Unity Is The Mantra Of The Church Today

No dog can pull a sled on his own; all must work together to finish the race. Additionally, they must unite in following the master’s directions. If one dog tries to pursue another route, he will only make the race harder for the rest of the pack and the musher will eventually need to pull him out. Similarly, each of us needs other Christians in order to finish the race strong. No one can accomplish the task alone. In Hebrews 10:25, Paul admonished the early church with these words: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” We must unitedly follow the Master’s guidance. Otherwise, we will only make things harder for ourselves and others around

Today, why are Christians divided in church? Are we not one family and one body in God? 1 Cor. 1: 12-13 says, "Now I mean this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?" We are all baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, we are one family and one body. Different opinions are due to a shortage of Christ. We all have our own preferences and understanding in so many matters, but if we are insistent in our ways, we only cause trouble. For instance, regarding where to send donations for Kachin IDPs, there are many different opinions, and they have caused much trouble. They have led to divisions of churches from one community and have distanced relationships with one another. However, if we are full of Christ, we will not care for these things.

Who shared common backgrounds, common experiences and common realities. Religious freedoms develop experiences of a common existence which transcend beyond the individual but loom on the threshold of a collective body. Theological perspectives, rituals, and styles of worship emerged. This is why I ponder the negatives associated with religious separation. Since tearing down the bondage of segregation; the church has yet to experience a great surge of integration. James Baldwin, as well as many others, contend the most segregated day or hour in America is on Sunday. These words are spoken with much contrition, as to say there is something profoundly wrong with this situation. How can Christians call themselves Christians, yet separate themselves based on social and cultural differences during their hour of worship? The religious experience is not only a spiritual connection and oneness with God, but a collective oneness of self; viewing one’s own identity through the lens of cultural experiences. This is not say separation is an evil perpetuating religious divineness; but a necessity to maintain one’s identity. There is no solid foundation for religious integration; for

Connie R. Green, Emily Katherine Green Scott, and Sandra Brenneman Oldendorf scripted Religious Diversity and Children's Literature: Strategies and Resources and said “All of these groups shared common ideas such as the belief that communion is symbolic and not the literal blood and body of Jesus.” Believing salvation is the highest importance; I have chosen to research it further. I want to recognize how different or similar the plan of salvation is for the three distinct denominations. Denominations start to differentiate and separate in their spiritual philosophies, and they are remarkably contrast about the permanence of salvation. Every sect teaches their creed with absolute certainty, without acknowledging how faithfully or not it follows the

Living in Christian community is a necessity for the everyday life of a Christian. Without community, the Christian has no one else to “sharpen” them, no one else to understand the everyday struggle of living in the world, sharing the Gospel, but not partaking in the sinful ways of the world. In “Life Together”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer explores Christian community, and presents not only the benefits of Christian community, but also the toxins that can destroy the community. Living in Christian community brings incomparable joy and community in and through Jesus Christ, but can be easily lost due to humanistic ideals, or “dreams”.

In this paper, I am going to share my ideas of theology. I believe that one of the biggest mistakes I made in the past was that I was afraid of being rejected, so I wrote a theology paper and tried to give the previous COM what I thought they wanted to hear instead of what was truly inside of me. Fortunately for me, even though I was not given a green light in order to see the Eccleastical Council, I was licensed to preach and this gave me time

What does Christian community really mean? Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer gives insight into what Christians relationships were designed to be like. The main theme Bonhoeffer explores is Christ in the Christian community under the Word of God. Bonhoeffer explains God’s gift of community by arguing the following: “It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren” (Bonhoeffer, 1978, p. 20). In addition the author adds, “Christian community is like the Christian’s sanctification. It is a gift of God, which we cannot claim. Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification” (p. 30). Overall Life Together is biblically

I strongly believe that one of the key components of a “complete faith” in 21st-century churches is the ability to enter into covenant relationship with other denominations with this same koinonia Paul so richly addresses. In small towns like the one I currently serve, I have found great joy seeing the effects of ecumenical

Dulles states, “It picks up the biblical theme that God has fashioned for himself a people feely communicating his spirit and his gifts” (50). The Body of Christ as stated in Dulles is, “the main point of mutual union, concern and dependence of the members of the local community upon one another,” (43). The body of Christ will only function is the whole community is willing to work together to reach a personal growth in their relationship with God. Now that we have an idea of what Church as mystical communion consists of I will discuss the strengths and weakness of this model. The strength of this model is that emphasizes a shared life with the community instead of shutting them off. This is a strength because when people come together as a whole everything holds so much more meaning and people can form a stronger bond with God, now that it is much more personal and voluntary. Another strength is that this model improves people spirituality and prayer life now that they feel that personal connection that they formed. A weakness of this model is that it creates unsure relationship between the visible and invisible, since Grace allows people to get closer to God through the invisible such as communion while the visible structure like institutionalism tries to emphasize their power over the whole people. I have discussed what the models mean, their strength and weakness of each so now I will note the difference and

‘If Christian precepts prevail, the respective classes will not only be united in bonds of friendship, but also those of brotherly love.’ (Leo XIII, Rerum Morarun, 25)

Believers have been unified in salvation by grace and are called to live like Christ.

In chapter one, we can see unity in verse 10 when it says in “as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (ESV)” This shows that through Christ, we are all unified together and that Christ is the one unifying us. Everyone believes the same things about Christ and he is something that all these people have in common. This will help them to get along better knowing that they all have Christ. There is also a brief mention of grace and peace in unity but Paul is using it in his greeting.

After the First and Second World War the WCC felt they were responsible to bring back the social ethics and world politics back to a Christian point of view. Oldham and Niebuhr both lead the charge to help create a world in which based its values and beliefs off a Christian perspective. The ecumenical movement moved away from talking about a “Christian civilization” and a developing a Christian political party, but the felt responsible to bring back the mass society to realize they are the sons of God. Critics of the old left had stated that every man should have the freedom to believe whatever it wants. They wanted the general public to have a society in which, freedom was the main idea and wanted people to be responsible for their own actions. They wanted them to have responsibility for their own actions, and they should base their actions in a Christian way. This counters a mass society because in a mass society everyone is different. Not everyone will have the same point of views when it comes to religion. There are many people in the world who believe there is a God, but they do not have a personal relationship with him. This will cause them to not make the same decisions as someone who has a personal relationship with Him. The WCC felt responsible to keep a Christian society because if they didn’t keep it that way many Christians would look at them as letting the world go to more a secular point of view.

In our society today, it can be hard to fully understand and relate to biblical texts written in a seemingly different world. With stories of great joys and sorrows, I found that although the world we live in today is different, the messages are still highly relevant. As long as humans are still imperfect and desired filled beings, we will need the wisdom of these biblical texts to guide us. As the stories of overcoming hardships and suffering made an impression on me, the stories of love and acceptance filled me with great emotion. There are many differences that seem to separate Christians today, whether in arguments such as interpretations or certain beliefs. This has only divided an undivided religion. I found comfort and strength from texts about love and a calling for Christians to come together despite differences. In this, I found a deeper connection to myself and others.

John 17:21 that has been taken as one of the theme verses for modern ecumenism, states, “I pray that they may all be one Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” It claims that unity which Christ prayed is an ecumenical unity of professing Christians that disregards biblical doctrine. In John 17, the Lord plainly state that the unity for which He was praying is a unity based on salvation and truth and separation from the world. There is also nothing in Christ’s prayer that man is to do anything whatsoever to create the unity herein. John 17 is not a commandment addressed to men; it is a High Priestly prayer that was addressed to God the Father, and the prayer answered. It describes a spiritual reality that was created by God among genuine born again saints who are committed to the Scriptures, not a possibility that must be organized by man. It may also be seen that biblical unity is first of all a matter of having one mind in 1 Corinthians