The next entry in my series, "I Give Up on Everything!" 
If you spend more than just a few minutes in the Lounge or Bible Study room in the chat, you're going to find people that you disagree with. In 2,000 years of history, somehow the church has come to develop an insane amount of inner disagreements. There are some core components that (I hope) have almost universal acceptance, but everything else is entirely up for debate and disagreement.
I have concluded there will probably be nobody in CC, or even in my own church, that I will agree completely with. A couple of my doctrinal stances are a bit unpopular or uncommon. I do not believe 100% doctrinal unity is achievable for the church before Jesus returns.
So what do in the face of this? Do we splinter off into different groups that never interact - the Catholics over here, the Pentecostals over there, the Calvinists in the corner, the Lutherans off to the side, etc.?
No. I say, we accept our differences and seek the common mission of glorifying God, as is the role of the Christian. I don't advocate sticking our heads in the sand about our differences. It's good and proper to discuss them in a constructive manner. It's wrong and improper to refuse to associate with someone over disagreements, unless what they espouse is outright heretical. In short, we should love one another. Be OK with our disagreements, and even if you can't accept what the person believes, accept the person. Suppose someone with very opposite, but not heretical, beliefs of mine said they were starting up an evangelism program. I wouldn't oppose them. It'd be wrong.
Maybe my incessant, unsatisfiable desire for knowledge is leaving me with an "I don't care" attitude, but in cases like this, I think it's justified. Disagree with someone all you want, but if they're a sincere Christian, don't divide yourself from them. That's the last thing we need.
If you spend more than just a few minutes in the Lounge or Bible Study room in the chat, you're going to find people that you disagree with. In 2,000 years of history, somehow the church has come to develop an insane amount of inner disagreements. There are some core components that (I hope) have almost universal acceptance, but everything else is entirely up for debate and disagreement.
I have concluded there will probably be nobody in CC, or even in my own church, that I will agree completely with. A couple of my doctrinal stances are a bit unpopular or uncommon. I do not believe 100% doctrinal unity is achievable for the church before Jesus returns.
So what do in the face of this? Do we splinter off into different groups that never interact - the Catholics over here, the Pentecostals over there, the Calvinists in the corner, the Lutherans off to the side, etc.?
No. I say, we accept our differences and seek the common mission of glorifying God, as is the role of the Christian. I don't advocate sticking our heads in the sand about our differences. It's good and proper to discuss them in a constructive manner. It's wrong and improper to refuse to associate with someone over disagreements, unless what they espouse is outright heretical. In short, we should love one another. Be OK with our disagreements, and even if you can't accept what the person believes, accept the person. Suppose someone with very opposite, but not heretical, beliefs of mine said they were starting up an evangelism program. I wouldn't oppose them. It'd be wrong.
Maybe my incessant, unsatisfiable desire for knowledge is leaving me with an "I don't care" attitude, but in cases like this, I think it's justified. Disagree with someone all you want, but if they're a sincere Christian, don't divide yourself from them. That's the last thing we need.