Church, Synagogue and the Gathering; Part 1

Church, Synagogue and the Gathering; Part 1

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
     Samuel Johnson; April 7, 1775.

Samuel Johnson detested "false patriotism" which he viewed as being a rejection of the King as sovereign. He saw his allegiance as being a "subject" of the King, not a "countryman," loyal to a nation.

The reformers and progressives of the time (if I can use a modern word for a much older movement) adopted the word, "patriot," to distinguish themselves from those who saw themselves as "subjects" and, therefore, old-fashioned.

So the phrase, "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel," is Johnson's rejection of the manipulation of the meaning of a word to serve a political purpose. Johnson's false patriots were men who rejected the king as their sovereign, and so were "scoundrels."

In more recent times, the phrase has been used as a weapon against true patriots in the post-war era. In fact, in a delightfully clueless and utterly ironic use of the phrase, a communist of the time titled her book attacking patriots, "Scoundrel Time." In fact, she was exactly the sort of "scoundrel" that Samuel Johnson had rejected two centuries earlier.

So, what does this have to do with the "church, synagogue, and the gathering?"

The words translated in the KJV of the Bible as "church" and as "synagogue" were translated using those words for political reasons. (I could note, at length, how the Church of England, a product of the Reformation, were the "reformists" or progressives of their times. However, I think that I have made the point simply enough.) Later translations of the Bible have kept those words.

First mention of "church" in the bible is Matthew 16:18 (NASB)

18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

First mention of "synagogue" is Matthew 4:23 (NASB)

23 Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

"Church" means "assembly of citizens," from the Greek for "to call forth" or "to call out."

"Synagogue" means "collecting, gathering; a Christian assembly," from the Greek for "to bring together."

Both words could have been simply translated as "gathering" or "assembly." They were in several places, such as Hebrews 12:23.

"Church" and "synagogue" were used for political reasons. The "Church of England" presented itself as the only true "church" (meaning, here, the political organization, rather than the living body of Christ, composed of all believers). It would have been harder for them to do that if the Greek words had been translated literally into English.

In The Screwtape Letters, CS Lewis has Screwtape say:

One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans.

Using the words, "church" and "synagogue," hides the immensity and grandeur of the "assembly" in a confusion of meanings that include the building that houses a local assembly and the political organization(s) that oversee them.

Word studies:
"Church" = ekklēsia. Strong: G157

a popular assembly, Acts 19:32, 39, 41; in NT the congregation of the children of Israel, Acts 7:38; transferred to the Christian body, of which the congregation of Israel was a figure, the Church, 1 Cor. 12:28; Col. 1:18; a local portion of the Church, a local church, Rom. 16:1; a Christian congregation, 1 Cor. 14:4

Origin of ECCLESI-

Late Latin ecclesia, from Greek ekklēsia assembly of citizens, church, from ekkalein to call forth, summon, from ex- + kalein to call

"Synagogue" = synagōgē, Strong: G4864

a collecting, gathering; a Christian assembly or congregation, Jas. 2:2; the congregation of a synagogue, Acts 9:2; hence, the place itself, a synagogue, Lk. 7:5

Origin of SYNAGOGUE

Middle English synagoge, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin synagoga, from Greek synagōgē assembly, synagogue, from synagein to bring together, from syn- + agein to lead