Ekklesia vs Church: This ain't That.
I don't know how well this thought will be received on a site called "house church network," but there are very few words in the English language that I have come to despise and mourn more than the word "church". Adding the word "house" really only communicates a move of the exact same problems into a different geography - and so often, that's exactly what happens in real practice, too. And here's the kicker - the word itself is an impostor to the New Testament.
Did you know the English word "church" was not a translation of the Greek word "ekklesia", but rather was inserted? Did you know that those who attempted to simply translate that and other "churchy" words were severely persecuted or killed for their "heresies" by powerful church clergy? Why? Because those clergy needed the Bible (which was being read for the first time by their parishioners) to support and uphold their positions of power, control, and wealth. They knew if these words were fully translated, they would quickly lose their hold over the lives and fortunes of others.
I highly recommend reading through the New Testament using the World English Bible or even better its cousin, the World Messianic Bible - both available freely on Bible.is (Web site or app). Inserted or transliterated "churchy" words like Church, Ministry, Apostle, Deacon, Gospel, Christ, and others are instead fully translated with the plain meaning of the original. No more reading "into" the real text with our centuries of cultural malpractice. It is quite freeing - and challenging!
By the way, if you are one who gets heartburn over the use of certain families of manuscripts for translation, etc, then you could just take your favorite Bible translation and more fully translate it using the following...
Church = assembly, Gospel = good news, preach = announce, Ministry = service, Christ = the Messiah, Apostle = emissary, Deacon = servant, Bishop = overseer
-
Hey there dear brother, you have touched on many serious issues. We definitely should dig deeper here. I'm going to be thinking about this and I hope everyone else will look into it in greater depth. I was reminded of a footnote I read just yesterday:
If I recall, the NT "churchy" words were just common words, already in use. For example, the word for church also applies to the vicious mob, recorded in the book of Acts. And of course, words change meanings over time - just as the swastika was once an ancient Christian symbol.
Lemme rant here for a moment.... Last week I received climbing gear from Notch, designed in your city. Those mountains also produced a legendary tennis champion who has even defeated Roger Federer: John Isner. Not to mention Honda jet aircraft, flying cross-country in just a few hours.
I'm a former North Carolinian (Montreat) so let me remind the world that when the Declaration of Independence was being penned, an earlier version of a similar document was either on the table or in minds of those who were sitting there with their quills. I'm referring to the Mecklenburg Declaration.
I bring up these details because the city is not that large yet its influence is global in reach....
Soooo your own life and your small church be used for good if you follow the Lamb, seek his glory, and pursue his Kingdom. Just like the mustard seed which grows into a great tree. Or the yeast which makes bread to rise. Or the "stone" in Daniel's prophecy which grew and "filled the whole earth". Etc.
Someone might have reminded the mother of John and Charles Wesley that she was just a housewife. But years later, books were written documenting how, under the hand of Providence, these two men changed the entire landscape. One such book is entitled: England After the Wesleys.
Reader, let us get in step behind Jesus. Let us love him every moment. Let us obey his words, regardless of where they may lead, knowing that the final outcome will be in his hands.
-
Hey Jesse. Hey all. Here's just one more example of how things went askew regarding our Christian vocabulary. Check it out and think it over if you will.
It's a real tragedy that we are even having this discussion instead of advancing the cause of the Kingdom in more tangible ways. Ways in which every believer is a co-equal brother/sister and a bona-fide minister of the Almighty. We have literally lost centuries of opportunities..
These are fundamental issues and as they say: Form determines function. Obviously, the church needs to adjust and even overhaul her form and structure. And that without delay.
The author was the Professor of Hebrew at a major University. He also wrote a Hebrew Grammar. This page is from a biography about him after his death. We'll be publishing (without cost) more of his work before long.
-
Thanks David - the last paragraph of that quote says it all. "Let it be remembered that the translators had a double task to perform, not only to give an English version of the Scriptures, but so to manage that version as not to disturb the ecclesiastical order of their own communion."
Very polite way of saying if they didn't prop up the church structure and the career clergy with their word choices, they would face dire consequences.
-
Hi Jesse,
Thank you so much for your comments. I haven't had time to fully digest them, so I can't say with any certainty that I agree with them completely. There is certainly food for thought. I do, however, have a couple of comments to make based on my initial reading of your post...
First, my preferred Bible translation is the Young's Literal Translation (YLT). I've verified that it indeed translates ekklesia as "assembly" as you suggest. But it does so much more than just that. For example, as I have noted previously on these pages, it uses the phrase "reign of God" in place of "kingdom of God" (e.g. Matt 6:33), which I believe more accurately describes what God has brought about under His Messiah. It's the idea of God being at the center of all things rather than God being ascribed to a physical location (e.g . a church building). Also, and perhaps most importantly, the YLT preserves the passive voice of the original Greek. Most English Bible translations translate Scripture into an active voice, thereby making man the center of the activity. For example, the ESV translates John 3:16 as "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" whereas the YLT translates it as "for God did so love the world, that His Son -- the only begotten -- He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during". The change in phrasing from "whoever believes in him" to "everyone who is believing in him" puts God rightfully back at the center of salvation.
As for your comment about despising the word "church", my concern is more focused on what the assembly has become, regardless of what name we use for it. Much of what the assembly is today is not reflected in the pages of Scripture. And I'm not talking about playing drums during the church service. Many practices that I see taking place in our assemblies do not mirror the Biblical narrative. For example, at what point do we see assemblies operating on Robert's Rules and run by majority opinion? Unity of believers is a key concept in the New Testament (1 Cor 1:10-17). Where in Scripture are church leaders allowed to deny Communion to penitent believers? Where is God's command to rest on the first day of the week? Or for churches to have membership? I find the last question to be particularly important, since church membership is extremely damaging to the assembly as a whole. In Ex 20:10, God commands rest for everyone, including the "sojourner who is within thy gates". Yet virtually every Christian leader (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant) who claims that they are the spiritual descendants of Peter in Matt 16:18 will tell you that their responsibility to the assembly lies only with members of their church. How can it be that a Christian's only true responsibility is toward those who contribute to their salaries and their buildings, and who agree with their theological leanings? God clearly has concern for those outside of the local tribe, yet our assemblies operate to the contrary.
To close out what has already become a long thread, I think that your point, Jesse, is that our Bible translations co-opt words for use with their own agendas. On this point I think that we can agree. But I would take your premise one step further to say that God's truth may still be gleaned from the pages of Scripture despite the poor translations that are generally most widely used. I've only recently become a seventh day Sabbatarian because all of the Scripture that I've read previously, regardless of translation, tells me that the Sabbath is on the seventh day. The reason that I spent almost 60 years believing that Sunday was the Sabbath is that I never questioned the authority that told me that it was. It was not until my former church literally kicked me out a few years back for questioning their authority which appeared to place Christ in subject to church leadership that things changed. It was God who opened my eyes to the truth that the church follows cultural conventions nearly as much as it follows Scripture. There is no doubt in my mind that God is still at work in many of the churches today and that many are saved because of it. It's just that we deprive ourselves of experiencing him as we should through our own sinful actions. May we all hope and pray that God will show us His reign as we seek to do His will.
-
Here's an interesting quote from the above author George Bush. The phrase in view is "Pandora's Box of evil" which is spot on true. Please consider his words:
My question is: How can the Church again become the servant church? The early church had a list of qualified widows (among other things) which it supported, for example.
What happened to this list? I think I know the simple answer. Widows are no longer a financial priority. Most all the funding today goes to the clergy. I am referring to tens of billions of dollars each year.