Posted on 11/12/2010 10:13:27 PM PST by hiho hiho
On 18 October 2010, Southern California's landmark Crystal Cathedral, the prototype of all late 20th Century American Megachurches, filed for bankruptcy. I drove up the following Sunday to get a look at the place while it was still in operation.
The Crystal Cathedral proper, a spectacular glass structure designed by Philip Johnson and completed in 1980, dominates a landscaped campus that includes the congregation's original church building, designed by Richard Neutra, Richard Meier's "Welcoming Center", and a variety of other buildings, reflecting pools and religiously themed statuary. A German tourist prevailed on me to take a picture of him and his wife posing in a larger-than-life tableau of Jesus as Good Shepherd.
The campus and decor are the culmination of a high-church revival in American Protestantism that began in the 19th century. It was then that evangelical Christians, who had traditionally assembled in meeting houses and preaching halls, constructed faux-Gothic edifices, dressed their preachers in gowns, and "beautified" their services, exchanging tedium for vulgarity. By the mid-20th century, they had appropriated all the "potent symbols of cinema secularism" theologian Reinhold Niebuhr described in his rendition of an evangelical Easter service conducted, as was not uncommon, in a movie theatre:
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I thought religion was a window into heaven, into another world of power, glory and intensity, to the contemplation of divine beauty. When I got religion, I never imagined this flat, dull evangelicalism.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Why do they wear gowns? Are they affiliated with some denomination or is this their own creation?
"Forty Days of Purpose" is so 2003. Ehhh! Available at fine garage sales and used bookstores everywhere.
Our church did the 40 days thing, back when that was the current evangelical fad. They kicked it off on Easter Sunday. Talk about a tin ear.
Why did they file for bankruptcy?
Spent too much on pageants. Couldn't pay the people they owed money to.
God gave them faith but no common sense.
Hello Cronos....Well it is no surprise to me they are done. Shuller was way off base in his teachings. His focus on a “Prosperity Gospel” appealed to those of a materialistic mindset, IMO. There was nothing in his messages I cared to hear as he often mislead people and was in error in his teachings. He and his ministry was more like motivational speakers...the ‘how to be successful’ books and messages centered peoples minds and hearts on material aspects as the end result. Never could hear the guy much...too phoney for my taste.
I lived in Orange County also....always viewed the Crystal Cathedral not as a house of worship, but a fortress built to worship the glory....of gluttony.
¨...a still small voice....
Every time I see something by Chesterton I am astonished anew at the power of his intellect.
“a building created by man to glorify God”
Not at all. The cathedrals were built rather to inspire man, to make a statement that “something really special is going on here.”
Even with all that “waste of money,” the Catholic Church managed to be the largest provider of charity in all forms in the world. Selling cathedrals and religious art to give the proceeds to the poor would be like eating the seed corn. Even so much as has been done to date has severely crippled the Church’s ability to follow Our Lord’s commands, and has negatively affected its ability to proselytize, IMO.
The Crystal Cathedral was designed to win some architectural prize but was beaten out by the simple Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs Arkansas.
My church is Christ who is the Head of the Body and all members world-wide - Colossians 1:18
All TRUE believers are identified in 2 Corinthians 6:9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; The Catholics' can kills us, but behold, we live
Notice what God says in identifying TRUE believers: 1 Corinthians 1:25 ...how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
The "RC organization" is known here as the "wise", "mighty", "noble": but they are not called by God. On the other hand, the "RC organization" makes it own calling and labels everyone else beside themselves as foolish: But see what God Almighty says in regards to "foolish":
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise [Catholic]; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty [and noble Catholic]; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
God has chosen in what the Word of God calls, the unknowns, the "weak", not "wise", not "mighty", not "noble". And God has made these "weak" to show up the people who are "wise", "mighty", "noble": 1 Corinthians 1:28yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
2 Corinthians 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Belial here represents "darkness" and is associated with Satan's "treacherous" doctrines. The "RC organization" is exactly like these weak Corinthians, together they both divide the church as a result of being under the deluding influence of Satan (2 Cor 2:11, 4:3-6, 11:3, 11:15).
2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? Paul is pointing out the prohibition against idolatry based upon the identification of the temple with God's people. Israel as a people fell into idolatry and disobedience. I am stunned that some who say that they who call themselves "Christian", the RC organization, now consort with idolatry and wickedness as a way to identify themselves with Christ.
Exodus 20:3-5 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God
Matthew 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Pope is not a father. God prohibits against calling any man your father, except your Father in heaven and your early paternal father.
Matthew 15:16 Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Mark 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
Mark 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Don't quote me on tradition, the only valid tradition to hold is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our [Paul] epistle. Paul never advocated to hold any other tradition than what God taught through Paul in his epistles; not by traditions centuries later by men...whom God did not give direct revelation...for if so, then those words would be recorded in the completed Bible.
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
John 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
1 Corinthians 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men;
God is wiser than all men; even the weakness of God is stronger than men; and that includes the Pope and the RC organization's Magistrate.
Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Perhaps instead of lashing out at people and their faith you don't understand, having been blinded by the RC Church, it would profit you to question the spirit of division and hatred that fuels many of the Catholics against the saints within the Protestant and Reformed Churches, which are all under the Headship of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 6:11-12 O ye [Catholic/Pharisee] Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Be ye rescued from judgment. At stake is the gospel of God Grace, as given to Paul to us ward. Paul's "death" and "deliverance" embody Christ's own death the deliverance. The "death" like sufferings of Paul's ministry are also incurred in my ministry of preaching the free gospel of the grace of God for a free gift of salvation, by Christ alone, never to be taken away by any man or "RC organization".
Your "RC organization" is of the doctrine of Belial and its doctrines are of the ultimate source of unbelief by Satanic doctrines. Only the "RC organization" has secret knowledge, not My God and My Bible and Paul's Gospel, which is denied by those Belial organizations.
Rick Warren is NOT teaching correct Bible doctrine NOR correct Bible Gospel. I know this after years of reviewing his writings, sayings, and books.
Rick Warren IS ONLY teaching ANOTHER GOSPEL, which is NOT the true Gospel of God as given to the Apostle Paul.
Rick Warren gospel is a gospel on ANOTHER KIND - NOT the Gospel of the Grace of God, and yes, those pastors who utilize Warren's gospel of another kine have no discernment and have definitely allowed deception to enter into their churches.
The Bible clearly teaches that there is NO salvation in a gospel on ANOTHER KIND; only in the Gospel of the Grace of God, in which God & Jesus Christ have appointed the Apostle Paul with that ministry of the Grace of God.
Rick Warren strays from the true Bible doctrine of Grace and the truth of God’s will for us today. There is no salvation inside of Rick Warren's man-made gospel.
Because there is no $$$ to be made from the Grace message, the smaller the congregation, the truer the message, IMHO. If a person can rightly divide the word of truth, he cannot be deceived. These are the two things to look for. Is the bible being rightly divided, and how much emphasis is put on $$$ (prosperity gospel, tithing, ‘faith’ giving, etc.). If God’s word cannot be taught at a kitchen table, something is very wrong. And if God is “waiting to bless us if show enough faith”, something is very wrong.
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Cor. 12: 9,10.
If God never gives us another thing in this life, He gave us His Son, to die for our sins, so that we may live with Him forever. What more can we possible need or want? Who dares to want more than this gift He gave to us freely, when we deserved Hell itself?
ok, thanks for that, but now I’m confused. I thought the “prosperity gospel” schtick was preached by the likes of Creflo Dollar and other pentecostal preachers. Schuller was Dutch Reformed. Did the idea cross genres?
I’m re-reading “Orthodoxy” —> his phrasing, his language, his thoughts are so well put together, I’m sure that his intellect had divine inspiration. Mere intellect could not write a book on “mere Christianity”!
blah, blah, blah — Gnostic groups such as your group that believe in secret knowledge and call God the father as a demiurge are not even Christian.
My understanding of Schuller is he, like many others, started out on solid footing. But as with many in the limelight they yield to the times and become far too worldly and adapt those ideas into their church programs. Often those ideas are a matter of generating funds into their coffers. The Gospel thereafter starts to get waterered down until the messages become that not of salvation or building up the membership in the things of Christ and knowlede of Him, but of bringing ways and means to the people to keep the happy faces returning for the next dose of “positive thinking”. The focus moves to the contentment of the people and the church being the source of that contentment rather than on Christ. IMO.
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