We must reject these answers which make it easy, too easy, to accept the disunity among the churches. Solution two concludes that all the believers belong to ‘the mystical (invisible) body’ of Christ. The theological construction he uses here originates from a philosophy developed by some Reformed theologians during the 1930’s. Rev BJF Schoep speaks in this context about the ‘unity-of-the-body’ which cannot be affected by the choice of church a person makes. What matters is whether your faith in Christ was genuine. You won’t be asked that question at the ‘entrance gate to heaven’. It does not matter therefore which church you join. This invisible Church is the Church with an uppercase ‘C’. The true believers who therefore can be found throughout these many churches belong in reality to the invisible Church which rises above all the visible churches. Here the word church is written with the lowercase ‘c’. The second solution says: depending on his (her) character and conviction, every person joins the church of his (her) choice. This multi-formity - or pluriformity - of the church is therefore not a disadvantage, but an advantage. Each different church has part of that truth. After all, one of the characteristics of God’s truth is that its greatness cannot be represented by the one church or group. And every church represents its own ‘colour’ within that range. The white light of this truth separates into all the colours of the rainbow. The first solution says: the truth of the Bible passes through the ‘prism’ of human understanding. As a result many people have grown indifferent to the question of church unity and disunity, and seek their answer in one of two solutions. It is a well-known fact that a middle-size city in the Netherlands can have up to ten different churches. One of today’s main questions is why the disunity among churches is so easily accepted. Through thoughts, words and actions, we live the Truth we know.What follows is a paper Dr W G deVries presented in the Free Reformed Church building in Armadale, 5 February 2002, on behalf of the Free Reformed Study Centre. Denials and affirmations are tools we use.ĥ. Through prayer and meditation, we align our heart-mind with God. We are co-creators with God, creating our reality through thoughts held in mind.Ĥ. This spark of Divinity is within everyone.ģ. This God essence, called the Christ, was fully expressed in Jesus and it is within us. Our essence is of God therefore, we are inherently good. There is only one Presence and one Power active as the universe and as my life, God the Good.Ģ. God bless you and give you that which you need - and may you always be open to receiving these gifts.ġ. It is our desire to help you find whatever you are looking for - whether it is peace or guidance, inspiration or comfort, rest or friendship. It is an honor and a pleasure to have you visit the Unity Church of Christ website. Basic tenets are offered, not as required beliefs, but as teachings that can be used as guidance if someone so chooses. Unity Church of Christ is part of a worldwide Christian organization over a century old called Unity ( Our local church is a family church whose sole purpose is to help people help themselves in changing their lives and their world for the better.Īt Unity, there is no creed, dogma, ritual, or ecclesiastical garb.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |