No emphasis on the church?
Would you agree with this statement by J.C. Hoekendijk, written in 1952? Please share your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing.
In history a keen ecclesiological interest has almost without exception been a sign of spiritual decadence; ecclesiology has been a subject of major concern only in the “second generation”; in the “first generation,” in periods of revival, reformation or missionary advance, our interest was absorbed by christology, thought-patterns were determined by eschatology, life became a doxology and the Church was spoken of in an unaccented and to some extent rather naive way, as being something that “thank God a child of seven knows what it is” (Luther). This child of seven should constantly cross our path whenever we set out to “engage in ecclesiology.”
Quoted in G. W. Peters, A theology of church growth, p. 45.
Dave Rogers, and 
Ron Thomas 10:32 am on July 25, 2012 Permalink |
What does he mean by “spiritual decadence”?
In today’s environment, because so little attention is properly placed on what the NT says about the church – there could be some aspect of truth in his words, but it is not associated with spiritual decadence (as I interpret his use of the term).
However, that is not necessarily the case. If one teaches as the Lord and the apostles taught, then proper emphasis will placed on the “whole counsel.”
J. Randal Matheny 6:57 am on July 26, 2012 Permalink |
Dunno, Ron, might even be a bit of circular reasoning there on his part. Good point on the whole counsel.
Dave Rogers 9:57 pm on July 25, 2012 Permalink |
I guess that by Hoekendijk’s standard, the apostle Paul must have been one of those benighted “second generation” Christians, since he wrote rather extensively about ecclesiological matters in the book of Ephesians. Oh. but wait! Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all, since he also concentrated on christological things in Galatians!
J. Randal Matheny 6:59 am on July 26, 2012 Permalink |
Dave, thanks for the comment. Yup, and add to that Colossians with its high Christological teachings.