However, it has been my recent experience to find just the opposite to be true. In the course of the past months, I have seen and heard much aninmosity and unfair judgment on the part of ministers and parshioners from other brands regarding Baptist (of which I consider myself to be one doctrinally). For the record, those who subscribe to "no brand" are a "brand" by definition.
With that said, I just wanted to say that my heart breaks for the division that I see in the body of Christ. From my standpoint, at least its not as bad as Zwingli or Luther giving the nod to the persecution and death of thousands the Anabaptist, during the post reformation period, but I still can't imagine that it greives the heart of God any less. Every week it seems I grow a little more shocked at the criticisms drawn by those that would give the appearance that they have a handle on "true" spirituality" but are completely blind to their own judgmentalism. They are true isolationist working contrary to the purposes of Christ's grace and blinded by their own religiosity. I pray for their salvation which they endlessly work so hard to attain, but never come to terms with. Like blind guides they lead others to their same form of desperate uncertainty and isolationism.
Today I am worshipping God for my salvation. I am indescribably grateful and humbled that Christ paid the price for me once and for all. I am confident of the sufficiency of His work on my behalf, and I peacefully rest in the truth that I can add nothing to it by my works.
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1 Corinthians 3:1-4(NLT)
1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul(IE. Baptist),” and another says, “I follow Apollos(IE. Methodist),” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
Anonymous that really looks like a very spiritual retort, but I think you might want to dig a little deeper into the context of the passage. You see, when someone ascribes to a compilation of Biblically based statements of doctrine which identifies their standard of faith and practice, this represents a distinct departure from the issue that had arisen in Corinth in the time of Paul.
If you are proposing that a twenty-first century Christian's identification with his/her denomination's doctrinal statement is equivalent to the carnality of the Corinthian church, then you lack understanding of the purpose of sound doctrinal standards as well as the passage which you have cited from Paul's letter.
By your implication, anyone who identifies with a doctrinal statement would be a babe, unable to handle solid food and contolled by their sinful nature. Following this through logically, theologians who formulate such statemtents would be the worst of them all. I would consider John Wesley, Charles Wesley, and George Whitfield, the fathers of Methodist's theology, which you use as an example, plenty ready not only to receive solid food, but able to impart it to the masses.
I think you might want to revisit your logic. Anyway, thanks for stopping by. Please feel free to leave your name in the future. God bless!
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