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Fellowship and Unity-Yet so much division???

Clover me

Clover me

Member
Colossians 2:2 “That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ.” (ESV)

Ephesians 2:19-22 (#10 of 10 Bible Verses about the Church, the Body of Christ)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
 
Wouldn't it be great if we lived that ?
Something that has helped me not only here but in 'real life' is this...from our TOS
2.4:. Do not make an inflammatory remark just to get a response. Address issues not personalities. Respect where people are in their spiritual walk, and respect all others in general. Respect where others are in their spiritual walk, do not disrupt the flow of discussion or act in a way that affects others negatively including when debating doctrinal issues, in the defense of the Christian faith, and in offering unwelcome spiritual advice
Looking back i am not the same person i was 40 years ago.. I dont have exactly the same beliefs i had then although i knew i was right... We all walk with the Lord we do not goose stepping in unison. I still fail

Glad ya joined up here Clover me
 
I wonder why we have such divisions, and what Christians are to do about them (if anything...). Even within churches, you have divisions. We have churches leaving PCUSA, for instance, because they head honchos seem to be a little bit...apostate.

Unity is great, but diversity can be helpful, if it helps preserve the Truth. Where would Protestants be if, in the name of unity, The Reformation had never happened? Where would Pentecostals be if, in the name of unity, they'd just stayed with their parent denominations (according to wiki, they now account for over 12% of the world's Christians, btw).

Unity is great, but I think maintaining unity sometimes carries a high price. We may well be better off with multiple movements and church splits than with one, monolithic entity that represents all of Christendom. Just my 2 cents.
 
Clover me said:
Colossians 2:2 “That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ.” (ESV)

Ephesians 2:19-22 (#10 of 10 Bible Verses about the Church, the Body of Christ)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Click to expand...

Hmm....Yep, it's been that way since about the 3rd century church, I think.

You remember when Paul said that some in the church were saying they were of Apollos and some of Paul, etc. I think those were the names, but anyway....
Division was there in smaller ways then. And even big ones, what about the converted Jews and the converted Greeks. Now that must have been quite interesting. The Apostles always caught in the middle, especially Paul.
With so many denominations and doctrines within those denominations there is bound to be differences of opinions and interpretations. In a way if there wasn't before Christ comes and straightens us all out, it might not even at this point be a good thing.
What if Martin Luther hadn't had his big blow up with the RCC? Would there be a protestant church?

I like this forum site because I think it has something for everyone. If you want unity and agreement you'd probably not want to hang out in A&Theology. But if you want to learn about some of the more difficult and disputed scriptures then it's a great place for that. Get different views and study and decide for yourself, see where the Lord leads.
Christian Q&A, is a good place. It's not a debate forum so one can ask questions, get answers and no arguments, and of coarse here in the lounge, you can well... lounge. :)
 
I misread this. I thought you were talking about Christendom in general, not this forum (and presumably any place Christians hang out). Oops.
 
There will always be division especially in the mannerism of how we are taught, but to me that just makes me dig deeper in the word for truth. Our unity is in that of Christ life, death and resurrection that does bind us together. We might not always agree with each other, but need to allow each one to their own understanding. Just like reba said, we are all on different levels of learning and should respect where each one is at instead of belittling each other. We are to lift up and edify one another, not knock one down for what they believe. Study the scriptures that are given and draw your own conclusions as only the Holy Spirit can teach us truth.
 
Christ_empowered said:
I wonder why we have such divisions, and what Christians are to do about them (if anything...). Even within churches, you have divisions. We have churches leaving PCUSA, for instance, because they head honchos seem to be a little bit...apostate.

Unity is great, but diversity can be helpful, if it helps preserve the Truth. Where would Protestants be if, in the name of unity, The Reformation had never happened? Where would Pentecostals be if, in the name of unity, they'd just stayed with their parent denominations (according to wiki, they now account for over 12% of the world's Christians, btw).

Unity is great, but I think maintaining unity sometimes carries a high price. We may well be better off with multiple movements and church splits than with one, monolithic entity that represents all of Christendom. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Your :twocents more like a million bucks :)
 
My older, wiser, Pentecostal friend always advises me: check up on what you hear with your Bible. Always been true, but being a Berean Christian really, really pays off in these days, when the New Age stuff has somehow gotten big within some churches. Paul writes about some Gnostic influences on certain parts of Christianity way back when, so I guess its a problem that pops up on a fairly regular basis. I think these days the real problem is that our post-modern culture encourages people to "be unique," etc. at all costs. Following doctrine and tradition and received wisdom has become decidedly un-cool (Christianity has always been counter cultural, anyway), so I think baby/potential Christians sometimes wander into a church that "feels good" over a church that actually encourages growth and repentance. Since the problem, I think, is cultural, I really don't know what's to be done.

One thing I've noticed: the more truly Christian a group is, the more tension they have with people. I don't mean snake handling and all that, I mean just plain 'ole, work a day Christians. Pentecostals are called "Holy Rollers" and even some Bapticostals (I'm thinking more Southern Baptists) aren't "cool" or "relevant."
 
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