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By Jo Gamm Witt
While I am not advocating that no one should belong to any church, at the same time no one should one hundred percent put their faith and trust in any pastor, any congregation, nor any denomination. People are fallible, and it is tragic when anyone becomes a stumbling block for another. It especially concerns me any denomination, church or pastor that promotes exclusionary ideology. It’s presumptuous for any one church or denomination to believe they have everything “right,” while purporting that other churches don’t; after all, much of the differences among the denominations have to do with differing interpretations of the bible. We need not allow our differences to divide us. At times hearing one denomination attacked by another reminds me of the early church, arguments of who was a follower of Paul versus who was a follower of Peter. When we get to heaven, God isn’t going to ask you where you went to church, nor even IF you went to church. Rather, God’s focus will be on whether you believe in the Trinity and how you as an individual lived your life. It’s like when you build an outline where you have your main bullet points and then fill in the details from there. Those key, main bullet points are the beliefs in the Trinity. Everything else from there is building on those key points, and that is where the differences in our denominations happen--they are NOT the main points upon which our salvation is dependent, but rather the particular details that divide us as Christians, often to our detriment.
During my time of stepping away from church, I spent several years playing the piano for worship services for a local nursing home. The greatest blessing of all was the beauty of so many Christians from many different denominations all worshiping together in one place and focusing on their base, common beliefs, rather than letting those “sub-point” beliefs to divide them. When I’d walk into the room for those services, I would always instantly become aware of the presence of the Spirit--those people radiated the Holy Spirit. And that was not dependent on them belonging to any particular church nor solely embracing the theology of any particular denomination; rather, it was their commonality of core beliefs, and that was a beautiful experience that I’m grateful to have encountered.
Disputes about beliefs is nothing new. It’s interesting reading about the early Christians as they attempted to navigate what was right and what was wrong, Jesus having led them to question much of their Jewish teachings. And although they had spent three years with Jesus learning from him, often trying to ponder meanings from his parables that even today often are interpreted in various ways, they struggled with who had the “right” theology. In Romans 14 we can get a feel for there being disputes as to beliefs--was it okay to eat meat offered to idols or not, should they continue to observe Jewish holidays or not. The one key thing that stands out to me when I read this chapter is Paul wasn’t flat out saying either was right or wrong, but rather he was teaching to show respect to those whose beliefs differ.
I think often we like to view things in life in “black and white” terms, while failing to see the “gray” areas. However, Jesus didn’t teach in “black and white” terms; rather, he often adapted to the situation. The ten commandments had been given to Moses many, many years ago, and there are still people today who rigidly try to follow them to the letter. However, not only did Jesus adapt to the situation even if it meant “breaking” a commandment, but Jesus when broached as to which was the greatest command, responded, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second most important is similar: ‘Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.’ All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets stem from these two laws and are fulfilled if you obey them. Keep only these and you will find that you are obeying all the others” (Matthew 22:37-40, TLB). Several years ago a retired pastor challenged me one day during an adult Sunday school class regarding these passages. He said is it okay to follow the ten commandments, if how you’re treating someone is not done with love (as an example, if a wife were to ask her husband if an outfit made her look fat, would it be loving for him not to lie while hurting her feelings in the process?). He then clarified that being truthful is sin, if it is not done in love. His question really led me to do a lot of thinking over the years. And then of course a ready example often cited is Jesus “breaking” the commandment not to work on Sundays by healing people on that day. Even Jesus speaking in parables, rather than flat out just stating his messages, was him leading us to think deeper and so as to better apply his words to multiple, varied situations. Often Christianity is not “black and white;” there are often “gray” areas.
Each person should worship where and in a way that is meaningful to them. No one denomination or church does have everything “right,” but if we open our minds and open our hearts, we can learn from one another, while focusing most on what unites us--our common core beliefs. For me my focus is on the universality of Christianity. A time back I posted a meme that simply stated the words, “Just Love.” God is love, so if love is our guide, we are following God. We are not called to judge others, we are called to love them and to allow the judging to God. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18, NIV).
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