First Baseman
Retired athlete
There are an awful lot of divisions among us. My thought is, Why can't we instead concentrate on what unites us?
-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
Is there something that can unite all Christians?
- Thread starter First Baseman
- Start date
First Baseman
Retired athlete
That is true. So what is it about us that.can unite us in spite of Satan's best efforts?
The 'something' is the hallmark of genuine Christians which is having the self-sacrificing love as Jesus mentioned in his New commandment at John 13:34-35
Remember the words found at Matthew 7:21-23 that MANY would come ' in Jesus name ' but prove false.
Thana
Lady
I think if we all recognized that we're individuals, with individual beliefs, and that the only things that matter are our hearts and our love for God and that everything else is immaterial.
Anything short of God coming down and telling everyone Himself which doctrines and interpretations are correct I don't think anything will work on a large scale. However, some Christians are more accepting of varied denominations than others. I'm non-denominational but I've got a Baptist friend and attend a Pentecostal Holiness Church. I think those denominations that are less likely to be accepting of other denominations are those which put the most emphasis on exclusivism ("we're the only denomination that God is pleased with" or the like). Look at the Jehovah's Witnesses, who do not believe that anyone is a "true" Christian except for themselves. I've seen similar shades of it in Pentacostalism.
Christianity is divided by such a diverse and sometimes contentious range of doctrines that I don't see it happening. I guess Jesus would have to come back and personally fix things.
Seek TRUTH.
Avoid pomp & ceremony and ditch tradition if one has the gonads.
Seek out what holidays are based upon pagan influences and dump them.
STUDY the Bible and look for the nuggets of truth without influence of
Babylon the Great.
Christmas, Easter,birthdays, and more are rooted in pagan customs.
Search for yourself and learn.
Research Babylon the Great and see what that really is.
Go here. Just one of many places on the web that can shed some light
on the mystery of the book of revelation.
http://www.mystery-babylon.net/
Most all Christian "faiths" have hidden the truth that has been found by diligently studying the Bible.
I'd avoid churches that pass around a basket of rattlesnakes.
There is at least one denomination that has dedicated scholars that seek truth.
Likely there are a few more.
"Seek and ye shall find."
Avoid pomp & ceremony and ditch tradition if one has the gonads.
Seek out what holidays are based upon pagan influences and dump them.
STUDY the Bible and look for the nuggets of truth without influence of
Babylon the Great.
Christmas, Easter,birthdays, and more are rooted in pagan customs.
Search for yourself and learn.
Research Babylon the Great and see what that really is.
Go here. Just one of many places on the web that can shed some light
on the mystery of the book of revelation.
http://www.mystery-babylon.net/
Most all Christian "faiths" have hidden the truth that has been found by diligently studying the Bible.
I'd avoid churches that pass around a basket of rattlesnakes.
There is at least one denomination that has dedicated scholars that seek truth.
Likely there are a few more.
"Seek and ye shall find."
VitoOFMCap
Member
I think there are several ways that Christians can come together:
We all partake in the Body of Christ - Paul's letter to Corinth broadly addresses a similar issue we face today: divisions in the particulars. Except being about circumcision and dietary laws, today it's about patriarchs, celebrations, and other particulars in liturgy, ecclesiology, and culture. Having the courage to say that we all should be without division, and concern for each other is something that witnesses our Christian faith. We may never all agree on the particulars, but I don't think that was Paul's intention either, rather it was that we all seek ἀγάπη.
ὅς ἐστί οὐ κατά ἡμῶν ἐστί ὑπέρ ἡμῶν (Luke 9:50) - There is a need to retell this superficial narrative that religion is the mechanism of imperialism, when history shows it as the other way around. Whether it was the Roman emperors, Saxon princes, the Arab caliphs, Charlemagne, Henry VIII, religious (and Christian) division is rooted in the state's use of religion for public affairs. With Pentecost coming soon (depending on which calendar you observe) we're reminded that our commission to go forth comes from disciples in hiding, behind locked doors. We may have developed different ways of celebrating our faith, but our Commission is manifold. Why should be we be stumbling blocks to each other as we all try to be on fire with the Holy Spirit? Let us not let the divisions of the world impact our common mission: to proclaim the Good News.
We won't ever all agree. That's why debate forums and apologetic websites exist. However I believe that God's overflowing grace is a gift for all. If we can be brothers and sisters in Christ to testify and witness to that gift, perhaps others will recognize and accept that gift as well.
N.B. My apologies for some of the over-generalizations. While I know there are many ways in which people identify and live their Christian faith, I would have been paralyzed if I addressed every nuance. If your faith journey is somehow misrepresented in my general use of the term "Christian," my apologies. I'd rather not railroad the post into deconstructing "christian." =)
We all partake in the Body of Christ - Paul's letter to Corinth broadly addresses a similar issue we face today: divisions in the particulars. Except being about circumcision and dietary laws, today it's about patriarchs, celebrations, and other particulars in liturgy, ecclesiology, and culture. Having the courage to say that we all should be without division, and concern for each other is something that witnesses our Christian faith. We may never all agree on the particulars, but I don't think that was Paul's intention either, rather it was that we all seek ἀγάπη.
ὅς ἐστί οὐ κατά ἡμῶν ἐστί ὑπέρ ἡμῶν (Luke 9:50) - There is a need to retell this superficial narrative that religion is the mechanism of imperialism, when history shows it as the other way around. Whether it was the Roman emperors, Saxon princes, the Arab caliphs, Charlemagne, Henry VIII, religious (and Christian) division is rooted in the state's use of religion for public affairs. With Pentecost coming soon (depending on which calendar you observe) we're reminded that our commission to go forth comes from disciples in hiding, behind locked doors. We may have developed different ways of celebrating our faith, but our Commission is manifold. Why should be we be stumbling blocks to each other as we all try to be on fire with the Holy Spirit? Let us not let the divisions of the world impact our common mission: to proclaim the Good News.
We won't ever all agree. That's why debate forums and apologetic websites exist. However I believe that God's overflowing grace is a gift for all. If we can be brothers and sisters in Christ to testify and witness to that gift, perhaps others will recognize and accept that gift as well.
N.B. My apologies for some of the over-generalizations. While I know there are many ways in which people identify and live their Christian faith, I would have been paralyzed if I addressed every nuance. If your faith journey is somehow misrepresented in my general use of the term "Christian," my apologies. I'd rather not railroad the post into deconstructing "christian." =)
First Baseman
Retired athlete
Why are we called Christians in the first place?
allfoak
Alchemist
@First Baseman
It is a term taken from Mithraism, not chosen, given to them by outsiders.
The term The Way is used several times in the book of Acts, it is this term by which the disciples referred to themselves.
It is a term taken from Mithraism, not chosen, given to them by outsiders.
The term The Way is used several times in the book of Acts, it is this term by which the disciples referred to themselves.
Last edited:
Scuba Pete
Le plongeur avec attitude...
Imagine the difference we would make if we simply fulfilled the Royal law and loved each other? Nothing else counts.
I Corinthians 13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. NIV
If you would find God, you must first learn to love. It's not found in piety. It's not found in doctrine. It's not found in hubris. It's found in considering others better than yourself.
Galatians 5:6 The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. NIV
I Corinthians 13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. NIV
If you would find God, you must first learn to love. It's not found in piety. It's not found in doctrine. It's not found in hubris. It's found in considering others better than yourself.
Galatians 5:6 The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. NIV
Well said scuba Pete.
Try: Acts of the Apostles 11:26 B; besides Acts of the Apostles 26:28, and what Peter wrote at 1 Peter 4:16
Yes, indeed, it will take Jesus personally to fix things, and 'fix' Jesus will according to Isaiah 11:3-4; Revelation 19:11; Revelation 19:14-16
We are nearing the ' time of separation ' on Earth as described at Matthew 25:31-33, 37 when Jesus, as Shepherd, will separate people living on Earth.
Those counted as being at Jesus' right hand of favor can remain alive on Earth, and continue to live on Earth, living right into the start of Jesus' coming 1,000-year governmental rulership over Earth, when Jesus, as Prince of Peace, will usher in global Peace on Earth among people of goodwill.
First Baseman
Retired athlete
No one is giving the answer I'm looking for. One of you was very close but no cigar. Keep trying.
The commandments of Christ--acting like Him. We are called "Christians" because we are all (called to be) "little Christs".
First Baseman
Retired athlete
That's it. Now, elaborate on that and answer the thread lead off question, please.