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With the week of a prayer for Christian Unity almost upon us I thought I would like to give a personal perspective of this subject from the point of view of someone who has mixed very greatly with a wide number of different Christians with vastly differing traditions.
Ultimately we are all Christians, with denominational boundaries paling into insignificance when compared to the love of Christ which unites us all. Yet far too often the cries of “They’re not Christians because … ” are heard and our common foundation seems forgotten. St. Paul likened the Church to the human body — “One body, many parts”. So often do we forget these words and attack and criticise our brothers and sisters in different traditions. In doing so we lose so much. By learning from our friends in different Christian traditions we can learn so much and our faith can be strengthened and matured. Each different tradition has so much that we can learn from, but by shutting them out and by saying “they’re not Christians” we lose that strength and knowledge.
By continually fighting and arguing amongst ourselves the church is weakened. A body does not fight itself. No, if part of the body starts fighting the rest we call it a cancer and the body eventually dies. It is only by working together and by learning from one another that the Chistian church as a whole can grow and become stronger. Surely no individual tradition has the monopoly on God and the truth. Surely it is only the church as a whole where Christ is seen and NOT in any one particular denomination.
Perhaps some day Christians will views each other as simply common followers of Christ and accept each others differences and interpretations. Perhaps then we can accept one another rather than arguing over who is right and who is wrong and who is a Christian and who is not.
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Last modified: 25th November 2005