Sect One and Sect Two

Note: Read this fun story by Dr. Seuss to better understand the article below: https://nfc.cambridgeschool.edu.in/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/05/THE-CAT-IN-THE-HAT.pdf

Those of us familiar with Dr. Seuss remember Thing One and Thing Two. They were the two funny-looking creatures with greenish hair and in bright red tights the Cat let out of the box in the house of Sally and her brother. The Things were “the fun makers,” released to make excitement for the children out of an otherwise dreary, rainy, nothing-to-do day at home. Only thing is, Thing One and Thing Two nearly demolished the house, flying kites, bumping into the walls, bending this, knocking over this and that…

Sects are like that. By sect I refer to a “thing,” that is a group of people that breaks away from a local church, not only, but from the Church and the historic, creedal, biblical Christian religion. In that sense the “thing” that is a sect comes out of the “box,” or the container of what the Church has always regarded as the truth of the Scriptures. The sect leaves the Church, is “let out” of the box or container of Christian truth. And why? Over nothing or next to nothing. These Things arise, these groups break off and out of the Christian Church over nothing. For

A sect deviates from truth and divides Christians not along truth lines, but according to man-made up positions, posturing, and pride.

It is a thing, a sect is, let out and led by a cat. The cat is a sectarian. He wants Sally and her brother Christian, bored again, feeling themselves boxed up Christians, or Sally and brother dull and dreary and unsuccessful churches, to follow them and to have fun in following just them. Let me open up this box, the cat says. We will even have, for you dear and drowsy folks (and while mom’s away, and since your (spiritual) fathers are dead!) some theological fun. Never mind that by our kites and by our thoughts and by our words we bang into old walls, close doors to old halls (paths), knock over some antiques (creeds), divide friends and family, shake the very foundations of your house and otherwise make your heads spin…Just so and just know

You’ll be on your way up! You’ll be seeing great sights! You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights. (Seuss)

For some reason, must be the nature of the Thing, when one Sect is let out of the box, another is sure to follow. Thing One is never alone, at least for long. Out will hop Thing Two. Then Thing Three, Thing Four, and perhaps some more. Sect One. Sect Two. Sect Three. Sect Four. And for sure some more…

***** ***** *****

No child’s story, and certainly no funny thing, Thing One and Thing Two have recently been let out of a denomination of churches, The Protestant Reformed Churches of North America. Two

Cats who have led the way are or were Revs. They are Rev. Andy Lanning and Rev. Nathan Langerak.

These Rev. Cats are brilliant, persuasive, clever…sectarians.

Thing One was first: the Reformed Protestant Churches. Thing Two hopped out of the RP box and has become the Remnant Reformed Churches. The one Thing has split into two. The one sectarian, Rev. Langerak, remains the Cat of the original Reformed Protestants. The other sectarian, Rev. Lanning, is the Cat now of the Remnant.

The Cats initially challenged a PR minister’s orthodoxy, putting words into his mouth and drawing implications both unintended by the minister and unnecessary according to sound logic.

A matter not worth fighting about.

A matter needing the greatest thing, charity.

A matter turning into the clanging of symbols, the banging of drums,

The pontificating of professors of Christ

When Christ and his blood should have been gloried in

And his word only relied upon

And when instead a mere minister man doing his best

to help Christians be holy…

Was thrown under the bus

Of the Opinionated

The Cowards

The Fear-Mongers

And the Cats

Not satisfied with the PR’s handling of the poor minister, desiring that he be defrocked and not merely humiliated and vilified, the Cats clawed their way out with their boxes of Things. Since then they have shown just how sectarian they are. For these Cats and their Thing Sects have set about making “distinctions” and drawing boundaries around themselves and around the Reformed Creeds and between themselves and anyone not like them with a sharp pen neither of Holy Spirit or Divine Command.

Thing One, the Reformed Protestant denomination, has made certain Christian schools and the parents’ use of them for their children a demand of the covenant of God and of grace.

Thing Two, the Remnant, has added to this school distinctive the opinion that the Psalms of Scripture and they only are to be sung in the worship services of the people of God.

About these Things and these two sectarianisms, regarding the schools and songs of the Church and of believers, I would, in future articles, write. Only know this, I write as a fish. Like the fish who complained to Sally and to her brother of the Cat in the hat that

He should not be here,

He should not be here when your mother is not.

The fish in the story who warned of Mother coming up the side walk, this one here warning of the Son of the eternal Father coming quickly to judge the living and the dead and especially the Cats who with their Things have made such a big and pitiful mess of the Church and who will never return to clean it up. Unless, of course, the story ends…with grace.

From Prophet Seuss, Rev. Fish, hear

And this mess is so big and so deep and so tall, we cannot pick it up. There is no way at all!

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot. Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

Unless someone not like you…with care, cleaning-up-sin-messes care, divine.

-Rev. Fish