csuguy
Well-known member
It seems that every since Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic Church with the Protestant Movement - the Protestants have continued to divide themselves over the smallest of issues! Not that Martin Luther wanted to break away - he actually wanted to reform the Catholic Church, but the Catholic Church turned around and exiled him. If it weren’t for the politics of the day he most likely would have been killed.
But back to the topic at hand - Christians today continue to divide themselves over the silliest theologies. It is good to test everything and to reach your own conclusion, but at the same time - most issues that we are divided over are quite frankly irrelevant to being a Christian. And yet time and time again, I hear one Christian calling another a heretic - I hear them saying that the other one isn’t a true Christian, and some times even a daemon!
Is it the fate of Christians to be divided to the point of having no power to do anything? Because that is what is happening! Why can’t we simply discern the basic biblical truths and unify under these? It is good to go beyond the basics - and indeed necessary for continued growth of both the individual and church. One of the church’s biggest problems is that the vast of majority of Christians are stuck as spiritual babes, but that is another post. Nevertheless - if we divide whenever we disagree then everyone will be stuck on their own private islands. Indeed, I don’t believe that I could ever fully agree with any given church.
The church too needs to be able to change. The other half of the equation is that churches refuse to allow change to their doctrines. That is why the Protestant Movement began in the first place - because the Catholic Church could not stand the thought that it might be wrong! Time and again good and honest people have tried to change the church from within - and time and again they have been thrown out as heretics. This leaves people with little choice but to either compromise their beliefs and say they believe something they don’t, or leave that church.
So then, what we need is for church’s to correctly divide the word and determine those most basic biblical truths needed to be a Christian - and allow for division beyond that point. They should of course try to guide people beyond this point, as you can get some pretty wild theories going if left unchecked, but they should not be kicked out of the church for believing something that others don’t. More specifically - they should be allowed to become priests within the church regardless of disputes of theology beyond the basics.
But back to the topic at hand - Christians today continue to divide themselves over the silliest theologies. It is good to test everything and to reach your own conclusion, but at the same time - most issues that we are divided over are quite frankly irrelevant to being a Christian. And yet time and time again, I hear one Christian calling another a heretic - I hear them saying that the other one isn’t a true Christian, and some times even a daemon!
Is it the fate of Christians to be divided to the point of having no power to do anything? Because that is what is happening! Why can’t we simply discern the basic biblical truths and unify under these? It is good to go beyond the basics - and indeed necessary for continued growth of both the individual and church. One of the church’s biggest problems is that the vast of majority of Christians are stuck as spiritual babes, but that is another post. Nevertheless - if we divide whenever we disagree then everyone will be stuck on their own private islands. Indeed, I don’t believe that I could ever fully agree with any given church.
The church too needs to be able to change. The other half of the equation is that churches refuse to allow change to their doctrines. That is why the Protestant Movement began in the first place - because the Catholic Church could not stand the thought that it might be wrong! Time and again good and honest people have tried to change the church from within - and time and again they have been thrown out as heretics. This leaves people with little choice but to either compromise their beliefs and say they believe something they don’t, or leave that church.
So then, what we need is for church’s to correctly divide the word and determine those most basic biblical truths needed to be a Christian - and allow for division beyond that point. They should of course try to guide people beyond this point, as you can get some pretty wild theories going if left unchecked, but they should not be kicked out of the church for believing something that others don’t. More specifically - they should be allowed to become priests within the church regardless of disputes of theology beyond the basics.
