Dislike of term Layman

[darlene]

I have always disliked the terms 'layman' and 'laity.' The term seems to make a distrinction between those employed by the the church and those not employed or pastor and member. Today I found out that 'laity' means, 'people of God.' Have you felt the same way about the use of layman or laity? Does knowing the meaning of the term make a difference to you?

[LynnDel]

I love knowing the meaning of the term. As far as I was concerned, the meaning was lost in antiquity - until reading your post. It makes joking use of the term "lay activities" when referring to napping either sacrilegious or scarily prophetic.

LD

[darlene]

I was reading the book "Equipper's Guide to Every-Member Ministry by R. Paul Stevens. The author says that the Greek word for laity, laos , means the people of God. He goes on to say that it is an incredible compliment, not a reference to second-class people or amateurs. People and pastor together are the laity of God.

You are right, LynnDel, we do joke about "lay activities," et cetera. I guess from now on, I'll think differently about laity or laymembers now that I know what the term truly means.

[Nicodema]

According to the new testament we all have equal access to God through Jesus Christ. Pastors and other church employees are no more "holy" than the rest of us. One division has been made usually by nature of career choice, however: they may be more equipped in areas such as hermeneutics and exegesis to comprehend the Scriptures, because their education demanded it. HOWEVER, this division can be overcome by laity who are alert and willing to educate themselves to become better students of the Bible, who are not afraid to examine the tenets of their faith and establish what is real and solid on a more sure footing while letting the unnecessary accretions of superstition and confusion --(bred in every human mind -- this is not a slam on doctrine or anything; it is the way the mind works over things of a spiritual nature, we put layers on them that aren't necessary and often are not good for ourselves or others)-- wash away so the pure gems of Truth shine forth more brightly.

These privileges have seemed "closed" to the laity because of nothing more than a simple educational/career-path "divide". There are resources for overcoming this divide. I invite everyone here to check out our Bible and Theology forum here on ClubAdventist where Ed Dickerson has started a thread on hermeneutics and the study of the Scriptures. It's a great way to get our feet wet in this area!

[Nicodema]

The thread is located here:

http://www.clubadventist.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/154697/an/0/page/0#154697

Please do drop in!

[Guest]

A preacher is like a traveling salesman.

Laymen are like satisfied customers.

They ge PAID to be good

We are good for nuthin.