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Subj: FOR PASTOR PETER MARSHALL When pastor becomes pope Aberdeen minister Dominic Smart blows the whistle on legalism and authoritarianism in unlikely places Legalism is thriving in some of the biggest and most successful churches in this country, according to a new book, Grace, Faith and Glory, written by Dominic Smart, minister of Gilcomston South Parish Church, Aberdeen. It "strikes at the core of the gospel. Legalism is about making and keeping yourself right with God by keeping the rules, whether they are God’s rules in the Bible or our own made up ones. It’s an alternative gospel because it sends us down the road of self-justifying actions". Smart attacks the commonly held belief that legalism is only a problem in the more traditional and conservative churches. Charismatic churches are particularly vulnerable, he believes, not only to imposing rules of acceptability based on dress codes and worship styles, but also to "a creeping infallibility on the part of the leadership". He writes: "Because the pastor claims that he’s got a word from the Lord, and because of a new kind of authoritarianism that seems to be growing in many big evangelical charismatic churches, the central issues in the lives of believers revolve around their obedience to their pastor. "The pastors start treating every honest question as a rebellion against their authority. The Pastor becomes pope." However, Smart believes that legalism can affect all evangelical churches of all types.
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