Christian Conduct The attitude of the Congregational Christian Churches toward daily life is determined by the fundamental principle of freedom of conscience. There is no book of discipline, no canon law (church law), and no set of rules and regulations, such as are found in the Roman Catholic Church, Episcopal Church, Methodist Church, or Presbyterian Church. The educated conscience of members of the Church is our sole guide to conduct. If a person honestly believes, as in the presence of God, that his conduct is proper, than the church accepts that conduct. Because of this attitude toward freedom of conscience under Christ, many, who for years have felt that they could not join a church which told them what to do and what not to do, welcome the opportunity to join a Congregational Christian Church. They recognize the fact that the only ultimate creed we have is that which is shown in our conduct and that this conduct must be determined freely by us or else it is not acceptable to God. We believe that the development of individual conviction and conscience is the essential way to produce real Christian manhood (sic). In preaching from the pulpits of Congregational Christian Churches, the centrality of conscience is fully recognized. This means that our ministers feel free to preach the Truth as God leads them to see the Truth, without any dogmatic insistence as to the conduct of Church members. The appeal is to conscience under Christ and to the reasonableness of the viewpoint proposed. This attitude lifts the whole matter of Christian conduct out of the realm of controversy and personalities and draws together into one body of truthseekers all who sincerely seek to live according to the pattern of Jesus Christ.
© Copyright 1989 by Henry David Gray; 1995 by the Congregational Christian Churches National Association. |
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