I agree. Jesus Himself said that He was the Vine and that there were many
branches, but all of them would produce excellent fruit as long as they
remained united to the Vine - in other words, to Him, but also, by
extension, to one another.
I grew up in a very traditional and exclusivist tradition. We were taught
that our own church body was the "one true church," that all others were in
serious error, and that most if not all of their members were damned to hell
for refusing to be part of that one narrow body (well, it was one of the
larger ones, but still far less than the entire body of those who profess
faith in Christ).
We sort of naturally assumed that each of these other 40,000 denominations
did the same: that every Baptist, every Methodist, every Presbyterian, every
Catholic, every Disciple of Christ would automatically damn to hell every
member of every competing denomination.
What I learned later was that the great majority of those bodies of
believers who profess faith in Christ are very happy to acknowledge,
recognize, and work together with one another, on some level, in spite of
some differences. My current church (MetroAlliance Church in Cleveland,
Ohio) regularly invites members of other Bible-centered denominations to
speak and even to teach, although generally these are people known to our
pastor and/or governing board.
Eventually I came to realize that even the members of the very rigid and not
always Bible-centered tradition in which I was raised are not only capable
of being and acting as part of the larger Body of Christ (on the same terms
as anyone else - through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ), but that
they frequently have insights that other members of the Body lack. For
instance, they were and still are among the earliest, strongest, and most
consistent opponents of the anti-life "ethic" that dominates today's
political thinking.
We may not always agree and we may not always even like each other, but we
are family, and we need each other. As we grow closer to Christ this should
help us grow closer to one another as well. We may have disagreements among
ourselves, but when outside forces such as secularism, atheism, nihilism,
and the various non-Christian relgions attempt to attack us, every single
one of us should be ready to respond, in defense of the entire Body, not
just the parts that are closest to us, or that look most like us. (Which is
not to say that we should ever attack those outside the Body; they are not
our true enemies, but rather people created in the image and likeness of God
just as we are, and to whom we should reach out in respect and in love. Our
true enemies are the principalities and powers of this world - spiritual
forces, which can be defeated only with spiritual weapons, such as kindness,
truth, and love.)
Joe
Post by **Rowland Croucher**Critics love reminding us there are 40,000+ Christian denominations in
the world (and within some of them - like the RC church - there are many
sub-groups/Orders). Is that a problem? No. (Like doctors naming 40,000
body-parts isn't a problem). Denominatiions aren't a problem, but
'denominationalism' may be. Diversity is OK - provided we pursue
unity-in-diversity. Zat OK? Avagooddayeveryone!
Shalom/Salaam/Pax! Rowland Croucher
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/
Justice for Dawn Rowan - http://dawnrowansaga.blogspot.com/