Radical Orthodoxy

[chessman]

Identifying the truth is not always so easy. Believing one knows the truth does not make it so. This is where the Holy Spirit can be extremely helpful.

I certainly agree. CFNet has it's place as well. So do you. Thanks for what you do.

I just (until recently) had always thought that there was bascially nothing at all good concerning divisions in the chruch. Then this verse hit me like a rock. Call it the Holy Spirit speaking through this verse or just an oversight on my part for never seeing this before. Sometimes debate leads to the truth. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm not. Sometimes my division of the church is right, sometimes it's not. But the truth is there, somewhere. Worth looking for.

Also, the idea that divisions in the church is a relative new thing in the 20th or 21st Century or even 1517 A.D. is wrong. It was there, 1st Century as well.

 

[Tristan]

I actually take it a little bit further (much to the chagrin of many other Christians). I think that between religious groups there should be more friendly dialogue. Like Jesus told Pilate, authority has been put there for a reason. Jesus recognized that the Roman authorities were legitimate, even if they were deeply flawed at times. The same goes for religious authority.

In the faith of other people, I sometimes see good fruit. We may have serious differences, some that may never be reconciled, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't hold some respect for them, and take the opportunity to learn from them. What I generally see is criticism, hatred and condemnation...something that is not our place, nor is it what we are admonished to do.