For as long as I can remember, there has been a long-standing tradition in our Church[1] of strict privacy. Against the world, privacy of the Church has been the rule and norm regardless of the nature of the content. Whether it’s sharing the nature of Church services, the use of greetings in public, distribution of information (events, doctrine, meeting decisions, etc.) privacy has been the standard. Outsiders sometimes describe the privacy as a cult-like secrecy, complete with a secret fraternal hand shake.
The penchant for privacy would be understandable if we currently lived in a time of formal persecution, as documented in numerous historical accounts in the Bible and elsewhere. While there is a somewhat informal cultural persecution of Christians, our government still supports freedom of religion and we are generally free to worship.
Sometimes a biblical passage indirectly used to promote a general private separation is (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). However when read in context, Apostle Paul’s admonition seems to be focused mainly on two basic concepts: 1) avoiding association with those knowingly sinful when exercising their sin, 2) avoiding association with those holding to false doctrines when practicing those doctrines. Maintaining a spiritual separation is important in both cases. (2 Timothy 3:2-5) He offers an example of the second case (1 Corinthians 10:27-29) where attendance at a dinner is either acceptable, or else unacceptable when idolatry is practiced. Apostle Peter clearly describes the first case. (1 Peter 4:4)
I can not find any biblical instructions for the kind of privacy as currently held by our Church tradition. In fact, there are many biblical passages that promote just the opposite.
“And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”
(Mark 16:15), (Matthew 28:19-20), (Luke 24:47), (Mark 13:10), (Psalm 96:3)
“…that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.”
(Psalm 67:2)
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden…”
(Matthew 5:14-16)
The passages cited promotes a Church not based on privacy, but rather on the open and joyful proclamation of His Word. Nevertheless, to avoid offense I have kept most of the content in this weblog private in respect of our Church’s long-standing tradition of privacy.
[1] Finnish Independent Apostolic Lutheran Church (I.A.L.C.)
Please note this weblog is now public. For more information about this change, see the article “Unlocked” posted on February 28, 2023.