"If you were any closer, you'd be off!"
or
The Church, the Falling Away, and the Restoration.
Part II
by Harley Pinon
So what are the problems? I think the very first thing that concerns me is one simple question? Have we restored New Testament Christianity? When I ask the question, I'm reminded of, Ernie, a man I worked with in a print shop my senior year in high school. I would have him check how I had set the paper cutter to make some very precise cuts. Sometimes he would say, "Harley, if you were any closer, you'd be off." That statement always made me feel good. Today, his statement reminds me of how many of my brethren feel about the doctrine that we teach in the church. They feel that what has been handed to us is the pure doctrine of the New Testament church. To question it, much less to consider changing it, is heresy as far as they are concerned.
But do we have the pure truth of the gospel? In articles on this website, I have called into question many of the teachings of Church of Christ. Please notice what I said, "the teachings of Church of Christ." I call them in question because of what I understand to be the teachings of the Bible. Where is our loyalty? Is it to the Bible or is it to the teachings of the church? While we ponder that question, consider this question: How did the Roman Catholic Church become the Roman Catholic Church? I heard a Catholic priest explain their teaching this way: "It is partly from the Bible, and partly from tradition." There you have the formula for the Catholic Church and all it's errors. If we equate truth with what the Church of Christ teaches rather than what the Bible teaches, are we not likely to also teach things that are not found in the Bible?
A Purpose of this Site is to Challenge our Thinking.
One of the things that caused me to create this site was the thought that over the centuries, there are things that have drifted into our teaching that are more the product of Roman Catholic teaching than that of the Bible. In the first section, I challenged the translation of the "Easter" as it appears in the KJV. There was no "Easter" in the first century. The word was coined much later, and associated with the resurrection of Christ, but Christ's death came at the time of the Passover, not the date that is set for Easter, but the purpose of this article is not to further discuss Easter. Instead, I would like to challenge everyone to seriously consider several topics which I have discussed on this website. Not only have I discussed them, but I've shared links to other sites. These are so that you can see what others have to say. Sometimes these are men who do not attend the Church of Christ. Sometimes they are men of the restoration movement whose views we have since rejected and gone back to the teachings of the Roman Catholic church.
Consider the following:
The Trinity: Link: http://www.harleypinon.com/trinity.htm
The Millennial Reign of Christ: http://www.harleypinon.com/articles_about_the_millennial_re.htm
Will the wicked suffer eternally? http://www.harleypinon.com/does_the_punishment_of_hell_last.htm
When we die, are we immediately in the presence of God? http://www.harleypinon.com/what_happens_to_us_when_we_die.htm
Is God through with Israel? I have several lesson outline on Israel included in my Sunday evening lesson outlines: http://www.harleypinon.com/my_sunday_evening_lessons.htm
Two lessons from this series of lessons have the following links:
http://www.harleypinon.com/what_is_god_going_to_do_with_isr.htm
http://www.harleypinon.com/what_is_god_going_to_do_with_isr1.htm
In general, we have done very little study of prophecy. Many in the Church of Christ believe that all Old Testament prophecy has been fulfilled and that we cannot understand Revelation, or Matthew 24 for that matter. I suggest the following links for starters:
http://www.harleypinon.com/studies_of_prophecy.htm
http://www.harleypinon.com/articles_about_preterism.htm
http://www.harleypinon.com/judgments_and_trials.htm
To put this together, what are the issues I'm considering: The Trinity, The Millennial Reign of Christ; the questions, "Will the wicked suffer eternally?" When we die, are we immediately in the presence of God? Is God through with Israel? In general, have we studied Old Testament prophecy carefully, or at all? I think these are important issues, as well as others that are not listed here.
I welcome your comments, questions, or suggestions. Click here to send me your e-mail response: