus himself. I believe it's true. If you want to know about someone's character, look at that person's actions (fruit) not the person's words. The same is true of groups, including churches. So let's apply this logic to the COC. What are their fruits? In my hometown, the COC had a reputation for being an angry, contentious group. The members would get upset and split the congregation, over and over, for the most trivial of reasons. The church also had a reputation for being judgmental, small-minded, and bigoted. Why was the church's image in the community so negative? The primary reason for this was because the members of the church were arrogant and haughty, because they believed themselves to be the only true Christians and, thus, the only ones who will be saved on Judgment Day. Another reason is that the church refused to offer charity to those in need beyond its own four walls (and even the...

Awhile back I documented the COC's attitude toward charity and noted that basically it uses the money it collects each Sunday to perpetuate itself, not to help people in need. Now I want to disclose another of the COC's dirty little secrets regarding money: If you give a lot of it to your local congregation, you can (almost) get away with murder. Most COC congregations, especially the anti ones, are very small, in part because they have a habit of splitting every time someone looks at someone else cross-eyed. Thus, they skate on thin ice financially, simply because there aren't enough people to give the money that allows the church to function. Also, the core demographic of the COC is aging and dying rapidly, and the elderly folks are usually on fixed incomes and can't spare much for the Sunday collection plate. As a result, if you're one of the rare COC members who can afford to give liberally, your generosity will be rewarded by fawning preachers and elders wh...

The one constant I noticed in all the COC congregations I attended is that most people in that church have serious boundary issues. You are never allowed to have a private life or hold opinions that differ from those of the majority. Before and after every church service, during the "visiting time," you will be subjected to an interrogation far worse than anything the KGB or CIA could cook up. Why weren't you at Bible study last week? You looked bored during the sermon--did you disagree with what the preacher said? I noticed that you failed to stand up during the final prayer--is your back bothering you? If you are cagey or just refuse to answer the questions, you'll be accused of being unloving, unfaithful, insincere, and secretive. And they will start watching you for tell-tale signs of sin so that they can pounce on you and shame you into repenting of...whatever crazy, trivial thing it is they think you've done wrong. So I always answered their intrusive questi...

Despite the fact that there is zero historical evidence of its existence before the Cane Ridge, Kentucky, revival of 1801, the church of Christ teaches that it is the one true church, founded by Jesus in 33 AD. Usually, the narrative goes something like this: "The true church was founded by Jesus and then hopelessly corrupted and apostasized by the Council of Nicea in the fourth century, when the Roman Catholic church was founded. The true church went underground until 1801 when it was restored to its pure form by Alexander Campbell." Of course, this is all rubbish. The truth is that the COC is just one of many American churches, including the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormon church, founded during the Second Great Awakening at the beginning of the 19th century. Its true history can be found in this marvelous book by Richard T. Hughes, Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America . Hughes draws on the writings of Campbell himself, as well as t...

This is the time of year when people think about giving to their favorite charities, so I thought I'd comment on the COC's doctrines regarding the church and money. Every Sunday morning they pass around the collection plate, usually around the same time that they have the communion. The man presiding over the service will make a remark about how the money is used to continue the work of the church and often will read Paul's instructions regarding the collection in I Corinthians 16:1-3. So week after week, people put their hard-earned money into the collection plate. Where does that money go? What is the work of the church, according to the COC? In a nutshell, the work of the church is to perpetuate itself, to make new converts and save as many souls as possible. So how is the money used to that end? First, most of it goes to pay the preacher, despite Paul's comment in II Thessalonians 3:6-9 that he refused to accept a salary from the church and continued to work in his ...

So far I've posted some very negative things about the COC, and, for the most part, growing up in that church was a negative experience. However, as with most things in life, it wasn't completely bad. Some aspects of it ultimately had a positive impact on my life. First, there was definitely a sense of community in the church. People really looked out for each other and came together during times of trouble. When someone lost a job, people passed the hat to help the family get by. When someone was ill, people sent cards, called, and visited in the hospital. When someone died, people sent flowers and food and passed the hat again to help pay for the funeral. My own family was the beneficiary of this kindness during some very difficult times, and I'll always be grateful for that. It was a big comfort to me to know that this big social safety net was there for us. Second, the church taught me to view religious claims and leaders with a healthy dose of skepticism. We were taugh...

Folks in the COC love to quote James 2:26: "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead." They primarily use this verse to attack Calvinism, specifically the doctrines of irresistible grace and unlimited atonement. Frankly, I don't know enough about Calvinism to know whether this attack is even valid, but that's how I've heard this verse used time and again. They'll say things like, "You can't just sit back and wait for God to save you. You have to do your part, too!" But what does the COC mean by "works"? What works are we supposed to do to prove that we have faith and to save ourselves? In my experience, the COC usually defines works negatively, as things Christians refrain from doing, such as drinking, dancing, smoking, gambling, swearing, watching R-rated movies, and wearing immodest clothing. The only works that are defined positively (as actions to be performed ) are being baptized, trying...

The Mary Winkler murder case is a textbook illustration of the problem of being a woman in the church of Christ--married too young, with too many kids and not enough education or financial resources. In watching the coverage of the case by the mainstream media, I've been frustrated by the fact that they gloss over the COC's hardline stance on divorce, because I think that's the ultimate reason why she killed him, in addition to the alleged abuse. (I suppose this is where I should insert my disclaimer that I do NOT condone what she did by any means and I think she should have served a lot more time than she did. I wish she had found the courage to take the bolder step of divorcing her husband rather than committing a horrible crime and robbing her children of their father.) Anyway, I've mentioned in previous posts that the COC teaches that women are completely subordinate to men. It is spoken from the pulpit over and over that the only completely acceptable role for a w...

OK, I'll concede that the COC doesn't have the formal structure of a denomination. There is no national or regional council or synod that determines what goes on in the congregations. Individual congregations do not have to report their budgets or anything like that to an overseeing body of any kind. However, there is an informal network of preachers, deacons, and elders that meets and shares ideas on how to run things. I call them the COC Cabal. Furthermore, nowadays most congregations like to hire preachers who've had at least a little formal training, and since all the preachers go to the same Bible colleges and are taught by the same professors, they're all pretty much guaranteed to preach the same things, whether they're in the upper Midwest or the buckle of the Bible Belt. Every COC I've ever attended, no matter where in the United States, has used the King James Bible, the Sacred Selections song book, and has conducted its service in the same way. It'...

Leaving the church of Christ was a dizzying, disorienting experience, partly because I had never had such a degree of personal freedom before. The whole point of that church is restriction, and most of their doctrine is a never-ending list of dos and don'ts (mostly don'ts). In honor of Independence Day, here is my Declaration of Independence from the COC. Since I have left the COC, I am now free of: --harsh judgment and withering criticism, --hypocrisy and the need to put up a false front, --restrictions on my service to God because of my gender, --fear of being condemned for my flaws, --enforced conformity to a lifestyle that is wrong for me, and --being forced to shut down my intellect in order to believe. In turn, I am now free to: --accept my flaws and my humanity, --love other people openly and without reservation, --enjoy my life without fear of condemnation, --accept God's grace and love without hesitation, --reach out and be active in the community, and --explore th...

I meant to post about this a long time ago but forgot. Anyway, if you saw the PBS special on the Mormons, you may have noticed a reference to one of the early LDS founders, Sidney Rigdon . Turns out, he started in the COC, along with Alexander Campbell, but grew disillusioned with AC and glommed onto Joseph Smith instead. For me, it's just further proof that the COC has more in common with the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and other quasi-Christian sects that originated during the 19th century than it does with Christianity at large, since all those movements traded people back and forth for many years. Anyway, if you didn't get a chance to watch the Mormons special on PBS, you can watch it online. You should also read Under the Banner of Heaven for a riveting history of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, the ones who still practice polygamy.

When people ask me how I finally got out of the COC, the short answer is that I reached a point where I simply couldn't check my brain at the door. When I was very small, I believed whatever they told me without question because I had no external knowledge or frame of reference. But as I got older, I started to experience a certain amount of cognitive dissonance. Like Neo in the first "Matrix" movie, I sensed that something was wrong but had no words to name or explain it. One of the things I sensed was the inherent hypocrisy of the COC: they talk about love, but tear each other down, they talk about mercy and forgiveness but judge each other harshly, they talk about charity but don't reach out to the community, and so forth. Another thing I sensed, more and more as I went to school and learned about the world, was the intellectual dishonesty of COC doctrines. If you want to be a COC member in good standing, then you are forced to accept things you know can't poss...

Last fall I went to the doctor for a routine check-up. Everything was fine, and my blood test results were excellent--no signs of anemia, diabetes, or thyroid problems, and my cholesterol numbers were perfect. I should have been happy to be in such great health, right? Wrong. Instead, I fell into a deep funk because I was worried that this good fortune would soon be followed by something awful--like, I dunno, inoperable cancer--either as a punishment or test by God. When I was growing up in the COC, I was taught that true Christians cannot possibly be happy on this earth, because it's not our true home. We won't be happy until we're dead and go to Heaven to be with God. So if things are going well in your life and you are happy, then just be warned that it won't last. If you're living your life right, then God will test you to see if you remain faithful during adversity. If you're doing something wrong, then God is going to punish you--just you wait. But what if...

I recently watched the PBS documentary about Jonestown . It was extremely disturbing and brought back a lot of equally disturbing memories. I was a kid when the mass suicide occurred and I remember being freaked out when I learned that it was the parents themselves who gave the cyanide-laced Kool-Aid to the children--many of whom were my own age. I also remember that it set off a wave of anti-cult hysteria and accompanying sermons at church. Preachers denounced Jim Jones as a false prophet and outlined mind-control techniques used by cults, so that we could recognize and avoid them. The funny thing is, when they would talk about the mind-control techniques, I remember thinking, "But our church does some of those same things!" I never voiced my doubts to anyone, of course. Here are the ways in which I believe that the COC is like a cult: 1. The COC claims to be the only group in the world with The Truth and to have special, secret knowledge about it. 2. They try to get p...

In a previous post I noted that the church of Christ does not officially celebrate Easter, although many people let their kids dress up and have Easter baskets and Easter egg hunts after church. Some people even object to that, however, and at the church where I grew up, we were treated to an anti-Easter sermon every year. We were exhorted not to celebrate it because it's based on a pagan holiday, and the Bible doesn't tell us to celebrate Christ's resurrection just once a year. Instead, true Christians celebrate it each Sunday when we observe the Lord's Supper. I was trying to explain this to an acquaintance of mine recently, and when I mentioned the weekly celebration of the resurrection, she asked, "So was each service something joyous and celebratory?" I replied, "No, actually it was more like a funeral. We were told how evil and sinful we were and how we should be ashamed and guilty that Jesus had to die for us in the first place." She mentioned...

The CoC has a serious identity crisis. You can call it bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, but by whatever term you choose, if the CoC were a human being, it would be seriously mentally ill. The problem is that it veers between the two extremes of being very rigid and controlling and being utterly chaotic, and the mixed messages that you receive as a child in that environment are maddening. Let me give you a few examples. The church service: The CoC likes to say that everything is done "decently and in order," yet it rejects any sort of liturgy as being man-made (and Papist, to boot). So, although there is some structure to the service (in fact, every single CoC I've ever attended has followed pretty much the same order of service), if you look beneath the surface, things are quite chaotic. The sermon is on whatever random topic the preacher chooses. The scripture reading, if any, is often a Psalm and usually has no relevance to the topic of the sermon. And the song leader...