In the midst of my short blog series on the recent “Reformation Wars” over the pope’s faith I want to “hit pause” and lead off this new week with a video.
I recently made this video in my gazebo, the place where I write and pray (year-round) on days when I am home. This video underscores one of my deepest passions about this whole debate. Is there a more excellent way than polemics and debates about who is and is not a true Christian? I believe so. I believe that Jesus and the apostles speak clearly about this in John 13:34-35:
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (NRSV).
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love drives a good argument
“We are not to get carried away with doctrinal differences, but are to remain grounded on the true doctrinal commonalities. The issue here is unity, and unity is maintained by holding to what we have in common, and not dividing over our every difference. It is not that we are to ignore our differences or try to meld them into a common idea. No, our differences are what make life interesting. Our differences drive the pursuit for clarity, compassion, and comprehension. We need to discuss and evaluate our differences, but not divide over them. By remaining in unity (Paul called us to maintain it, Ephesians 4:3) while defending our differences, we set up a kind of creative tension in the church that drives biblical research and development.
The purpose of Christian unity is not to have all Christians thinking the same things in the same ways. Rather, it is to have Christians from different perspectives contributing to a common trajectory of thought. Christian unity is the commitment to remain together in spite of our differences. Of course there are limits to Christian unity. Heresy is real and apostasy is a constant danger. However, the determination and/or accusation of heresy and apostasy are not the responsibility or jurisdiction of individual believers. Time and again, Paul assigned those responsibilities to church elders. It is incumbent upon us to give that responsibility to our church elders and to support their conclusions and processes. I’m not saying that ordinary Christians should refrain from doctrinal discussion. Rather, I’m saying that ordinary Christians should feel free to discuss and defend doctrine with all of their abilities. But at the end of the argument, they must not break fellowship unless explicitly instructed to do so by their own elders.”
–from http://pilgrim-platform.org/books/ephesians/
Gleanings from reading the preface of The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris: (1) In truly loving relationship with others they keep interfering with what I like to pretend is my own life (2) Marriage is like how St. Benedict described a monastery, “a school for love.” (3) The reason some will read the Bible is because they think of it as a weapon that Christians use against anyone who disagrees with them (4) In my life and relationships with others doctrine and dogma are submerged; present. but not the point.
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