The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Did Jesus ever establish a Bureaucratic Church

This has been a bit of a struggle for me. Considering that no Organized Religion has ever been able to give us the fullness of Jesus. Even if many claim to give us the fullness of truth. However, it seems from experience, organized religion often times, but this does seem like a common attitude in the Ancient Churches(Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian, and Roman Catholic), and Restorationist(Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormons and others who reject hellism for annihilation). And there are some Protestants who take a denominationist attitude.

Which got me wondering about whether the Church was really meant to be a single bureaucratic system? Or whether Church is something entirely different? Now I have no problem with Church systems, and they can be a source of good. If they are related to properly. I have a book called “Healing Spiritual abuse and Religious Addiction”, which explains about how many can make religion into an idol blocking a true relationship with God.

And this also has me wondering about all those councils in the early Church that sought to weed out heresy and establish orthodoxy. If they were necessary, or politically motivated?

Joel, on the morning before Jesus died, he composed a detailed blueprint on how he wanted his Church to be institutionally organized. This document is now hidden in a secret warehouse in Vatican City. It sits right next to the Ark of the Covenant. I think Dan Brown is planning to write a book about it. :wink:

This is hilarious!

I have the same questions and struggle with the same thing. No matter what religion you are, you best hope that God is more merciful than what mainstream Christianity or Islam say he is… This why I think many people have adopted universalism (not the Christian variation, though the line is thin) because what one truth can all religions pretty much agree on? The Golden Rule. That is the truth that transcends all people groups. Be kind, gracious, forgiving… Christianity may up this up one notch (in my opinion) by saying “Love God” in addition to this.

Take for example:

What if that same basic premise was in the Koran? Would it no longer be truth? Yet, that same basic premise exists in other religions and we want to act like it isn’t truth because it didn’t come from the Bible.