the Church as hooker

I've blogged quite a bit lately on fans vs. followers of Jesus Christ-- the latter as those who seem Him as Lord vs. merely Savior or some cultural icon.

Here's another angle-- a critique of the church and one aspect of its immersion in American culture: a provocative (apocryphal?) little story through the email, attributed to Dr. David Ryser (hat tip: Sandy Baker)...

A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school of ministry....I came across a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this:

Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship;

it moved to Greece and became a philosophy;

it moved to Italy and became an institution;
it moved to Europe and became a culture;

it came to America and became an enterprise.

Some of the students were only 18 or 19 years old--barely out of diapers--and I wanted them to understand and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding, "An enterprise. That's a business."

After a few moments Martha...raised her hand. I could not imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha's raised hand, "Yes, Martha."

She asked such a simple question, "A business But isn't it supposed to be a body?"

I could not envision where this line of questioning was going, and the only response I could think of was, "Yes."

She continued, "But when a body becomes a business, isn't that a prostitute?"

This language seems harsh, but finds a strong parallel in the Old Testament-- with its equivalence of idolatry and spiritual adultery, as Israel whores after other gods. The entire book of Hosea speaks to this sobering parallel.