The Church of Humans: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:58, 2 February 2026

The Church of Humans receives the Gospel as witness to Christ, and The Witness of Thomas as sayings of recognition.

It receives the Two Great Commandments given by Christ: to love God, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself.

It inherits a pre-Nicene Christian tradition that understands God through covenantal action and Christ through lived faith,
and admits as sins both judgment of others before God and harm or hatred toward one’s neighbor.

On Jurisdiction

On Covenant and Jurisdiction

The Church of Humans speaks within limits. Those limits are not imposed by preference or modern sensibility, but arise from covenant itself.

The Law given to Israel names its own jurisdiction. It binds those to whom it was given and does not claim authority beyond that covenantal scope. This understanding has never been disputed within Judaism, where faithfulness has always been defined by obedience within covenant rather than by universal imposition.

Jurisdiction precedes obligation. Where no covenant exists, no law may rightly bind. To claim authority without covenant is not obedience, but trespass.

Christ did not erase these distinctions. He taught within Israel, honored the Law’s scope, and refused to universalize it. His teaching consistently returned authority to God and called human judgment into question.

Accordingly, any church that exists among the nations must first account for the limits of what it has been given to say and to bind.

Gentiles and Apostolic Restraint

The earliest followers of Christ confronted the question of Gentile inclusion directly: whether those from the nations must enter Israel’s covenant in order to follow Christ.

Their answer was restraint.

Gentiles were received as Gentiles, without conversion, circumcision, or submission to the Law. This decision preserved the integrity of Israel’s covenant while opening fellowship to the nations. Authority was not expanded; it was deliberately withheld.

This restraint was not a concession to weakness, but an act of faithfulness. The apostles refused to bind where no authority had been given, choosing unity in Christ over legal extension.

As a result, Gentile assemblies were formed without Torah obligation and without mandate to govern themselves or others by law. Life together was shaped instead by witness, conscience, patience, and love.

The Church of Humans stands within this apostolic restraint. It does not speak for Israel, judge Israel, or reinterpret Jewish covenantal life. It speaks only as a Gentile church among the nations, bound by what was given and by nothing more.

On Canon

T.B.D.

On Authority

This church claims no authority beyond what it has received, nor does it bind where Christ did not bind. Authority is exercised only as testimony, recognition, and mutual accountability freely undertaken within the covenant of this church.

On Membership

Those who seek membership do so by freely consenting to the limits described in A Rule for Humans.

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 == On Jurisdiction ==
-This church exists among the nations and therefore speaks only within the authority given to the nations.
+=== On Covenant and Jurisdiction ===
-[[Covenant#Inherited Covenant|Mosaic Law]] names its own scope as [[Covenant]] binding Israel in particular among nations. The apostles preserved this distinction by receiving Gentiles without conversion or imposition. Accordingly, this church receives a bounded [[canon]] sufficient to bear witness to [[Christ]], to recall the history of the formation of Gentile assemblies and their practices, and to offer situational counsel for life in freedom — without extending authority beyond what was given.
+The Church of Humans speaks within limits. Those limits are not imposed by preference or modern sensibility, but arise from [[covenant]] itself.
-Scripture is therefore received as witness rather than statute, and canon is understood as the scope of authority a text is granted within this community, not as an accumulation of commands.
+The [[Old Covenant|Law]] given to Israel names its own jurisdiction. It binds those to whom it was given and does not claim authority beyond that covenantal scope. This understanding has never been disputed within Judaism, where faithfulness has always been defined by obedience within covenant rather than by universal imposition.
+[[Jurisdiction]] precedes obligation. Where no covenant exists, no law may rightly bind. To claim authority without covenant is not obedience, but [[trespass]].
+Christ did not erase these distinctions. He taught within Israel, honored the Law’s scope, and refused to universalize it. His teaching consistently returned authority to God and called human judgment into question.
+Accordingly, any church that exists among the nations must first account for the limits of what it has been given to say and to bind.
+=== Gentiles and Apostolic Restraint ===
+The earliest followers of Christ confronted the question of Gentile inclusion directly: whether those from the nations must enter Israel’s covenant in order to follow Christ.
+Their answer was restraint.
+Gentiles were received as Gentiles, without conversion, circumcision, or submission to the Law. This decision preserved the integrity of Israel’s covenant while opening fellowship to the nations. Authority was not expanded; it was deliberately withheld.
+This restraint was not a concession to weakness, but an act of faithfulness. The apostles refused to bind where no authority had been given, choosing unity in Christ over legal extension.
+As a result, Gentile assemblies were formed without Torah obligation and without mandate to govern themselves or others by law. Life together was shaped instead by witness, conscience, patience, and love.
+The Church of Humans stands within this apostolic restraint. It does not speak for Israel, judge Israel, or reinterpret Jewish covenantal life. It speaks only as a Gentile church among the nations, bound by what was given and by nothing more.
 == On Canon ==