The modern Christian church is composed of many of denominations and there seem to be a number of disagreements among these denominations and even inside the churches. Have you ever wondered why that is? Why do churches have to act like that? Can't we all just chill out and get along? I'm sure that the Christians of the past didn't act like this!
I know I've though this before. I'm sure some of you have to. Well, apparently, Matthew Parker also thinks about these things. He comes into Whit's End and pretty much tells Whit that he's not gonna go to church anymore because people at his church are stupid and making church not cool. He just wants to go to church and worship God. Why are people messing that up with all their drama?
 |
| I totally understand what Matthew is talking about. |
Matthew tells Whit he wishes modern churches would be more like the early church in Acts. That'd be...perfect.
 |
| Yes. I want my church to be like this |
Whit decides to show Matthew that the early church was NOT perfect. Matthew goes for an Imagination Station ride and meets a family and we go through the first part of Acts like Pentecost, the Ananias and Saphira fiasco, and Steven's death. During this two part adventure, Matthew witnesses a lot of problems that the early church had. There were quarrels between the Christians about letting Gentiles join plus the Pharisees had it in for the early church.
That's not really my idea of perfection.
This was a great episode. It had a classic Odyssey feel. We were back in the Imagination Station, having an adventure in the Bible.
Rhoda and her family were good parts of the story. While they weren't mentioned in the book of Acts, it's plausible that there was a family like theirs who lived through all these events in Acts. I liked them. Plus, Matthew needed people like them to act off of and ask questions to.
Who else loved Eugene's random definitions? I wish I had that in ordinary life. I would use it so much in the course of my school day.
I think my favorite scene was Stephen's sermon to the Pharisees. It was a powerful scene. It was one of the most theological scenes in Odyssey history. For a while now, I've been thinking that Odyssey is going down a fluffy Christianity path. I didn't think they'd approach any deep faith matters. This episode proves me wrong. The season appears to be proving me wrong. Good work, writers.
At the end of the episode, Matthew has realized that the early church was NOT perfect. He has also decided that he isn't gonna give up on church. We all have to realize that, even though the church is an institution of God, it isn't perfect. Humans are sinful but God still uses us for his glory. I'm glad Whit communicated that clearly. It's something we should never forget.
Note: I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long time! This school thing isn't fun. I'll try to be more regular with my posts.
