“We are also encouraged to read our Bibles. But we are conditioned to read the Bible with the lens handed to us by the Christian tradition to which we belong. We are taught to obey our denomination (or movement) and never to challenge what it teaches.” (pg5)
The Church Building
“The “church” building is so connected with the idea of church that we unconsciously equate the two...” (pg 10).
“Strikingly, nowhere in the New Testament do we find the terms church (ekklesia), temple, or house of God used to refer to a building. To the ears of a first-century Christian, calling an ekklesia (church) a building would have been like calling your wife a condominium or your mother a skyscraper!” (pg10)
“The social location of the church meeting expresses and influences the character of the church…” (pg 37).
