having thought about this a bit more - I think "authentic" means more than just "real", it's more about being true to the source. say if you go to a restaurant that claims to serve authentic Jewish cuisine, if they add pork to the soup then obviously it's not authentic. or like when I was at a church that did a Passover meal combined with Maundy Thursday Communion, and the meal consisted of cheese, bread and soup - that was so non-authentic it cracked me up... (having leavened bread at Passover was the main thing, but the idea of having such a simple basic meal for Passover was just way too spartan for a Jewish festival.)
so if we take that into the context of church, I'd say "authentic" would mean doing church more like the way Jesus originally meant us to.
so if these churches really are doing that, then I'd say it's ok for them to say it about themselves, but my instinct (or prejudice) says that churches that spout that kind of marketingspeak are going to be too busy polishing their brand to show real, authentic, Christian love to those who don't fit in :(
*sigh* this is one of those words that I feel get so overused, I've developed an allergic reaction to it.
ReplyDeletebut basically, doesn't it just mean "real"?
yes, I think that's probably the idea. I just wish they'd say what they mean to say...
ReplyDelete(this is as far as I've got with reading these comments for now. it's nearly 5am and my eyes are going to close any minute...)
having thought about this a bit more - I think "authentic" means more than just "real", it's more about being true to the source. say if you go to a restaurant that claims to serve authentic Jewish cuisine, if they add pork to the soup then obviously it's not authentic. or like when I was at a church that did a Passover meal combined with Maundy Thursday Communion, and the meal consisted of cheese, bread and soup - that was so non-authentic it cracked me up... (having leavened bread at Passover was the main thing, but the idea of having such a simple basic meal for Passover was just way too spartan for a Jewish festival.)
ReplyDeleteso if we take that into the context of church, I'd say "authentic" would mean doing church more like the way Jesus originally meant us to.
so if these churches really are doing that, then I'd say it's ok for them to say it about themselves, but my instinct (or prejudice) says that churches that spout that kind of marketingspeak are going to be too busy polishing their brand to show real, authentic, Christian love to those who don't fit in :(
ReplyDeletehere's a church that goes a little overboard on the authentic idea... http://authenticchurch.com/
ReplyDeletehmmm... interesting... so what is it about them that makes you feel they go overboard?
ReplyDeleteyou mean besides the fact that even their kids are authentic? ;-)
ReplyDeleteoh well, kids tend to be authentic anyway :)
ReplyDelete