Ecumenism: Is There Any Hope For This 21st Century Pluralistic Culture?
A bad idea would be compromising the gospel for the sake of peace, tolerance, relevance or convenience. Pluralism defines America, but Christianity is foundational to its history. The church must never give up on the call to be light in a dark world. Bad for example is caving in to political correctness and banning use of “God/Jesus” in official government prayers as witnessed in the past few years. Yes, there is a separation of Church and State, but not to the point where prayers are offered to just any God.
If there was one message that rang clearly from this week’s studies, it was that the church of the 19th and 20th centuries made their positions known to the world. Their voices rang loud and clear on matters which affected the Christian community and beyond. This meant working together or against worldviews, governments, religions, or individuals. In September (2018), the World Council of Churches (WCC) sponsored an ecumenical event in the form of the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism held near Athens.[2] Kobia posited that this year’s event had the best representation of Catholics and Pentecostals since attempts at ecumenism. Another example is the ongoing collaboration between the Vatican and the WCC in 2018 to address pressing matters such as the refugee crisis, Christian unity, peacebuilding, migration, youth, and the promotion of a “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in Assisi.”[3] We need to work together. Christian witness is at stake. But at the same time, we must keep in mind – No compromising core doctrinal beliefs. We have gone much too long sitting on the sidelines and watching the world go by. How long will liberal interests (even within Christian circles) dictate mainstream Christian worldview? Action begins one family at a time within our local congregations with church leaders who have been authoritatively appointed by God to “Go..into ALL the world..”
References:
[1] Samuel Kobia, “Ecumenism in the 21st Century,” The Ecumenical Review, World Council of Churches, Vol.70 No.1 (2018): 3, accessed December 6, 2018, https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/doi/pdf/10.1111/erev.12329
[2] Ibid.
[3] Francesca Merio, “Churches Collaborate for Peace-building and Migration,” Vatican News, (Sept. 2018), accessed December 6, 2018, https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-09/catholic-church-jwg-wcc-meeting-germany.html
Dr. Kevin Hall