tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post9159933344746401379..comments2023-06-09T12:46:12.932-04:00Comments on The Voice Of One Crying Out In Suburbia: The Limits On UnityArthur Sidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03848508095612688493noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-26831816314092367862013-06-19T15:49:30.362-04:002013-06-19T15:49:30.362-04:00Hmm. Limits on unity! Interesting discussion for s...Hmm. Limits on unity! Interesting discussion for sure! It seems that based just on the Scriptures you references, unity is nearly impossible with almost anyone!<br /><br />Wish I knew the answer...<br /><br />My own proposal is here: http://www.tillhecomes.org/christian-unity/ (as part of the chain blog) but now I am wishing I had read all the links before writing it. (I didn't do so though, because I didn't want to be influenced...)Jeremy Myershttp://www.tillhecomes.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-49982964429488413592013-05-01T00:08:33.936-04:002013-05-01T00:08:33.936-04:00Thanks for expanding the discussion, Arthur. There...Thanks for expanding the discussion, Arthur. There are limits to unity. Real relational unity should be shielded and protected from destructive forces, in the same way that any healthy family would keep themselves safe from negative and destructive influences.<br /><br />Blessings,<br /><br />- KathleenKathleen Wardhttp://churchinacircle.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-62667835153530374532013-04-29T00:40:01.328-04:002013-04-29T00:40:01.328-04:00Thanks, Arthur, for this balancing post. It's ...Thanks, Arthur, for this balancing post. It's possible to fall off both sides of the horse, as they say. I appreciate the Scriptures you've brought out showing the limits of unity here.<br /><br />I would like to offer the 8th link in this chain blog. I tried to post an earlier comment, but apparently it didn't go through. The post has just gone up, so I can give you the link here: http://wp.me/p1tyXU-F4<br /><br />Thanks also to Alan and the other bloggers who have participated so far. It has been a thoughtful and edifying series.<br /><br />DavidDavid Boltonhttp://christcenteredchristianity.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-90465275869082587142013-04-28T20:46:59.422-04:002013-04-28T20:46:59.422-04:00Since no one else has asked, I'lll write the 8...Since no one else has asked, I'lll write the 8th post. It will be published tomorrow.<br /><br />-AlanAlan Knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14873376983669695026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-28257925479551839132013-04-28T19:44:35.200-04:002013-04-28T19:44:35.200-04:00Thank you, Arthur, for this balancing perspective....Thank you, Arthur, for this balancing perspective. It is possible to fall off both sides of the horse, as they say. Thanks for the Scriptures that point out these limits.<br /><br />I would like to provide the next link in the chain and will post it early Monday morning. I'll supply the link back here after it is posted.<br /><br />Blessings,<br />DavidDavid Boltonhttp://christcenteredchristianity.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-19984224813068576702013-04-28T18:36:13.890-04:002013-04-28T18:36:13.890-04:00Arthur - I love this post for the balance it provi...Arthur - I love this post for the balance it provides and the summary of it that Alan gives in the first comment<br /><br />Randi-Jo - true that! Oh to love as Jesus loves and see unity the way He sees it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-84112590412238394172013-04-26T12:33:33.405-04:002013-04-26T12:33:33.405-04:00Alan, done and doneAlan, done and doneArthur Sidohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03848508095612688493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-60861439089444598552013-04-24T21:43:00.244-04:002013-04-24T21:43:00.244-04:00Arthur,
Sorry for taking so long. After work, my ...Arthur,<br /><br />Sorry for taking so long. After work, my family helped some friends pack up a moving truck. I've added your post to the chain blog now. Could you add the list of posts and the chain blog rules to your post?<br /><br />-AlanAlan Knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14873376983669695026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-45586954391441001042013-04-24T12:23:48.342-04:002013-04-24T12:23:48.342-04:00Thank you for this side of the issue! So very imp...Thank you for this side of the issue! So very important to add to the conversation and our lives. I wholeheartedly agree. <br /><br />When I wrote my entry, I was clearly not even thinking of any of these categories of people but people who actually do desire unity IN Christ.... so I thank you for this reminder that not all are in Christ (or desiring to live like they are) and we are not to unify with them. <br /><br />Unity for the sake of unity reminds me of the comment on (which blog was it, Chris?) about loving without regard to truth --- hippy type of love. There is no pure lasting true love or unity apart from Jesus! Randi Jo :)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10455815193915058855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-56497555240922112442013-04-24T12:01:13.010-04:002013-04-24T12:01:13.010-04:00Arthur.
Personally, Im not sure a divided church i...Arthur.<br />Personally, Im not sure a divided church is equipped to properly apply these scriptures. They were written to a much more unified group of churches. In my post, which is based on my own experience, being in unity is its own protection from sin, carnality and the slippery slope of wrong application of judgement. Of course it is necessary to judge sin and fruit, but it needs to be a corporate endeavor, coming out of like-mindedness and an intense abhorrence of losing even one member. I don't know any group today that has that kind of longsuffering etc.<br />If the Corinthian man who slept with his fathers wife were a member of a mainline, or even house church today, would we have managed to see him restored, as Paul walked them through to see happen?<br />Im not so sure.<br />I think we should hold judgement on how to corporately judge these things until we have a better track record of judging ourselves.<br />blessings<br />Greg Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17572370096696120614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-10530959940916476952013-04-24T11:31:48.919-04:002013-04-24T11:31:48.919-04:00Arthur,
I think you did a great job of expressing...Arthur,<br /><br />I think you did a great job of expressing the lines that Scripture draws when considering our unity in Jesus Christ: 1) Deserting the gospel (i.e., salvation by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ), 2) unbelievers, 3) unrepentant sin (sexual immorality or otherwise), 4) divisiveness. There may be a few other issues in Scripture - such as a refusal to work with your hands to support yourself and your family - but they are very few and often not what we choose to separate over today.<br /><br />-AlanAlan Knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14873376983669695026noreply@blogger.com