The church isn’t just another booth in a belief bazaar

Some traditionalists seem to think that the church and its beliefs are fixed in amber — one either “buys” those beliefs, pretty much as-is, or not.  These folks say, in effect, that if some of us don’t like the ‘goods’ that TEC has traditionally displayed in the ‘belief bazaar,’ then we should just move on and examine the wares offered at other booths, so that those who do like the goods as they are can continue to buy there.

For many of us, however, spiritual life isn’t a bazaar in which ‘sellers’ and ‘buyers’ negotiate transactions at arms’ length. Church instead is an extended family, one in which we help each other get through life as best we can. That includes an ongoing search for observations and insights about what the Creator has wrought — and it does not include setting up particular beliefs as a golden calf.

Related post(s):

• Why I Still Call Myself a Christian and an Episcopalian