Christian Relativism

[GerardPaul]

Why do so many Christians mostly of the Protestant type hold that it doesn’t matter what church/denonination you belong to. If Jesus is your lord and savior you are a Christian. We should not bring up our differences or we may start a arguement. Why do my Protestant friends avoid talking to me about what they believe and don’t want to listen to me talk about Catholic belief. It’s my understanding the first thing a group of Christians that meet together for a Bible study must do is agree on what is true and false belief so TRUTH can bring about UNITY. Jeaus prayed for unity in John 17. The understanding in the group is we have spiritual unity and we will not have real/true unity untill we are in heaven as if it is impossable in this life. This is a belief that there is one thing God can’t do and that is bring about Christian unity to the world befor Christ returns.

 

[Fiasco]

A bit over a year ago, I ran into an old classmate from Catholic primary school days. Hed left the Church years before, and had joined Hillsong!!! For the happy-clappy emotional experience! For him, accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour was the be-all-and-end-all. He even claimed that ***"God doesnt mind" all of the conflicting beliefs . . .*** So much for a God of Truth and, as you say,** unity IN TRUTH**.
Hed built a concrete wall around his mind, and no reasoning on my part could breach it. His tactic was simply to refuse to answer any challenge: echo of brainwashing? On spiritual matters, hed thrown his intellect into the trash bin.

 

[Bluegoat]

Why do so many Christians mostly of the Protestant type hold that it doesn’t matter what church/denonination you belong to.

Believing this wouldn’t make a person a relativist.

f Jesus is your lord and savior you are a Christian. We should not bring up our differences or we may start a arguement. Why do my Protestant friends avoid talking to me about what they believe and don’t want to listen to me talk about Catholic belief. It’s my understanding the first thing a group of Christians that meet together for a Bible study must do is agree on what is true and false belief so TRUTH can bring about UNITY. Jeaus prayed for unity in John 17. The understanding in the group is we have spiritual unity and we will not have real/true unity untill we are in heaven as if it is impossable in this life. This is a belief that there is one thing God can’t do and that is bring about Christian unity to the world befor Christ returns.

I would say people are responding here to their own experience. Theological discussion often isn’t a nice thing, it is really debate. People quickly see that in many cases it resolves nothing and causes hurt feelings, anger, and so on. So they learn to avoid it. And it is important to remember that different people perceive conflict very differently. What passes for an interesting conversation at my family Christmas dinner would make my in-laws feel very upset and uncomfortable.

And of course historically, much evil has come out of inter-religious conflict.

I’m sure if Christ did bring about visible unity in the Church tomorrow, these people would be thrilled. But they probably figure that if he wanted that, he’d have prevented schism in the first place. The fact is we all see through a glass darkly and that has resulted in our unfortunate situation today.

 

[InternetWoman]

I fine it interesting that Jesus himself said:

“For this I was born and for this I came into the world: to testify to the truth” (Jn 18:37)

And yet people can still say it doesn’t matter.

 

[GEddie]

Our LORD came to establish a Body; not a collection of cells.

Bodies only work or even survive when they are fully united. There is a scripture about that (…holding fast to the head…). Reference escapes me at the moment.

ICXC NIKA.

 

[CSUNGerrie]

This is a great question. I am not sure if I woudl call it relativism as much as ecumenicism gone crazy.

I have found two forms of ecumenicism
The liberal form which essentially says that our various interpretations of the bible are relative and then try to water down Jesus and his teachings to make him palatable to many different religious groups. This of course, naturally leads individuals to want to compare the great similarities across religions and you eventually end up with the Bahai faith.

The orthodox form is a bit more subtle and I think dangerous to those who try to follow Christ the most closely. In my experience, this involves individuals who are orthodox on several Christian matters (e.g., Jesus is Lord, salvation comes from accepting Christ, Miracles do happen, Jesus really did exist) but are made a bit unconfertable by the various Christian denominations. These individuals are often not overtly anti-catholic and in fact, appreciate many of the traditions of the Catholic Church. However, upon meditating on the various denominations and the fact that the Holy Spirit could not have led so many people into erroneous thinking in matters of faith and morals, they have one of two choices. Decide that their Churches view is correct or identify the various doctrines that divide as “non essentials.”

When you ask them what are these non essentials they will say things like: " Authority, meaning of Eucharist, apostolic succession, reconciliation through confession, the understanding of the communion of saints… you know… non essentials."

So in short, what is essential is what is uniquely Catholic. I dont think they realize this, but they are essentially trying to pay Catholics and many other Christians a compliment by welcoming them as brothers in Christ by saying that many of your most important beliefs are not important.

I think you can make a clear case for this using race relations. As a minority student, I often have white students try to buddy up to me in an effort to appear non prejudice. Instead of awknoledging and respecting our cultural differences, they think what I want to hear is: “you and I are exactly the same. I dont see your skin color, just a person.” What they dont realize is that we are not the exactly the same. I WANT to be seen from the POV of my culture but I dont want to be treated as less of a human being because of my race.

Again, both the race example and orthodox ecumenism seem to both spring out of good intentions, an acknowledgement of conflict as well as a desire to reduce it… but it ultimately leads individuals close their mind to the important differences across cultures and Christian faiths.

This orthodox form of ecumenism is dangerous because it has infected many of the most devout Christians (both protestant and catholic). In my experience, I find it a defense mechanism to the realization that #1 All these churches cant all be right and #2 The secret admiration of many Catholic doctrines and fear of what that might mean in terms of conversion.

Be careful when encountering an orthodox ecumenicism. These individuals, are king, throughtful, respectful and Love Jesus deeply. They will try to convince you that Jesus wanted our unity solely through faith in him. The problem with this view is that it denies the centrality of many doctrinal differences across Christians. They may also try to convince you that the Holy Spirit has allowed many divisions because he wants us to find nuggets of truth among the various Christian seekers. “If one Church can help us find some truth… then imagine what we can piece together from 20,000 churches!”

Well, I will stop here. Has anyone else encountered this form of Christian ecumenicism or relativism? Is there a name for this approach (e.g., mere Christianity Christians)? I would love to read more on this.

 

[ESMDHokie77]

Christian relativism and false ecumenism stem from the idea that protestants have no authority that they can all fall back on, it’s your interpretation versus theirs and that’s the be-all-end-all in this world for some.

 

[GerardPaul]

Thank You All for your thoughts. InternetWomen got to the point. It can’t matter or every Christian must spend all their life looking for Truth.

 

[wisdomseeker]

Relativism is the most dangerous heresy. It is the ideology that says that what it matters is what i believe. It is all about what i believe and has no regard for the Truth. They no longer seek the Truth but stick with that what I believe. it is all about I.

Instead of looking for what God really says about this or that…and so forth.

It is the new paganism in which man creates God in his own image to fit what he believes.

 

[Fiasco]

Relativism is the most dangerous heresy. Instead of looking for what God really says about this or that…and so forth.

It is the new paganism in which man creates God in his own image to fit what he believes.

Came across a new definition of orthodoxy a week or so back: by a priest, no less. Its whatever the majority thinks and does. So, for Catholics, contraception is OK. If most Catholics think "women priests" are OK, then theyre OK. Most Catholics no longer believe in the Real Presence; therefore, Its not! The Thomistic writings about the Blessed Trinity etc are meaningless: theyre too abstract/airy fairy. We require new ways to image God, as per eg Bishop Spong!
Ad nauseum.
How shallow do these individuals want our thinking to be?

I must have lived a sheltered life.

 

[wisdomseeker]

Came across a new definition of orthodoxy a week or so back: by a priest, no less. Its whatever the majority thinks and does. So, for Catholics, contraception is OK. If most Catholics think "women priests" are OK, then theyre OK. Most Catholics no longer believe in the Real Presence; therefore, Its not! The Thomistic writings about the Blessed Trinity etc are meaningless: theyre too abstract/airy fairy. We require new ways to image God, as per eg Bishop Spong!
Ad nauseum.
How shallow do these individuals want our thinking to be?

I must have lived a sheltered life.

Yes, each man creates his own God. We have not seek knowledge of God but knowledge of the world. that is why so many are so ingrained in education and God is forgotten. we became too smart to believe in God and how different He is from us. But I am not worried, our Lord has said once, “when I return, will I find any faith.” people should think about this more often… What is good for a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul.

 

[ESMDHokie77]

A lie is a lie even if everyone believes it. The truth is the truth even if nobody believes it.