stuckinarut2: I pulled out the blackboard and wrote the following words on it : UNITY or UNIFORMITY... Oh, I was "counselled" firmly for this after the meeting!
Counseled by who exactly??
Awake May 8, 2003
The Bible’s Viewpoint: Does Christian Unity Require Uniformity?
Religion today seems to be characterized by disunity. Even within the walls of one church, people may have a variety of conflicting beliefs in matters of doctrine and conduct. One writer put it this way: “It’s even difficult to find two people who believe in exactly the same God. These days, it seems, every human being is a theology unto himself.”
In stark contrast with this, the apostle Paul exhorted first-century Christians in Corinth to “speak in agreement” and to “be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.” (1 Corinthians 1:10) Some today criticize Paul’s admonition. ‘People are different,’ they argue, ‘and it is wrong to insist that all Christians think or act in the same way.’ But was Paul really recommending robotic conformity? Does the Bible allow for personal freedom?
Unity, Not Uniformity
In another of his letters, Paul urged Christians to serve God with their “power of reason.” (Romans 12:1) Certainly, then, he would not have been trying to turn members of the Corinthian congregation into unthinking automatons. But why did he tell them to be “fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought”? Paul gave this counsel because the congregation in Corinth was experiencing a serious problem. Factions had developed, so that some viewed Apollos as their leader while others favored Paul or Peter or held only to Christ. Such disunity was no trivial matter, for it threatened the peace of the congregation.
Paul wanted the Corinthians to “observe the oneness of the spirit in the uniting bond of peace,” just as he later admonished the Christians at Ephesus. (Ephesians 4:3) He was encouraging the brothers to follow Jesus Christ unitedly, not to be split into disunited groups, or sects. In this way they would enjoy a peaceful harmony of purpose. (John 17:22) Paul’s counsel to the Corinthians thus served to readjust their thinking and promote unity, not uniformity.—2 Corinthians 13:9, 11.