Ecclesiology - Revision history

Eric Rasmusen: /* Worship */

2025-11-15T16:07:35Z

‎Worship

Eric Rasmusen: /* Music */

2024-05-04T13:04:27Z

‎Music

Eric Rasmusen: /* Timeliness */

2024-02-06T00:26:40Z

‎Timeliness

Eric Rasmusen: /* =General Principles */

2024-02-06T00:25:49Z

‎=General Principles

Eric Rasmusen: /* Timeliness */

2024-02-06T00:25:15Z

‎Timeliness

Eric Rasmusen at 15:53, 2 September 2023

2023-09-02T15:53:21Z

Eric Rasmusen at 15:50, 2 September 2023

2023-09-02T15:50:59Z

Eric Rasmusen at 15:47, 2 September 2023

2023-09-02T15:47:18Z

Eric Rasmusen: /* Chairman */

2023-09-02T15:45:53Z

‎Chairman

Eric Rasmusen: /* Flying the National Flag */

2023-09-02T15:45:41Z

‎Flying the National Flag

@@ Line 176: / Line 176: @@
 ==Worship==
 *Raising hands in worship reduces uniformity, becase peple do it differently, and so reduces glorification as a body-- it is only indivudal. Same with singing by bad singers. My own bad clappig—I keep it quiet. We each should worship-- but corporately.  The sermon? Hard to figure. Prayers are easier; we all say it in our heads. I guess with the sermon we are all listening together, a corporate act, thinking the same things and showing our faith together.
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@@ Line 75: / Line 75: @@
 ==Music==
 ===Whether it is right to not sing some verses of a hymn===
 Yes. Of course, if a verse is in error, it should be dropped. The harder question is what to do if a hymn has 8 verses. First, in all contexts, it is fine to drop a verse if it is poorly written, or even if it falls noticeably short of the other verses.To do otherwise has no reason to it, except antiquarianism. Very possibly the author didn't have more than 3 good verses in mind, but wrote 8 because he thought a hymn had to have that many verses, or he couldn't sell a short hymn for as much money. A hymn can be made better as a poem by shortening sometimes.
@@ Line 84: / Line 104: @@
 ===Should musicians be in the front of the congregation, or behind===
 ==What is most important in the music?==

@@ Line 140: / Line 140: @@
 *For Epistle?
 ==Timeliness==
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 ----
 ==Worship==
 *Raising hands in worship reduces uniformity, becase peple do it differently, and so reduces glorification as a body-- it is only indivudal. Same with singing by bad singers. My own bad clappig—I keep it quiet. We each should worship-- but corporately.  The sermon? Hard to figure. Prayers are easier; we all say it in our heads. I guess with the sermon we are all listening together, a corporate act, thinking the same things and showing our faith together.
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@@ Line 114: / Line 114: @@
 ----
-===General Principles==
+==General Principles==
-=== The  Regulative Principle ===
+===The  Regulative Principle ===
 ------
 ==Behavior in Church Services==
 ===Reverence: Should We Be Reverent in Church?===

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:25, 6 February 2024
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		+	----
		+	==Worship==
		+	*Raising hands in worship reduces uniformity, becase peple do it differently, and so reduces glorification as a body-- it is only indivudal. Same with singing by bad singers. My own bad clappig—I keep it quiet. We each should worship-- but corporately. The sermon? Hard to figure. Prayers are easier; we all say it in our heads. I guess with the sermon we are all listening together, a corporate act, thinking the same things and showing our faith together.
	----		----

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 Should a Moslem child be baptized and made a member of a church?
 Should children be made members? No.
 Should children be baptized? Yes, but with the whole family, not one at a time.
 Should children take communion? No. No till they rae old enough to become members, at age 14. At that age, they should vote and come to meetings too.
 Should there be bibles in the pews? Yes.
 Who should pass the plate for the offering? -_Elders.
   who should offer Communion bread and wine ?-_Elders, prudentially, only in churchat large services or interchurch services such as presbytery meetings.
    Must Christians attend church regularly? Yes.
 Must Christians attend church in person, or is a TV or Zoom service OK?  In person, normally.
    Should a church member do child care, or give money, or mow the lawn even if they feel bitter about it? Yes.
@@ Line 41: / Line 50: @@
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 ==The Church Interior==

@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 A Jordanian minister said he “strongly” believed “that each church building should post the flag on the building and in the sanctuary.” He and his elders made the decision to do so “in order to show our loyalty as citizens to the country of Jordan. We believe that by doing so, we are a good example and testimony to others and also following the teachings of the Bible.” An Indonesian minister said that “when we display the flag in our church, it is not to express idolatry. We want to honor our national identity. It reminds us of our responsibilities as Christian citizens. It’s also a sign of gratitude for living in Indonesia.” A pastor from Nigeria noted that a flag was a “symbol of a country and flying it indicates the importance of the country.” He displayed the Nigerian flag in the church to “present the country perpetually before the Lord for his divine visitation and to also indicate that we love Nigeria dearly. We pray for her every Sunday service.” }}
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-==Is It Permissible To Wear Surgical Masks During Church==
-During covid, many people started wearing masks in church, and many governments require it. Is this permissible? Or is it like  a man wearing a hat in church?
 ==Music==
@@ Line 62: / Line 64: @@
 Also, one 8-verse hymn can be replaced by two 4-verse hymns. Are the worst 4 verses of Hymn Alpha better than the best 4 verses of Hymn Beta?
 ==Dress==
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 Would women wear them just to conform, even though they would oppose them if desired by their husbands for any reason, or by the pastor?  They would wear them in dference to the State, juste as they wear masks.
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@@ Line 81: / Line 93: @@
 == The Offering  ==
+===Should Offering Be Taken, or should people donate outside of worship?===
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-== The  Regulative Principle ==
+===General Principles==
 ------
-==Reverence: Should We Be Reverent in Church?==
+==Behavior in Church Services==
 *We reformed Christians lament how ignorant most Christians (and worldings) are of Theology. But what may be worse is their ignorance of Reverence. We don't even try to teach that, and we scoff at organs, good architecture, liturgy, King James Bible language, dignity.
 That's probably why some people switch to Eastern Orthodoxy or Roman Catholicism, despite the blasphemous theology (whatever they say or think is their reason). The vast majority of protestant churches had plenty of reverence and respect for God till about 1980. We have the old joke of uneducated people trying to use KJV bible language to pray. Organs were standard. Pastors were a little scary, rather than guys to have a beer with.
-==Should pre-written, standard liturgy  be used for congregational prayer?==
+===Should pre-written, standard liturgy  be used for congregational prayer?===
 *1. Saves work.
 *2. Higher quality.
@@ Line 110: / Line 117: @@
 : 6. Feeling of bein at one with other congregations.
-==Should we stand for the Scripture readings?==
+===Should we stand for the Scripture readings?===
     *For Old Testament?
 *For Gospel?
 *For Epistle?
 ==Timeliness==

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 ==Governance==
 *[https://americanreformer.org/2023/05/acts-29-and-the-big-sort/ "Acts 529 and th Big Sort,"] (2023) On parachurch dictatorial organiation.
 ===The Board of Elders===
@@ Line 115: / Line 119: @@
 ==Timeliness==
 ===Should You Walk In Late?===
 It's a matter of etiquette, not doctrine. If people are praying, either silently, as a group, or the leader praying, it is disrespectful to walk around, blow your nose, slap your naughty child, etc. If you come in and suddenly notice a prayer is in progress, halt and wait for it to end, then keep walking.
 On the other hand, if a hymn is being sung, or, in my opinion, liturgy is being read, or during the sermon, it's fine to quietly walk in late.
 ===Is it a sin to be late for church?===
 Yes, it is a grave sin. It shows disrespect for God Almighty. It requires repentance and a sincere desire to do better in the future.
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@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 ===The Board of Elders===
 ====Chairman====
- In a congregational system, the pastor should not chair meetings of the elders. In a presbyterian or episcopal system, he should. That's because in the latter, if he does wrong, there is appeal to higher authority.
+In a congregational system, the pastor should not chair meetings of the elders. In a presbyterian or episcopal system, he should. That's because in the latter, if he does wrong, there is appeal to higher authority.
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@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
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-== Flying the National Flag==
+==The Church Interior==
 *[https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2021/11/the-history-of-national-flags-in-churches "THE HISTORY OF NATIONAL FLAGS IN CHURCHES,"] Miles Smith (11 . 24 . 21):
 {{Quotation|