Unity?

[Ryan1976]

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This is Metropolitan Jonah speaking to Anglicans (ACNA) on much needed unity. You may not be Orthodox but it is certainly inspiring to see a call to unity. If any of you have any great examples of ecumenism feel free to share.

Perhaps you just would like to air your frustration with the fact that there are 30,000 and growing denominations and yet Christ prayed that we might be united.

Or perhaps you would like to air a totally opposite perspective. Maybe you believe that all these divisions aren't real and we really are united somehow in some invisible way.

God bless!

 

[Ryan1976]

Well, I was going to embed a video but I guess Vimeo doesn't jive with CC. Tried to edit it but my 5 minute edit time ran up!

THIS (click me) is Metropolitan Jonah speaking to Anglicans (ACNA) on much needed unity. You may not be Orthodox but it is certainly inspiring to see a call to unity.


If any of you have any great examples of ecumenism feel free to share.

Perhaps you just would like to air your frustration with the fact that there are 30,000 and growing denominations and yet Christ prayed that we might be united.

Or perhaps you would like to air a totally opposite perspective. Maybe you believe that all these divisions aren't real and we really are united somehow in some invisible way.

God bless!

 

[loveschild]

Dear Lord it's all been going on for a long time and we are not one under God. That's how it's to be. God bless, Love

 

[Jae143]

I watched this a month or so ago. Tres interesting.

Poses some interesting questions - like why are there over 50,000 Christian Protestant Denoms (yes it's up to over 50,000 now), why that in itself isn't totally troubling to anyone who identifies themselves as a Christian, and why aren't there more of these "calls to unity".

In learning and growing in my journey with the Lord - I understand that once we recognize Him, we are called to be One - and be the light unto the world. How could Christians be a light unto the world - when they are too occupied with being separate from each other and trying to build their own lights - instead of spreading the light of the Lord.

Ever read the essay "How To Keep A Slave"?

 

[MahogonySnail]

Everyone is united by virtue of being a child of God.


Denominations are from man not Jesus Christ (I follow Paul, I follow Apollos etc) so it is useless to try and bring them together into some sort of unity unless they give up the denominationalism and come to unity centred around Christ's Person.

Some say santa = satan well denominations = demonisations. I'm joking.

Some in here say "I'm a baptist" , or "I'm a catholic", and these are nothing but carnal mis-understandings of the spiritual realities that every believer has by virtue of being a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

[His_will_i_am]

Agreed, Mahogony. Unity should be based upon a spiritual unity.

 

[pink77W]

unity is required by our lord and by paul and also by reason. it is not an option

 

[wattie]

Unity in the body of Christ:

So, so many christians intepret this as being unity in every believer in the world..

Problems with this:

* logistical nightmare

* if it is every believer.. there are people claiming ot be christian who are not.. so you get some unsaved people in the universal methodist church.. the universal anglican church.. teh catholic church.. the universal presbyterian church etc etc.. so how do you get unity in that? Finding needles in haystacks?

*What is the unity in? If it is unity in just accepting eachother no matter the differences.. that could mean trying to have unity with churches that actually cults!

*If it is unity on the essentials of christianity.. there are a ton of christians who disagree on them! I know many many Anglicans.. Methodists.. Catholics.. Presbyterians etc etc who deny the virgin birth.. don believe in hell.. and don believe Jesus is God!

*If it is unity in love... what do you mean by love? Christian love that includes TRUTH aswell as grace.. or the modecoddled.. flowery.. airy fairy worldly type of love that has no discipline?

*it cannot be achievable to have unity in an universal, invisible church.. because you can't see it! It cannot be achievable to have unity in a universal, visible church.. because it is too huge and has so many schisms it would take 1000s of years just to get the whole thing to be in agreement!


So what is unity in the body of Christ?

Unity in the local church you go to!

This is:

* achievable and realistic

* matches the New Testament scripture regarding unity because the unity passages are targeted at congregations.. eg.. unity at church at Ephesus.. unity at church at Corinth.. unity at church at Phillipi etc.. Filty framed together.. built up together.. edifying one another.. in fellowship together etc.. all about being together.. assembled and in one mind of agreement

* matches how God has worked with dividing languages.. at the tower of babel.. people tried to make themselves God.. God confounded their languages and spread them out... why would he do this? Too much power for men to handle.. making themselves God. So God works this way with churches.. wants them to target ther local communities and be unified together not as one big universal body.. but indepedent assemblies helping eachother out to further the gospel

An independent local church can:

*Teach and discern scripture without a mother church org governing what they can and can't do.. Let scripture interpret itself
* Target their local community freely, being accountable to Jesus alone and not a mother church org
* Attain unity and one mindedness realistically and possibly because they are only trying for unity in their own congregation
* Establish programmes without having to go through miles of red tape and procedure imposed by a mother church org

In short-- an independent local church can fulfill all the great commission and the great commandment.. can baptise.. make disciples freely, without the red tape of a big mother church org governing their affairs!

So unity in the body of Christ=

unity in a local assembly of saved baptised believers.. covenanted together to carry out the great commandment and the great commission.

In the New Testament.. unity in teh body of Christ was unity at the body at Ephesus... or unity at the body at Corinth.. Phillip..etc.. not unity in one universal body.. because that is not unity..

To be blunt-- that is compromising on doctrine and fellowship just to have a happy party with other people who may or may not be saved!

Ecumenism is much like subjective truth.. compromises everything in teh name of tolerance and soft love.