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onevoice
New member
Username: onevoice
Post Number: 1
Registered: 5-2007
Posted From: 199.244.214.30
| | Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 - 11:25 pm: | 
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Hello all,
I've been spending the past week or so catching up on various sites and postings on FA. I just found this and Tomax7's and have been fascinated. I don't have anything to contribute to the current conversations so I just wanted to start a new one.
Personal history:
My parents move to northern Indiana right before I was born in 1980. They were in their own homegrown, just-as-fanatical group before then, so FA was perfect for them. My parents moved after HEF died right before I turned 5. I actually have quite a few memories of the places we lived and the life that I had at that time.
My parents left with less than they came with, but with 3 more kids (total of 5). They joined a related group in Shelbyville but soon extracted themselves from that as well. I grew up in Shelbyville and with many people from that group there. We also went back and visited Northern Indy folks on several occasions. I remember when we left the church my dad pretty much locked himself in his room for months while he prayed and studied and tried to figure out how to live a normal christian life. Thanks to God's grace, he came out with a pretty sane and balanced view of it all.
I went to the only Christian school in the town and spent just as much time in the corresponding church as my family ever did at FA. I went to college, have a good job at a Fortune 200 company, and am married with a daughter of my own (now 4). Although my life was less directly impacted by FA, I know of countless families in the area where I grew up who still suffer the effects.
I'm very interested in hearing from anyone that my knew my family. Families I remember are the Mansfields, McCoys, Irwins, Crims, and Kirkoffs. |
onevoice
New member
Username: onevoice
Post Number: 2
Registered: 5-2007
Posted From: 199.244.214.30
| | Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 - 11:28 pm: |
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Oh, I forgot add that those were families I remember from Indiana.
And I am also very interested to hear from anyone from the Shelbyville group. I don't live there anymore and would like to hear from others my age that were in that group. |
onevoice
New member
Username: onevoice
Post Number: 3
Registered: 5-2007
Posted From: 199.244.214.30
| | Posted on Saturday, May 05, 2007 - 12:13 am: |
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I have a general observation on what I have read from the comments thus far:
The content of the Bible is finite. Period. The richness and challenge of it is in the application of the concepts to a real person's life. It seems to me that a lot of people are looking for more "teaching" as a way to grow spiritually. However, spiritual growth based on teaching will only take someone so far. An individual truly grows by practicing these concepts in a real life -- a life that touches and interacts with the rest of the world.
I also believe that interaction with others needs to be profound. The reason for going to church is not for teaching. It should be for the people. If you miss the passion or the comraderie or whatever you valued in the FA experience, don't shun those who don't have that. You need to be a part of them so that they can see your passion and you can be a real part of each other's walk with God. That is the only way you will grow. For those who just miss/value "good teaching", I would suggest that your spiritual diet is missing a few important food groups.
I also think that this is the reason that the FA teaching got more restrictive over time. Because HEF didn't have continuously new experiences in his life to challenge his knowledge and beliefs, he started to run out of content. He had to start focusing on restrictions -- what else was he going to talk about that would seem new? The downward spiral of FA is no mystery. It was a fairly natural progression of a stagnant life. |
hombre
New member
Username: hombre
Post Number: 8
Registered: 8-2005
Posted From: 209.254.77.1
| | Posted on Monday, May 07, 2007 - 11:23 am: |
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quote:The content of the Bible is finite. Period. The richness and challenge of it is in the application of the concepts to a real person's life. It seems to me that a lot of people are looking for more "teaching" as a way to grow spiritually. However, spiritual growth based on teaching will only take someone so far. An individual truly grows by practicing these concepts in a real life -- a life that touches and interacts with the rest of the world......the reason for going to church is not for teaching. It should be for the people.
OneVoice, you have some interesting points to make, and though I basically agree with you in your assessment of the purpose of the Christian life after salvation, I have to disagree with:
1.) The idea that the Bible is finite. Sure, you can count the words and come up with a number. Sure, you can start at Genesis and end up at Revelation, close the cover, hold the object and conclude that it is indeed, finite. What makes the book infinite, however, is A. ) it's application to anyones' life at any given moment under any given set of circumstances, B .) the fact that it declares itself to be 'living' emanation from God Himself ( John 1:1-3, 2 Tim 3:16, Heb 4:12 ),and C.) the innate ability of the words contained within the book to transform ones very spiritual essence through the acceptance of its' path to God through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus The Christ. It is far more than just a religious book that contains good information on how to live a moral life.
2.) That the purpose for attending church is not for teaching. Teaching is the PRIMARY tool of the church, used for maturing people to walk a Christian life, not only for themselves, but as you say, toward and for others as well. What distinguishes 'Christians' from 'church members' is the application of those principles, not the mere memory collection of verses. I could quote about a million verses here, but I'll stick with Mark 6:4-6. 'A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, TEACHING. ' In these 3 verses, we find 2 principles, A.) Faith is required to receive from God and B.) the way you get that, is through teaching ( faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God ~ Rom. 10:17...oooops! that's 2.......forgive me.... ). If the church neglects the Word of God, it becomes nothing more than another do-gooder community organization, unempowered and ineffectual in its' primary goal of transforming mens hearts and lives.
In conclusion, I think that what I have stated above, is probably in line with your thinking, but when we discuss theological matters, every jot and tittle does indeed matter, and I think that we need to be very careful in the way that we contrive definitions to explain principles and understanding, when we share these most important, life-altering ideas about the Word of God with others.
Glad to see that you have not abandoned the Word of God as others though. |
duncan
New member
Username: duncan
Post Number: 1
Registered: 1-2005
Posted From: 205.255.224.10
| | Posted on Monday, May 07, 2007 - 11:52 am: |
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OneVoice,
Thanks for your comments. I appreciate what you had to say, and I read it a little differently than Hombre.
I agree with Hombre that the Word is a living, breathing book. The way I read it was that we should rely only on the Bible. Many in religion today (especially Charismatics), are looking for additional revelation beyond the Bible (i.e. they are looking for something "new" or "extra"). I believe the Bible is sufficient to meet all our needs (what's the old term - "solo scriptura"). Many at FA were looking for some type of new revelation that wasn't included in the Bible. It is my belief that the Bible is all-inclusive for our daily needs.
Secondly, I think I understand what you are saying regarding interaction with others. Many ex-FAers have withdrawn themselves from any fellowship because they "can't find a place that preaches the 'strong word'".
As an example, my father used to preach at FA on a regular basis. When we moved back to Alabama, he always had a hard time finding a place to worship. There was always some little thing that drove him away. (I remember one place we went to when I was still in high school where the preacher used the term Jehovah, instead of Yahweh. We quit going because the pastor didn't see it as the big deal that my father did). Finally, my father just quit going anywhere, and it wasn't long before his spiritual life began to deteriorate due to the lack of fellowship.
There are reasons that the Bible tells us "not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together." It is so we can exhort and encourage one another in Christ. A large part of the early church, as mentioned in Acts 2, was to fellowship with one another. Proverbs says that as "iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens his friend."
Sitting around listening to tapes of "good teaching" cannot compensate for christian fellowship. (Don't take that to mean that I don't like teaching, because I listen to as much as possible in my car.)
Again, thanks for the post. If my interpretation is different from what you meant, please let me know.
Have a great day!
Duncan |
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