Frequently we say that the best metaphor to describe the church is 'family'. That is, I think, we are saying that the private/public distinction which we observe in the rest of the world doesn't hold here. When I go to church I am still at home, if you like. Israel is kinda the model for this because they were a nation but all related genetically- ie they could say (really) that they were a giant household.
Anyhow, the question is: how do you apply this family idea? I think there is obviously good warrant in the Bible for it: calling each other "brethren", the adoption of sons etc. In which case, what of my biological family? What place do they have in the scheme of things then?
This matters especially when it comes to ministry. Are ministers mothers and fathers of their congregation? And if so, what is the scriptural/theological backing for this?
The analogy has been especially used when it comes to gender difference to explain why it is that we can vote for a female prime minister or work for a female boss and yet not have a female chief minister or preacher: that is, the church is a family, and so husband is to wife so male minister is to female (is that the logic?)...
Anyhow come on you who read and never comment: what do you think?
11 comments:
OK Michael, let me rise to take the bait. I agree with you, and have long struggled with the language of family in relation to which. My reasons are:
1. That when it is used the notion of "fictive kinship" whihc is so central to NT familial language is usually forgotten.
2. That family connotes relationships of duty and obligation rather than covenantal love and mutual trust.
3. That friendship (cf your previous posts) is a more biblical and helpful discourse (and anyway the central relationship in modern concepts of "family" is marriage, which rightly viewed is acutally a relationship of friendship (of the highest kind)
4. That the language nof family is potentially difficult for those whose own experiences of family are problematic
5. That in mission terms, many people of my age hold the friendship relationships as more significant and real than their family relationships.
I have found Derrida's Politics of Friendship enormously helpful in this regard. He contrasts natural fraternity ("a schematic of filiation: stock, genus or species, sex … blood, birth, nature, nation") with a "fraternity of alliance, election ... of covenant, of spiritual correspondence ... the indivisible essence of perfect friendship"
The analogy has been especially used when it comes to gender difference to explain why it is that we can vote for a female prime minister or work for a female boss and yet not have a female chief minister or preacher: that is, the church is a family, and so husband is to wife so male minister is to female (is that the logic?)...
I think this is pushing the metaphor too far. God is our Father, and Christ is the head of the church. Ministers are neither our fathers or our mothers.
This thnking is used by some to support the elevation of Mary - we have a father, therefore we need a mother to be a real family.
If we are going to push the metaphor that far, what about Grandparents? Are they like the baptist idea of Elders? Yet a grandparent is the parent of a parent, thus outranking the minister, hardly an Anglican idea. Also, many families have dogs - does the Christian family also need a dog? Who can we make to fill this role?
G'day Michael.
I think the Apostles never made the reference that the minister had a fatherly / motherly role, instead making the distinction that they called all Christians brothers / sisters in the lord, making the point that they only had one father and him being God.
If any thing, I think the scriptural idea of those ministering is more in line with a servant and not a father figure.
Ephesians 4 gives us a great example of Christian unity under God.
With this in mind, a servant is a gift, to be used by the flock...I think is helpful in understanding Pauls injunction to Timothy in regarding women not to "Seize Authority" over man, in the cultural context of Ephesus, as he plainly makes the point throughout the rest of his letters that women are included in the church leadership positions mentioned in Ephesians 4 ...Apostle / Prophet / Evangelist / Pastor - Teacher of the church - take the role of the prophet for instance - Phillips daughters fell into this role, and Paul made clear guidlines for women who did prophesey.
Blessings craig b
I get the analagy, but is my minister not my Christian brother? In terms of 'family' how can my 'brother' be my 'father' as well?
Yes: please everyone, I am not advocating the analogy necessarily, just figuring out how it ought to be applied! My suspicion is that the father/mother logic is bodgy at best! Yes, your minister is your brother: your elder brother perhaps but no more.
Could you tell me what you mean by 'fictive kinship" Sean?
My problems with abandoning family words and going with friendship and are:
1. it is a category drawn from aristotle (and awkwardly baptised lately by Hauerwas and co)
2. friendship is problematic Christianly precisely because of the element of free choice. It is a relationship of free choice, decided by me, whereas the Christian is called and adopted from an external source. This may indicate my calvinist tendencies, but I think I am biblically on good ground here.
3. What so bad about duty and obligation anyhow?
4. I think your missional point is a good one. I wrote a review of a book called Urban Tribes which you can find on www.sydneyanglicans.com where I explored this a bit if you are interested. However, the whole friends thing is part of a social profile which includes the denigration of the old and fear of children and the disabled and maximises personal liberty - especially in sexual ethics - as the ultimate good.
5. I think the problem of abuse in families is reason to give the metaphor up, but rather to experience the transformation of the social pattern in the experience of being in God's family.
6. the great thing about understanding church as family is that it is a counter to 'family values' thinking, which can amount to an idolotry of the (genetic) family to which christians are especially prone... church as family breaks that apart.
Sorry to post again, but I re-read some of Sean's post again and realised I had missed his point about covenantal love/mutual trust etc, and also about marriage as friendship. I guess the former should not be seen as the opposite of duty/obligation and the latter would take some exploring. Are we romanticising marriage by calling it a friendship? certainly the element of free choice of marriage partner is a relatively new phenomenon...
(Just so you know, my wife Catherine and I are pretty good friends I think!)
And then there is the cross-cultural issue of whether we are back-projecting our own 21st century understanding of family
onto the NT text; and whether other
paradigms of family (eg traditional
Aboriginal family structures where
even 'friendship' correlates with
a particular kin relationship) might alert us to the need to find
out more about families in the NT
world.
(Hey Greg - the future colleague?
This was the best news I had heard in ages!)
Hi Michael,
No pun intended with reference to "elder" brother.
Without commiting to a view (at this point), I suppose any question of how such an anaology should be applied would at least have to notice the requirement of competance at home in order to take responsibility at church ("how can you look after God's family if you can't look after your own"), as well as Paul's injunctions to Timothy to treat those under his care as family members(older women as.. younger women as.., older men as ... etc.).
Intrigingly these injuntions indicate that however "family like" church relationships are to be, they do not replace or negate biological ones. So if he were the "father" (ikky) or "elder brother" (better) he is still to treat those "sons/younger borthers" who are older as fathers. And he is to treat younger women as sisters "with absolute purity", an indication I think that he is not to pretend that they are exactly like his biological sisters.
Sorry not to help more, thanks for opening up the question.
Hope England is going well, and congratulations on No 4.
Tim
Hey thanks Tim!
Also, Paul casts himself as a father in 1 Corinthians 4...
and there is the two metaphors in 1 thess - paul casts himself as both father AND mother - in quick succession, it would seem to give a full picture of a relationship - more full than either single metaphor would allow.
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