The word “radical” has come to have more than one meaning. Initially, it meant “from the root.” Somewhere along the way, it began to be used as a synonym of the word “extreme.” When used as an adjective to describe a person’s beliefs, it is usually intended as an insult. One might be called a radical conservative or a radical liberal. In politics, we have become quite familiar with the term “radical right.”<\/p>\n
Despite its original meaning, the most common use of the word in our day is to denote that which is extreme. For that reason, most people don’t like to be labeled “radical” about anything.<\/p>\n
When it comes to one’s spiritual values, convictions, and life, being radical (from the root) is what we are called to be. As disciples of the Lord (our root), we must deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Him (Luke 9:23). That’s radical (in the good sense), but it will be considered extreme by the world-and even by some in the church.<\/p>\n
Recently, I have seen and heard the word used by brethren in rallying calls for change. Let me cite two examples of this, along with my comments:<\/p>\n
Radical Restoration<\/em> is the title of a new book written by F. Lagard Smith. In his book, the popular author calls on brethren to be radical in our approach to restoring first-century Christianity. I’m confident he would say that his call for “radical” restoration fits the original definition, as he outlines what he perceives to be the “root” pattern to follow.<\/p>\n However, calling something radical does not make it “from the root.” Much of what brother Smith sees as “precedent” is based on assumptions he makes. So, instead of going back to the root of what the New Testament actually says, he lets his imagination be his guide. That’s not radical in the truest sense of the word! It is extreme — extremely liberal, that is.<\/p>\n Let me mention just one example from his book. He assumes (as do many sectarians) that the “love feast” of Jude 12 is a common meal. Then he tries to connect that common meal with the Lord’s Supper by saying the Lord’s Supper was a “meal within a meal.”<\/p>\n He sees the problem in Corinth (I Corinthians 11:16-34) not in their not waiting for one another to eat the Lord’s Supper, but in their not sharing their meals with the less fortunate. Again, this is based on pure assumption, but even so, he completely ignores the fact that this is not an “approved” example, as well as Paul’s inspired solution: “But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home<\/em>” (I Corinthians 11:34).<\/p>\n Another phrase that I’ve heard recently is “radical autonomy.” Autonomy is the “state of being self-governing” and is usually used by brethren to refer to the independence of local congregations. Though “autonomy” is not used in the Bible, it certainly is a biblical concept. Under Christ as King, each congregation is to be independent in organization from all other congregations.<\/p>\n Being independent, some congregations may choose to abandon long-standing traditions-even those within God’s authority. They may find that it is in the best interests of the cause of Christ in their area to meet at non-traditional times or to identify themselves by a scriptural description other than “church of Christ.” As long as these changes away from tradition remain within the authority of Christ, they are within their rights.<\/p>\n In this sense, I join with those who call for radical autonomy. However, the context in which this phrase is sometimes used leads me to wonder whether some are using it as an excuse to insulate themselves from criticism or questioning of their practices. One of the great blessings we have in the Lord’s church is that our brethren look out for us. If a brother in another congregation sees that the congregation where I worship is doing something he considers out of harmony with the New Testament, I should welcome his criticism, not shut him off by announcing that we are a “radically autonomous congregation.”<\/p>\n The fact of the matter is that we need to be radical — that is, we need to be “from the root.” This requires that we allow Christ to dwell in our hearts so that we will be “rooted and grounded in love<\/em>” (Ephesians 3:17). True radical restoration cannot be based on speculation or assumption, nor should radical autonomy be used to ward off constructive criticism.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Al Diestelkamp via THINK, Volume 33 No. 1, January-March, 2002 The word “radical” has come to have more than one meaning. Initially, it meant “from the root.” Somewhere along the way, it began to be used as a synonym of the word “extreme.” When used as an adjective to describe a person’s beliefs, it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[674,146],"class_list":["post-92946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-change","tag-lords-supper"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":83078,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-want-to-flaunt-my-christianity\/","url_meta":{"origin":92946,"position":0},"title":"I Don’t Want to Flaunt My Christianity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores Sometimes, someone says, \"I don't want to flaunt my Christianity.\" I get it, I think. They don't want to seem \"holier-than-thou.\" I'd rather not believe they want to be closet Christians. But see, Christianity\u00a0is obvious. There must be some plain evidence that Christ has improved your life,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32612,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/politics-and-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":92946,"position":1},"title":"Politics and Religion","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Rodger Trimm Sentry Magazine, September 2001 \"Talk about anything but politics and religion\" has proven to be wise instructions for many social gatherings. With some trepidation, I will ignore that advice for this article. I'm indebted to two friends, one old and one new, for expanding the perspective of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/World-Map-300x149.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19866,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-think-about-partaking-of-the-lords-supper-after-dinner\/","url_meta":{"origin":92946,"position":2},"title":"What do you think about partaking of the Lord’s Supper after dinner?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: At our congregation, we take communion on the first day of each week. Our preacher has decided to have small groups meet in homes and have a potluck dinner and again partake of the Lord's Supper, calling it an agape feast. This is causing a division in the church.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51196,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/take-whatever-steps-necessary\/","url_meta":{"origin":92946,"position":3},"title":"Take Whatever Steps Necessary","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \"If you can't do that without also doing this, then don't do that.\" Here is a principle that many parents invoke when they are raising their children, and it applies to multiple activities - activities that are not in themselves wrong. Yet if those activities become the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95616,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fighting-the-good-fight-against-feminism\/","url_meta":{"origin":92946,"position":4},"title":"Fighting the Good Fight Against Feminism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Vance E. Trefethen via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 2, June 1995 The word \"Feminism\" carries strong connotations. It is distressing to see it thrown about so casually by many whenever disagreements arise over the role of men and women in the church. It is always easier to label\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4364,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/action-and-reaction\/","url_meta":{"origin":92946,"position":5},"title":"Actions and Reactions","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 6:20-36 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How should you act? How should you react? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We live in a \u201cme first\u201d age. People demand their rights. They seek to get even when wronged. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But let me tell you about a radical view of life II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Actions - Luke 6:27-28 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Love\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92946\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}