Community and Individualism II

Don: What is the relationship between the faith community and the individual, in terms of the individual’s spiritual need and growth? To put it another way: How important is it for an individual to be part of a faith community in order to have a deep spiritual life?

It is not commonly thought that one can “do” religion on one’s own. Most people believe that to find religion, to approach god, to have a relationship of the spirit, is best achieved through a community of faith. But modern Western culture is pushing back against this time-honored concept. So many people now consider themselves “spiritual but not religious” that the acronym “SBNR” is becoming increasingly recognized and adopted as a classification. Such people feel a closeness to god, a connection with the spirit, but not a connection to any religious group.

Scripture often alludes to the importance of the community of faith. In Matthew 18:20, Jesus says “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” Hebrews 10:24-25 also encourages gathering together for the purpose of faith enhancement, for mutual encouragement:

…and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another;….

Before we go any further, here are some statistics regarding the culture of spirituality in the USA:

• 75-80% of Americans consider themselves to be Christian.
• Of those, 40% attend church at least twice a  month.
• In France, 15% go to church regularly. In the UK it is 10%, and in Australia it is 7%.
• Among Christians in the US, 50 percent are Protestant and 25% are Catholic.
• 4-5% of Americans are Hindu, Jewish, Moslem, or Buddhist.
• 15% have no religious affiliation.
• 5% were unresponsive to the question about their religious affiliation.
• Despite the large number of Christians, and of Christians who attend church regularly, only 9% of Americans say that religion is the most important thing on their life. Family and friends were most important (45% of respondents) followed by money and career (17%).

Which churches are growing the fastest? One source says it is the Mormons, who believe in such nonstandard concepts as baptism of the dead and polygamy (even if they don’t practice it any more), etc. Another source says that the Jehovah’s Witnesses (who believe in imminent Armageddon, etc.) are the fastest growing church. And yet another source says it is the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church (believes there should be no premarital sex, no eating of meat, etc.)

Why are these non-mainstream churches growing so fast, at the apparent expense of mainstream churches? With regard to the SDA, one can point to its health and education programs as attractors, but is that the compelling reason drawing people to it? What should a faith community bring to individual spiritual growth? Is it necessary for most people? No doubt there are some people who can be spiritual and grow spiritually without a faith community, but Acts II, which describes the development of the early Christian church, shows that communal activity was a key element in that development.

What is the importance of a community of faith? How important is it? Why is there such interest and growth in the non-mainstream churches?

Harry: There is still a large body of standard Christian doctrine behind the offbeat, divergent views of the non-mainstream views. A newcomer in a church loses some of his or her individualism in order to conform, but over time, the conviction may weaken.

Robin: 1 Corinthians 12:7 talks about spiritual gifts: “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” So we each are given one or more spiritual gifts, so that we may come together and use them in service to one’s faith, work, and family communities. Verse 14 talks about edifying the body, meaning the church, and the church being like a body with different members and how the members should care for one another, and how a member will perish if it is cast off from the body from fellowship. And finally, 1 Cor 14:26 tells us: “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.”

Harry: Communication during the biblical age was very different from today, or even from a hundred years ago. Back then, beliefs would tend to be communal and would not change much, but it’s different now. We have so many channels, so many roads open to us. But the fundamental teaching of Jesus about caring for one’s neighbor applies no matter what road we take, what community we join.

Alice: Faith community did a lot for me in the past. I don’t know any way other than through church to teach our children about the way and the truth. But as we grow older, it seems to me, individual spirituality grows more important than church community. I still need the community and my friends in it with whom to share thoughts; but to grow spiritually, I need to be by myself. I need to meditate, to look inward. It is just between me and god. It involves no-one else.

Don: There is a time and place in a person’s spiritual life when faith community is a touchstone, but another time in life when one becomes more attuned to a direct personal relationship with god. But globalization, communication, and other modern developments seem to be disturbing our faith communities. What should a faith community bring? Cultural touch points? Or is it a way to see, to encounter, god? What is religion if it is not a language that enables us to express our spiritual feelings, to talk about things of the spirit with people who share the same language?

Harry: I often criticize the church, but it was my starting point. It’s a good pre-school for spiritual life. It’s good for children. There may come a point when we mature, spiritually, and our beliefs may change radically, but the church does have a contribution to make. Small communities of bygone days provided comfort and security for their members, They helped people survive. We still need that help, and we can still find it in church.

Don: James 1:27 has a definition of religion that has nothing to do with god: “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” This is a broad definition. Micah 6:8 has a similar definition:

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?

These are fairly bedrock definitions of religion. But faith communities tend to elaborate far beyond those definitions, and the more they elaborate, the more offbeat they become, the more they seem to attract people. Is this what makes Mormonism, Adventism, and Witnessing so appealing to people? They seem to be a long way from the bedrock definitions of religion, and even from Jesus’ admonitions to the Pharisees about letting their religious habits cloak their religious essence.

Rimon: One reason these particular churches are gaining members is that they are actually doing the legwork to go out and recruit people who feel a need to belong to a community. The impression that they are “fringe” and therefore small churches is perhaps part of the appeal. You don’t see Catholics or mainstream Protestant churches actively recruiting like this.

Harry: We are all filled with fear  of death, etc. The “fringe” churches show a strong sense of conviction, and that helps foster a sense of security.

Rimon: Most of us are somewhat adrift, so that conviction, that purposefulness, is a powerful selling point.

Robin: I wonder if the “fringe” churches appeal to people who think they have to work their passage to heaven and have not yet realized what the definition of grace is.

David: I see a difference between superficial vs. substantial reasons for joining a faith community, or even a gang, for that matter. The substantial, or fundamental, reasons include fear, curiosity, and the search for answers to life, the universe, and everything. Superficial reasons for belonging include the belief that membership in the group confers some individuality on the individual: “I am special because I am a Krip,” or “I am superior because I am a Chinese, or a Witness, or an Adventist.” These don’t matter.

I am curious about what “in my name” means in “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name.” I would like to think it means “Wherever two or three are gathered to discuss goodness and truth” because that would make it inclusive, whereas “in Jesus’ name” excludes those of other faiths and those of no faith, and I don’t believe Jesus would ever exclude anyone.

The old African saying about it taking a village to raise a child implies that the village community provides the child with its initial conception of what is good and what is true. This is what Jason and Alice and others here have alluded to with regard to the “preschool” role of the church, but in a non-religious community context.

Perhaps one reason people flock to the “fringe” religions is because there’s stagnation in the established churches. We see the corruption and decay in them. Perhaps the fringe churches appeal to people precisely because they are at the fringe, the boundary, the interface between belief and reality. Boundaries are where the action lies, where two ecological or political or economic or other systems clash; where there is excitement and pushing of the envelope and discovery and advance in understanding. Or at least, there is the potential for all of the above. It’s why I get up at 3 am to join this group of vegetarian nuts! 😉 The vegetarianism of the SDA is irrelevant to me, but the advanced discussion about issues at the interface between heaven and earth that this SDA group generates is important to me.

Michael: I too am here because I want to discover the truth. I don’t expect to hear it revealed directly at these meetings. I don’t expect the truth to be handed to me on a plate. But I find this group gives me pointers taking me further toward the truth of the bible.

Alice: With regard to the question of “in my name”: God’s name is Love, therefore to say “Wherever two or three are gathered together in the name of love” appeals to everybody. Love is the mortar of every community.

David: If only that’s what the bible said! It would make the bible a lot more appealing to many people.

Robin: Maybe Jesus put it that way to force us to discover and learn what he is.

David: But unless one knows a Robin or an Alice, one may go through life and never learn it!

Don: That’s why one needs a community of faith so that such lessons can emerge. I agree that the original statement is not to be construed as being reserved for Christians. We will discuss this further.