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  RELIGIOUS ELITISM
  by A.W. Tozer
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Summary: The sermon warns against the dangers of spiritual snobbery and
the importance of being concerned with the masses.

Topics: "Community in Christ", "Religious Elitism"
Scripture References: Luke 14:13

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DESCRIPTION
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A.W. Tozer addresses the issue of religious elitism, criticizing those
who dismiss the value of popular Christianity and prefer to isolate
themselves in a spiritual elite. He compares this attitude to cultural
snobbery, where individuals look down on others for their preferences
and beliefs. Tozer warns that such a mindset can lead to a lack of
compassion and connection with the broader community of believers. He
emphasizes that while the desire for deeper understanding of God is
commendable, it should not come at the expense of engaging with and
loving others. Ultimately, he calls for a spirit that aligns with the
inclusive nature of Christ's teachings.

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CONTENT
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The question of numbers and their relation to success or failure in the
work of the Lord is one that disturbs most Christians more than a
little.

On the question there are two opposing schools of thought. There are
Christians, for instance, who dismiss the whole matter as being beneath
them. These correspond to the lovers of high-brow music who firmly
refuse to admit that there is anything of any real value other than that
composed by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. They know they are in the
minority and glory in the fact, for in their opinion it is a very, very
superior minority and they look down their noses at all who enjoy
anything less complicated than a symphony.

Of course this is cultural snobbery and tells us a lot more about such
persons than they would care to have us know. They remind one of the
unco-learned of whom Colton wrote, "So much they scorn the crowd that if
the throng by chance go right, they purposely go wrong."

Now among religious persons I have met a few who are guilty of a kind of
spiritual snobbery of which they are doubtless wholly unaware. These
have recoiled so violently from popular, cheap-Jack Christianity that
they simply have no longer any sympathy with crowds. They prefer to sit
around the Lord's Table in a select and tight little circle, admiring
the deep things of God and, I very much fear, admiring themselves a wee
bit also. This is a kind of Protestant monasticism without the cowl and
the beads, for it seeks to preserve the faith of Christ from pollution
by isolating it from the vulgar masses. Its motives may be commendable,
but its methods are altogether unscriptural and its spirit completely
out of mood with that of our Lord.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/aw-tozer/religious-elitism/
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