Thursday, May 31, 2007

J. C. Ryle on Comportment in the Assembly

I received this arresting quote from Pastor David Anderson. It is by author, J.C. Ryle.

"Christian churches no doubt are not like the Jewish temples. They have neither altars, priesthood, sacrifices, nor symbolic furniture. But they are places where God’s Word is read, where Christ is present, and where the Holy Ghost works on souls. These facts ought to make us grave reverent, and solemn whenever we enter them. . . . The man who behaves as carelessly in a church as he would in an inn, or a private dwelling, has yet much to learn. He has not the 'mind of Christ.'"

8 comments:

MJ said...

While I understand the point that was attempted to be made, I cannot help but frown in light of 1Cor. 6:19-20 and John 2:18-22.

Nice picture, by the way, Christopher. If only we gave so much thought to building Protestant churches.

Sam said...

@MJ: I'm at a loss as to how either of those two passages you've quoted have any relevance to the point made in Doug's post -- could you elaborate?

Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. said...

Christopher has been deleted in light of the extremely rude things he posted on the Beckwith issue previously.

Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. said...

I agree that Protestant Churches are often ugly, especially when they ape shopping malls. Lutheran churches, however, are not so. Their names are also dignified, such as "Crown of Life Lutheran Church" in Sun City West, AZ, where my wife and I attended while I was on sabbatical there.

Tom said...

Even if Christopher had previously committed delete-worthy sins, his point regarding this post was still on target: are we supposed to think that Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches aren't "Christian" because they include alters, priests, and (perhaps) symbolic furniture? Just who is Mr. Ryle that we should put his opinion over the history of the Christian church?

Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. said...

Tom:

That is not the point. He was quite rude and inconsiderate previously, so I am banning him from my blog. That's my prerogative. If other Catholics or Eastern Orthodox want to post and be civil, that is just fine with me.

He has a thousand other places to post.

Anonymous said...

If you want beautiful and lovely churches that bring glory to God, you should have a look inside some of the Catholic Churches, they are quite profound and beautiful. They are focused on Christ ie the tabernacle/altar, not man like the pulpit focus in protestant services..

Jeff S. said...

test!