Notions of 'church' vis-a-vis what the Bible says

People assume the common notion of 'church' is biblical, yet most of it is not. It is really just tradition that has grown over time. Foundationally it is the 'fear of man' taking the place of the 'fear of God.'

Here are links that give both sides:

James White - a Reformed Baptist - represents the man-fearing position (and actually sounds very Roman Catholic in this post).

This article, on the other hand, is the most in-depth and fair for the other side.

(This is a great web site, by the way. Truly a great web site. They also link to 5solas.org which shows they value real biblical doctrine above all, so they're not just lukewarm liberal types.)

This whole subject is very big. Read the short James White post above (and maybe also this article which gives the common position of the James White types in very clear language). It's not about disdaining authority at all costs, it's about not taking part in the coercive enforcement of the fear of man. A Christian is a king and a priest (and also a prophet in that he has the Word of God). Christian liberty is real. A real Christian will assemble naturally with other Christians, and will also submit himself to other Christians, in a natural way. It just happens naturally. You accept a teacher naturally if he has the Spirit and you are drawn to that and actually learn from it. But 'church' is much bigger and majestic and real as the Bible describes it (read the batteredsheep site linked above). And Christianity IS about individual election and personal relationships -- with God above preeminently. A Christian is a king; and the priesthood of all believers is the most difficult biblical doctrine that was recovered at the Reformation for the more carnal Christian types, even the most Protestant, ironically. 'Individual' is not a bad word for a Christian. It is not some 'American disease.' Christians born from above, effected by the Word and the Spirit, have fellowship with other Christians naturally, and they recognize leadership qualities in teachers and others with other gifts of the Spirit naturally. Christians don't need coercion, and all the tactics that enforce man-fearing in the world. A real Christian knows when he is in that kind of environment and very well will avoid it, and probably give you some good biblical advice in strong terms. A Christian fears only God.