Many Christian movements have sought to cut ties with perverted and corruptible human traditions and return to that glorious (and Godly) pristine primitive Christianity described in the New Testament. However, we don’t live in first century Rome and we aren’t powerless and poor. The questions we bring to the text are our own and not those of the first believing communities. If we only reply on the “naked text” we will get only naked answers. Lints suggests that
Having rejected the aid of the community of interpreters throughout the history of Christendom, we have not succeeded in returning to the primitive gospel; we have simply managed to plunge ourselves back to the biases of our own individual situations.
Lints, Fabric of Theology, 93
So, in essence, by rejecting the wisdom of our elders, we swim in a sea of theological subjectivism Oh, the irony!
Perhaps we too are scared of what we might find find in the box!
