Why I left the Church of Christ
By Mario Olcese
(1) I am translating your article on the reasons why you are a member of the Church of Christ (so-called Campbelite). But allow me to tell you my reasons why I got out of that church, because I believe that it is important. In the first place, the so called church of Christ does not have the practice of using the Old Testament because, as you know, they consider it as the old covenant, and as such, it became obsolete. This idea always seemed unjust OR UNFAIR to me, because Jesus always referred to the prophets for the understanding of His origin, mission and destiny. When Paul says that all Scripture is inspired by God and useful ... he referred to the Old Testament, to the existent writings at that moment, that is, THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES. This is one of the reasons why I felt very uncomfortable within the Church of Christ.
(2) As the second point, I saw incongruence in the song service because they said that there was not any biblical text in the New Testament for the use of musical instruments in the first century worships or praises of the Church. But equally I asked myself: And where do we find in the Bible that we can use hymnals in the [cult]? I did not find a text that authorized it, and I do not believe that the first Christians had used them to sing in the heart and by heart.
(3) In addition, the Church of Christ insists that the Church is God's Kingdom, and therefore, Christ's future millennium on David's throne in Jerusalem is an illusion. However, I was tormented with the fact that in 1 Cor. 15:50 Paul said that flesh and blood can not inherit God's kingdom. If this is true, how can the Church be the kingdom of God if the members are of flesh and blood? To take communion with a church that is teaching exactly the opposite of what the Bible says turned out to be difficult for me.
(4) And as to the Trinity, the Church of Christ (Campbelite), like Catholicism, maintains that God is Triune. How could I continue participating at that church when the leaders were teaching the pagan doctrine of the trinity? I felt like I was in a totally mistaken Church.
(5) As to the Lord's Supper, I never found that Jesus used the "grape juice", but wine. Besides, Jesus used a cup, which he shared with all his disciples. I discovered than Jesus washed his disciples' feet before the supper, and that they (the disciples) should do the same thing with their brothers of faith, if they really want to take part in the communion service. This practice has been eradicated from the Church of Christ (Campbelite!)
(6) Also I discovered that the Church of Christ insisted that our hope will be to live with Christ in heaven forever, when in reality Jesus taught that the meek would inherit the earth. I discovered that nowhere in the Bible if there a promise to depart to heaven and live forever with Jesus and God as immortal souls.
(7) Without a doubt the Church of Christ is an inheritor of Augustine, in being amillennialist, and for propagating the Preterist errors (realized Eschatology). I asked myself how the Church of Christ (Campbelite) could believe in a doctrine that happened in the mind of a Father of the Catholic Church in the forth century.
(8) I asked myself, Can two or more people be able to be together if they disagree? The Bible says no. If one does not agree with others, it is not just difficult, but impossible, to continue side by side. So, in my case, I had to retreat, because I could not bear to listen to sermons that did not match the Bible.
Harley’s Response
(1) Mario, with respect to your point one, I really see nothing you have said that I disagree with. I trust you have noticed that in some of my Sunday night lessons, I have spent time studying the Old Testament. I have encouraged the study of the Old Testament, and was teaching verse by verse through the book of Genesis until I gave up the class to one of the members who is a very capable teacher, but he did not choose to continue my Genesis study. The Venus Church of Christ has been very receptive to the teaching of the Old Testament, and I receive many good comments about my Old Testament lessons. I am only one, so all I do is what I can do as I have opportunity.
I share your concern that generally speaking, Churches of Christ have not spent much time in study of the Old Testament. I agree with your thoughts, and view this is a serious loss for the church.
(2) With regard to the hymnals and instrumental worship, I suppose I should address these as two issues. I have heard it argued, and I tend to agree, that a song book really adds nothing to the song service. It does enable us to sing different songs without having to memorize them.
I distinguish song books from instruments of music in that song books are not heard, and instruments are. There are basically two kinds of music: vocal and instrumental. If you will read my article, you will remember that I said, “I still remember being a bit reluctant [to leave the Christian church] because I really did like that beautiful pipe organ of the First Christian Church, but brother Love had explained that to dad, "It's safe to do without it." Brother Love lived up to his name. He was a loving man, and he made a very favorable impression on me. It is true that there is nothing in the New Testament that authorizes the use of instrumental music.” I still go with what Brother Love said, "It's safe to do without it." I do not condemn others for using instrumental music. I think it is safe to do without it, and I have come to prefer the singing in the churches of Christ because when I have attended services of other churches, I find that the people do more listening to the choir and organ, or piano, than they do involving themselves in singing.
(3) You are correct in what you say about churches of Christ making the Kingdom of God the church. I agree with you that the church has a mistaken understanding of the kingdom. As we both know, the church came out of Roman Catholicism, and even though the reformers and restorers did a great deal to get us back to biblical teaching, they did not get rid of all error. In fact, when we study some of the restoration leaders, they had concerns about the millennial kingdom also. Their concerns, and teachings, have been brushed aside and forgotten.
(4) As you know from my article about the Trinity, I share your concern. I have an advantage over you because I am the preacher, and I no longer preach the Trinity, but I must confess that once I did. I was mistaken.
(5) Your concerns about the Lord’s Supper really has two parts. Concerning the grape juice or wine question, I remember hearing it discussed when I was only a teenager. I remember stating at the time that I would not want to be the one purchasing the wine from a liquor store. Of course, at the time, it would have been illegal for me to do that. Recently I read an article on one of the Bible forums that the alcohol of the wine destroys the yeast that is in it. I had never heard that before, and is really the only good argument I had heard for using wine instead of grape juice. There is one other argument, and that is the difficulty of keeping grape juice from fermenting. I drink no wine or alcohol of any kind, and have real concern for what it leads to in too many cases where people become addicted and where it is abused; therefore, I am more comfortable not using it.
The second part of your objection concerns the washing of feet. Washing feet was a very practical matter in the first century. It may have come to have some ceremonial characteristics, but originally, it was a service performed as a gesture of hospitality. It was practical due to dusty roads and sandals. Today, the dusty roads are gone, and the need of foot washing is gone with it as far as I am concerned. I believe the great lesson that Jesus was teaching as he said, “You ought to wash one another’s feet,” was the lesson of humbly serving each other. There are some in the churches of Christ who have talked about washing feet, and some who probably practice it. I personally feel that we cannot practice foot washing as it was practiced in the first century, because it was a practical service then. It isn’t today.
(6) What you say in point six about living in heaven and the meek inheriting the earth is true. I was brought up believing as you have pointed out, that we would all die and go to heaven. There are some things about our future life that I am still sorting out. What happens at the end of the 1,000 years? Do we just continue to live in the new earth? I have some details I still need to try to better understand, but your point is well made.
(7) As you know from my articles on Mathew 24, and Revelation as well as other studies from the prophets, I do not agree with Augustine, and most Churches of Christ on the teaching of amillennialism.
(8) This is where I am truly in a different role than you are. As I indicated in my article, Why I am a Member of the Church of Christ there is so much in the church that I agree with and appreciate. The church has been broken into numerous “splinter” groups today because of different understandings that men have. I had to ask, what do I do? Do I leave because there are things with which I disagree, or do I stay with the Church of Christ and try to help others to a better understanding of the word of God? I chose to stay and I believe I have been able to help many by having made that choice.