If the early church had been arranged much like it is today (meeting in buildings; public, centralized governing bodies; always on Sundays) it would have likely been eradicated. Yet, because they met where it was safe, away from persecution, the church, in a little less than 300 years, conquered the Roman Empire. By 320AD, it is estimated that Believers in Christ made up 8% to 10% of the population of the Roman Empire.
When Constantine offered peace with the believers he did so out of political expedience: had he NOT, the number of believers would have continued to climb exponentially. He knew his hold on the Empire could have waned to the point where his political hegemony would have suffered. So, when he offered believers the right to become the State church, he and his successors also made temples of Christian worship areas of cultural learning. To this end, the temples of pagan gods were retrofitted to accommodate new, Christian themes: statues of the saints and depictions of salient Biblical events were commissioned, frescoes and paintings were completed, entire ceilings of some buildings were covered in certain Biblical scenes. Paintings, statues, liturgy, robes, leadership, etc. all coalesced into what we see today as the "Institutional Church". Once this pattern was standardized it could be exported to all corners of the Empire in scope and practice.
And that's what they did.
But here's the rub:
Much of what was done to accommodate the fact that most people could not read. Therefore, pictures, and statues, and spectacular arrangements and buildings were of necessity. If they could not read, they could at least see and emotionally experience the message of "Our God is Greater than Any God and We have Monopolized Access to Him".
However, recall that the church had already spread to be the largest homogeneous group in the Empire without the ability to read. This occurred through relationships, word of mouth, testimonies; through Christ appearing in the believers as the fruits of the Spirit. THIS was the original way that Christ intended to build His church: one Living Stone at a time: connected by the Spirit one and all.
Much of the apostasy that Rome introduced remains as common practice among many denominations: hierarchy not found in scripture (pastors of programs), common meeting times, elaborate buildings, leadership chosen by education and not by examples of fruit and character, entertainment, Levitical Priesthood practices, etc.
The church was never an institution. The Lord is building a house made of living stones: saints built upon each other with Christ as the Head of the Body.
Aaron56
When Constantine offered peace with the believers he did so out of political expedience: had he NOT, the number of believers would have continued to climb exponentially. He knew his hold on the Empire could have waned to the point where his political hegemony would have suffered. So, when he offered believers the right to become the State church, he and his successors also made temples of Christian worship areas of cultural learning. To this end, the temples of pagan gods were retrofitted to accommodate new, Christian themes: statues of the saints and depictions of salient Biblical events were commissioned, frescoes and paintings were completed, entire ceilings of some buildings were covered in certain Biblical scenes. Paintings, statues, liturgy, robes, leadership, etc. all coalesced into what we see today as the "Institutional Church". Once this pattern was standardized it could be exported to all corners of the Empire in scope and practice.
And that's what they did.
But here's the rub:
Much of what was done to accommodate the fact that most people could not read. Therefore, pictures, and statues, and spectacular arrangements and buildings were of necessity. If they could not read, they could at least see and emotionally experience the message of "Our God is Greater than Any God and We have Monopolized Access to Him".
However, recall that the church had already spread to be the largest homogeneous group in the Empire without the ability to read. This occurred through relationships, word of mouth, testimonies; through Christ appearing in the believers as the fruits of the Spirit. THIS was the original way that Christ intended to build His church: one Living Stone at a time: connected by the Spirit one and all.
Much of the apostasy that Rome introduced remains as common practice among many denominations: hierarchy not found in scripture (pastors of programs), common meeting times, elaborate buildings, leadership chosen by education and not by examples of fruit and character, entertainment, Levitical Priesthood practices, etc.
The church was never an institution. The Lord is building a house made of living stones: saints built upon each other with Christ as the Head of the Body.
Aaron56
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