As Jesus is the cornerstone upon which the Church is built, so are his teachings the unifying cornerstone of Christian doctrine.

One Legitimate Cause of Division

East and West: The Making of a Rift in the Church: From Apostolic Times until the Council of Florence (Oxford History of the Christian Church)
The Making of a Rift
In the Church there is certainly one legitimate cause for division, between those who confess Christ as Lord and those who curse him (1 Corinthians 12). There is nothing in Scripture that excuses division over papal authority, or tongues, or modes of baptism, or how creation happened, or ordination of women, or abstinence and a host of other human interpretations. Has anyone yet heard a Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox Church leader curse Christ? There indeed may be an isolated example where that is true, but we may dare say that for the overwhelming majority of Christian history, all these people have acknowledged that Jesus is Lord in both word and deed. Therefore, there is no legitimate reason for division between us and we are without excuse when we perpetuate any schism. Let us work for peace and unity between Christians.
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)