7767	Forums / Theology Forum / Operating In The Gifts...	on: March 06, 2007, 03:40:16 PM
Quote Quote I would love to go back to the early church days. The devoted themselves to the apostles doctrine to the fellowship to breaking the bread and to prayer. I do not look at church history as a straight line where we are growing in knowledge, but as peaks and valleys. Any time in history where there is a peak is what has helped us get through the valleys.  The logic of this is that we long for revival so that we can experience the effects that the early church experience warts and all. There are reasons why the church is in the valley today and to fail to attribute that paradigm of comparison would be to neglect the reality of Gods workings by His Spirit in revival. Arguing with that historical perspective gives us a clearer view of the reasons we are in the desperate state we are in today. Yeah but... they still had quarrels, and strife, and wrong teaching, and misunderstanding, and, and, and. Plus, they didn't have electricity and running water. I think I would rather stay here! Eric You make my point eric. I really do believe in the logic of peaks and valleys. Compared to the experience of the early church with their  devotion and even the false teaching in comparison to today's church we have not much devotion, and we have more false teachers. In the early church Paul was trying to curb some of the excitement in his letters. A much better position to be in with all of the adding to the church back then than it is for pastors today. We cant even get excitement and devotion like that.