John 17:20-23
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, THAT ALL OF THEM MAY BE ONE, Father, JUST AS YOU ARE IN ME AND I AM IN YOU. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they MAY BE ONE AS WE ARE ONE: I in them and you in me. MAY THEY BE BROUGHT TO COMPLETE UNITY to let the world know that you sent me and loved them even as you have loved me.
Pretty self explanatory. St. Paul spoke on it well, saying:
1 Corinthians 1:10 (New International Version)
Divisions in the Church
10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
1 Corinthians 1:10-11 (New International Version)
Divisions in the Church
10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you
agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
Acts 4:32-33 (New International Version)
The Believers Share Their Possessions
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
Philippians 2 (New International Version)
Philippians 2
Imitating Christ's Humility
1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit andpurpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
2 Corinthians 13:11 (New International Version)
Final Greetings
11Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
With all the bickering, and stone-casting, and cries of heresy, lies, and deception I read on here, I wonder what these verses mean to you all. Jesus wants us to be a united in Him. He wants us to stand together and love one another like God is in Jesus and Jesus is in us so that we can show the world. How are we showing the world that we are united in Christ when all we do is bicker and fight and try to prove each other wrong instead of uplift, guide, and teach?
How can everyone teach when no one agrees? How can one guide when everyone disagrees on the direction? How can everyone uplift when the "teachings" that people teach are counter to every body else's teachings? The only answer to this (if someone is unwilling to accept the other group's "teachings") is to only discuss generalities, ambiguous morality and a common sense of ethics. Wholesome small talk.
How often have you corrected someone, not out of concern for their eternal soul, or out of love for them, or out of glory to God, but simply because you think they are wrong and you want them to believe what you believe?
Well, here's the problem, no? Everyone belongs to a different denomination/sect. More than that, good luck finding to people of the same denomination that agree across the board, even on the elementary teachings of Christ. So, now we have a huge mass of people that hold conflicting beliefs and each believes that they are "right". Some people seeing that they might not be right usually only wind up believing only what seems right to them but refuse to say that it is the Truth. In other words, out of a desire to feel united with everyone else, they simply agree to disagree.
But I would say that the majority of the people on here do want people to know the Truth. I've heard countless times how convinced protestants are that the Catholics have it "wrong" despite the fact that they can't agree on anything other than not being Catholic and that Jesus is Lord (but that too seems to be debatable in the minds of some).
So, it's probably not that people want people to believe what they believe (which is subjective) but that people want people to believe The Truth (as they believe it). Everyone believes the Holy Spirit has shown them the right way and that the Spirit has confirmed their belief despite the other bloke saying the same thing that disagrees with you. And so it's "war".
What happens in nearly every single thread is that everyone brings their arsenal of bible verses and try to frame those verses in a way that supports their position. Every individual, like a pope, has the ability to choose what they consider to be a dogma and what is non-essential or simply, "debatable". Once people go through enough cycles of posting their own set of bible verses, they (unaware that they're just canceling each other out) get frustrated and start playing on cliches and taboos. This is when the Scribes/Pharisees comments are thrown like grenades and lines are drawn in the sand.
For me, the lines have been drawn long ago and I don't get to choose my own set of dogmas and or have to justify my belief to others in a way that seems right to them. Orthodox pretty much believe the same thing across the board no matter the country or locality. Of course there are heretics that rise up but the Church spits them out soon enough and we go back to just being "of one mind, heart and faith".
How are we, as Christians, going to do this? We've got Catholics standing here, Baptists over there, Pentecostals on that side, Presbyterians over there. What does the world see? They see a bunch of people who all have the same instructions, the same message, the same job in this world and yet are divided over some of the silliest things imaginable. All the bickering over whether God is one being or three, or if infants should be baptized, or if sabbath is a sunday or a saturday, we sound like a bunch of pharisee's and are completely forgetting what God wanted us to do. He wants us to love one another as Christ loved us, and to stand united as God is united with Jesus.
We can still love others despite the fact that people have rejected The Truth or simply can't seem to make it past the buffet table of options that makes Christianity look subjective and pluralistic. Just because someone has heretical beliefs doesn't mean that we don't want them to drop their heresies. They are loved.
However, we can not call
hate love. To say that despite un-like minds, conflicting beliefs, harmful and deceitful teachings and practices, we are still united, is like trying to hide the fact that you busted a neighbor's (the world's) vase, didn't even try to put it back together, left it laying in the many shards it broke into and when this neighbor asks you what happened, you say -- "Nothing. It's fine. It's just as it's supposed to be. Come and join us."
Yet, Jesus is not divided and his body is infallible.
Matthew 12:25 (New International Version)
25Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
NIV!
For those of you that are, because of your religion, unable to read the NIV:
Matthew 12:25 (King James Version)
25And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
And just to boot:
1 Corinthians 1:13 (New International Version)
13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?
Titus 1:9 (New International Version)
9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Acts 2:42 (New International Version)
The Fellowship of the Believers
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
1 Corinthians 11:2 (New American Standard Bible)
2Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 (New American Standard Bible)
15So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
1 Corinthians 10:17 (New International Version)
17Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
God bless.