When we hear churches preach against ecumenism, it is usually couched in terms of a struggle against heresy. But when we dig deeper, the so-called heresy is often not against the teachings of Christ, but against some lesser twig of doctrine. We have heard people argue such issues as traditions of mere men versus innovations also of mere men, contemporary versus modern music, unknown tongues versus known languages, Sunday versus Saturday, immersion versus sprinkling, ad infinitum. Throughout history, church tradition has tended towards narrower and narrower doctrines, creating increasingly greater reasons for division rather than unity. But, salvation is open to a broader range of people than self-centered denominational politics might allow. With Jesus’ prayer for unity in mind (John 17:20-26), might not just one of the greatest heresies of all be that of narrow partisan divisiveness between churches.
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