Thomas Farrar, a Roman Catholic and former Christadelphian, wrote in his "Christadelphian ecclesial deism (1)” that
It is remarkable that in reading
Christadelphian literature in preparation for this post, I twice read that
Paul's reference to the Ecclesia as 'the pillar and ground of the truth' (1
Tim. 3:15) emphasizes something the Ecclesia does for itself, with no mention
of what God does for the Ecclesia.
The two sources read as follows:
The
Apostle Paul states that the Ecclesia is “the pillar and ground of the truth”
(1 Timothy 3:15). This is a grave responsibility. God’s Truth is supported by,
and grounded upon, the Ecclesia, and our responsibility in these last days is
to ensure that the Truth is upheld. (Anonymous, “Part 3–The Statement of Faith and
the Central Community”)
In this twofold aim the true
ecclesia of Christ is what the Apostle Paul calls “the pillar and ground of the
truth” (1 Tim. 3:15), where “pillar” (Gk. stulos) seems to refer to the
supporting strength of the believers themselves, gained and communicated, no
doubt, by fellowship together (Gal. 2:9; Rev. 3:12) (Reg Carr, "The
Organisation of the Christadelphian Community," Testimony Magazine,
July 1988)
One could also include the following from a former editor of The
Christadelphian Magazine:
"The church is the pillar and
ground of the truth." The implications of this reach out in many ways; but
where a church exists with a faithful recognition of the truth, the church has
a collective responsibility for its members, to help, to comfort, to rebuke,
and if necessary to apply the discipline of cancelling ecclesial membership in
the hope of reformation and so restoration. (John Carter, "Fellowship,"
The Christadelphian Magazine, November and December 1950)
This struck me as being very similar to the low ecclesiology that
is evident from Protestants (even those of the Reformed persuasion) if/when a
Latter-day Saint (or Roman Catholic/Eastern Orthodox) appeals to 1 Tim 3:15,
often to support a high ecclesiology and/or critique
Sola Scriptura. Also, as many of our critics just love to engage in "guilt by association" (e.g., LDS and <insert another group> teaches 'x', so LDS are wrong by association), being consistent, they are in trouble (of course, such a tactic is stupid, but is another example of how many [not all] Evangelical Protestants who are anti-Mormons are inconsistent on this issue).
