Wow. This is so very well written!
Many believers think people who claim to be Christian but stray too far from ‘correct beliefs’ are not Christian at all. And the corollary is that they are going to hell—just for not getting their beliefs right!
I used to think much the same way. I accepted some other denominations as Christians even though I considered them seriously misguided; but others were heretics whose beliefs went far beyond what was acceptable for Christians.
Someone invited two Mormon missionaries to an informal gathering at my Christian college. At the end of the argumentative session a student wished them ‘Godspeed’. I replied, ‘No! I will NOT wish them God-speed!’–because they were the enemy. Their beliefs disqualified them from being Christians.
Christians burning Christians, Grigoriy Myasoyedov [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsRight Beliefs through Christian History
Right beliefs have been important to Christians since early times. The Gnostics had ideas completely incompatible with…
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Thanks for the reblog, Sheila!
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Tim, this goes a far way forward for me in my confusion over “correct” ways of following Jesus. Not so much beliefs, but the way God wants for us to live out his will. John 17 just always bugged me–I could see no Christian unity anywhere in the world. It still bothers me. But your post puts some of that into perspective, & I believe it is worth sharing your POV. Well done.
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Thanks, Sheila. I am glad the post was useful. I know what you mean about John 17. Jesus talks so much of unity among believers, and yet there is so much conflict and rejection. Much of the church has failed on this point.
But I believe in the unity, even though we don’t understand things the same way. We can dialog with each other on ideas, and even raise a warning on hurtful beliefs and practices, and yet accept each other as followers of Jesus. I admit this can be more difficult for some narrow, rigid conservative believers to do.
God does not define us by our beliefs.
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