I served my mission in Oklahoma City, and while serving I had many opportunities to do "church swaps." This is where my companion and I would attend the different services of our investigators, and they would attend ours. Doing this on my mission was the first time in my life visiting different denominations, and it was extremely eye opening to me.
In many areas that I served in, we met for church in a trailer. (Keep in mind, I was serving in tiny little towns in rural Oklahoma). This was a large contrast from the other churches we would visit that were so much more beautifully designed and more eloquently decorated. From the stained class, to the elaborate sermons, to the rich paintings, and tall ceilings, the other churches seemed to be much more put together than our little trailer that would hold 20 people max.
Why do I bring this up? Well, in reading Martin Luther’s, The Babylonian Captivity, I noted that one of Luther’s biggest hang-ups with the church was that it was too distracting from Christ. He believed that the whole pageantry of outward things needed to be put away including ornaments, chants, prayers, organs, vestments, etc. He called for a return to Christ, which was ultimately a return to simplicity. When I read this, my mind went back to the days in my mission visiting churches that resembled this.
As beautiful as the many churches that we visited were, they were lacking many key components of Christ’s church, that I believe are found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When it comes to following Christ, it is all about simplicity.
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I think this is such good point. In my World Religions class right now we are studying Judaism. Because they believe the Law has not been fulfilled yet, their lives are extremely ritual-heavy with an emphasis on outward actions. When Christ came, he taught a higher law focussing on desires and motivations rather than actions. I agree that Luther's push in that same direction is very much a return to Christ.
ReplyDeleteI also took a world religions class a few years ago, and it was interesting to me that the one underlying factor with all of them was that they taught their people to do good to others and love them. Ultimately, it’s the simple acts of love that change the way we live. I think Luther had it right— simplifying is a way to come closer to God.
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ReplyDeleteI think it is very interesting how a lot of time what mankind wants is complexity, that hard problems can't have such simple answers. In one of the great ironies of history, Jesus' doctrine was too simple for the people. Both pagan and Jew were accustomed to complex rites and mysticism, where as the path Jesus offered was one of simplicity. I think it is telling that for all of man's supposed "complexity," God's doctrine is simple and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteInteresting tie between Martin Luther and simplicity. I often see him in my mind as a revolutionist but forget, or never realized in the first place, that he preached a lot about simplicity and the need to be focused on the center of Christianity more, being Christ. I really like your application of his theses and points to your own faith and beliefs, great post!
ReplyDeleteI was reminded of Ad Fontes when you said "He called for a return to Christ, which was ultimately a return to simplicity." Martin Luther wanted to bring the religion back to its roots. People want to complicate things, but the idea of Ad Fontes can alleviate some of that as we get back to the roots and the basics of things.
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