A pulpit (from Latin pulpitum "scaffold", "platform", "stage") is a small elevated platform where a member of the clergy stands in order to read the Gospel lesson and deliver a sermon (you can read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulpit if you wish)
In present day Churchianity however, I fear the pulpit has become a
1. Beacon of Biblical Ignorance
2. Platform for Political Propaganda
3. Lectern of Human Intellectualism
4. Seat of Insecurity (and the fragile Male Ego, if I may add)
5. Stage for Stand-up Comedians
6. Rostrum for Opinionated Orators
7. Podium to Promote Self-seeking Agendas (sometimes disguised to look like selfless social causes)
In 1 Corinthians 2:4-6, the apostle Paul wrote
1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
I read somewhere that
Kerussein [to "preach"] does not mean the delivery of a learned and edifying hortatory discourse in well-chosen words and a pleasant voice. G. Friedrich, "Kerusso," Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 3:703 (1965)
and that, the "sermon" (which is what we frequently get from the pulpit) is a polished, "educated" display of learning and professionalism. But, actually the word "sermon" cannot be found in the New Testament. Its origin is in the world of Greek and Roman philosophy.
Go figure.
In present day Churchianity however, I fear the pulpit has become a
1. Beacon of Biblical Ignorance
2. Platform for Political Propaganda
3. Lectern of Human Intellectualism
4. Seat of Insecurity (and the fragile Male Ego, if I may add)
5. Stage for Stand-up Comedians
6. Rostrum for Opinionated Orators
7. Podium to Promote Self-seeking Agendas (sometimes disguised to look like selfless social causes)
In 1 Corinthians 2:4-6, the apostle Paul wrote
1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
I read somewhere that
Kerussein [to "preach"] does not mean the delivery of a learned and edifying hortatory discourse in well-chosen words and a pleasant voice. G. Friedrich, "Kerusso," Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 3:703 (1965)
and that, the "sermon" (which is what we frequently get from the pulpit) is a polished, "educated" display of learning and professionalism. But, actually the word "sermon" cannot be found in the New Testament. Its origin is in the world of Greek and Roman philosophy.
Go figure.
