Must we agree on absolutely everything? (1 Corinthians 1:10)

[MysticMissMisty]

Good day.

In 1 Corinthians 1:10, Paul pleads with the Corinthians to agree in mind and judgement, after condemning factionalism where some were saying they were following various teachers rather than following Christ alone.

So, then, is Paul saying here that we all must 100% agree on absolutely everything when it comes to all aspects of morality, theology, philosophy, etc. in Christianity? If so, how is this even possible, when people, often with valid and legitimate disagreements exist and have existed throughout the Church’s history, especially in regard to various points of theology and interpretation of Sacred Scripture? Indeed, both modern theologians as well as revered Doctors of the Church have had varying differences on certain points for centuries. Also, everyone brings different insights, experiences, etc. to the table when it comes to these matters.

While I certainly think we should seek to agree on as much as we can, but I would suggest that some disagreement is inevitable, often due to circumstances beyond individual control.

If we don’t have to agre on everything (as the text would seemingly so clearly indicate), then what does this text actually mean? How much must we agree on? Or, is there some other sense of the text that I’m missing.

 

[Vico]

Good day.
…n what does this text actually mean? How much must we agree on? Or, is there some other sense of the text that I’m missing.

1 Cor 1

12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apol′los,” or “I belong to Cephas,”[c] or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I am thankful[d] that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Ga′ius; 15 lest any one should say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Steph′anas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

 

[halogirl]

I believe he was addressing a particular unit of the church at the time - the church in Corinth - so it’s to be taken as probably a guide as to how to solve conflict within a parish rather than every single christian in the world to agree on every little thing.

 

[_thaddeus]

The note from the Christisn Community Bible (CCB) makes some sense.

• 10. The first sin of the Church is the division among believers. Several apostles (see 12:28) passed through Corinth. Certain members of the community profited by this to affirm their own identity by declaring allegiance to one leader rather than another: a way of satisfying vanity and the need of self-assertion.

Agree among yourselves and do away with divisions (v. 10): be a united family. This admonition is understood when the Church is a community sharing the same concerns. It is a little different when the church gathers together large numbers of people of different backgrounds who are perhaps opposed to one another in daily life. In this case the Christian community must be united, not by ignoring reality and never talking of inequalities, but by recognizing individual and collective faults in daily life. The Church can never be a reunion of passive or “heavenly” people.