This is not a book review, but one can be found here. The book did, however, get me thinking about the word ‘apostolic.’
First, let me state that I see the Church as the collective body of individual Christians. I have a relatively high view of the Church for my background, and see the Church differently than some of my fellowship peers.
The use of the word ‘Apostolic’ originated with Ignatius, as did the word ‘catholic;’ however, apostolic was used to dictate the character, or manner, of Ignatius’ letter writing campaign.
Like most things, Tradition, History, and Politics have a way of warping the intended function of a word, or replacing the function of a word with an meaning completely foreign to the first use of the word.
I can use the word ‘apostolic’ when describing a whole host of things, but not the Church nor the Faith. The Faith is Jesus Christ, as is the Church. The Apostles did not preach themselves but the Jesus Christ.
If we understand the word ‘Apostle’ to mean ‘one sent’ and we rightly should, we have to then apply that meaning to the Church. The Apostles were sent from Jesus Christ into the world to harvest souls into the Church. The Church herself was not sent. The Church is who we are sent for.
So, why do so many who claim to hold to the doctrine of the Apostles call their congregations Apostolic? Do they think that there is some magical ability if they claim that their doctrine is like the Apostles?
Just some passing thoughts on this word. It seems to me that the only thing apostolic are the people, if we bring the Gospel to the world.
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
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