The Crossroads Commentary

I want to begin by telling you that I am not writing this blog because I think I am in any way better than others, or that I have some “secret knowledge” to impart that is unknown to anyone else. Rather, I am writing out of the hope that what I put down here may one day help someone else in my current situation.

I was born into the non-institutional Church of Christ. Ours is a tiny sect of Christianity; one that sprung out of the Second Great Awakening in the early- to mid-nineteenth century, alongside the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Church of Latter Day Saints. Unlike those organizations, ours was founded by two Presbyterian ministers, and as a result it ultimately falls much closer to low-church Protestantism than a non-trinitarian faith tradition as one finds amongst the Witnesses or Mormons.

What does the Church of Christ believe? Well, to start, that it should actually be spelled “church of Christ,” for the actual “big-C Church” is the spiritual one founded by Christ in Matthew 16. So from here on out, I will refer to it as the church of Christ.

In keeping with its somewhat Protestant roots, the church of Christ believes in Sola Scriptura. They follow the Lutheran 66 book Bible. Unlike the Protestants, though, they do not follow the tenet of Sola Fide—instead, insisting that scripture contradicts this principle. One major work example they believe in would be baptism, based off several scriptures: Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, 1 Peter 3:21.

The church of Christ is a very Biblically literate group, to an extent. They know their New Testament very well, and know a lot of the Old Testament from the Torah through to the books of the kings. In my experience, they are less-invested in the books of prophecy. They are literalists, and trust that scripture is the inerrant word of God. 

There is a lot that I can say about the church of Christ. Although my journey began with leaving them, all that I can say about the people is positive, and most of what I can say about the organization is the same. I do not write this treatise out of anger for the church of Christ or its members. Most of my family, and many friends, are active members of it to this day.

Which, I suppose, begs the question. If I grew up in this sect, and my family and friends are still part of it, why did I choose to leave it?

Over the next entry or two regarding faith, I will attempt to answer that question to the best of my ability. I said at the beginning of this entry that I was writing this out in the hope that someone, someday, in my current situation may be helped by reading about my efforts to uncover Christian truth. However, I will admit I have a sinister ulterior motive for writing this as well; my mental and spiritual well-being. Writing has always been an outlet for me, ever since I was in high school. Writing out my feelings in the form of essays, journal entries, or short stories, has helped me make sense of the world. As I prepare to leave the church of Christ behind me, and with it all that has undergirded my faith and view of the world since childhood, the world makes a little less sense than it once did. So I find myself writing once again.