Should Christians Reunite?

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Yes, it is in my prayers that people will eventually come back to the True Deposit of faith and become Catholics.
 
a pilgrim:
I believe…
… - we’re seeking unity, not uniformity.

a pilgrim
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Don’t you see the inherent evil in this way of thinking though…

all these different rites and “ways” stink of human pride. Unifomity would be ultimately pleasing for God.

What arrogance is it to think that Christ’s Church should change to suit us, instead of us changing to suit it?

this is not a personal attack, but it is a very serious point, that should be pondered by all.

Do we serve Christ and the Church he Founded, or do we serve our own selfish desires for control and/or recognition, for this is what breed’s schisms and protestant denoms.

what do you all think abou this point?

Peace of the Lord be with you!
 
Should Christians Reunite? Yes that would be highly desirable. But I want the reunification under the Latin Rite Catholic Church with a celibate clergy.
 
NO!!!

God may have indeed allowed the reformation to happen specifically for the purpose of “weeding out” the Judases from His body.

Those of the Protestant churches who are truly seekers of truth and unafraid to suffer and sacrificie for the Lord and for others usually make their way into the church anyway. (There are many conversion stories where Protestants who had no desire at all towards becoming Catholic did so because their love for truth and desire to know Jesus more fully overcame their prejudices about the church.)

But those of the Protestant churches who seek to gain something for nothing, have no interest in the truth, nor have any inclination to suffer or sacrifice for Jesus or others, should stay outside the church.

The Lord established, through the apostles, a church that has standards based on holiness, self-sacrifice, and commitment and devotion to God through sacred covenant oaths call sacraments.

Unity is a wonderful thing, but not best served by grafting dead branches onto a living tree.

Thal59
 
Yes, we need to see unity within the body of Christ. It will happen. If not here on earth it will happen in Heaven.
 
Of course, Christians should strive for unity! Jesus Christ instituted One True Church when He was on earth. People came along who did not like certain aspects of His Church so they proceeded to make changes by founding a new faith. Jesus did not give us license to do this. There should be one faith led by Jesus Christ. He said, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church.”

However, I do believe that there are many very good saintly people in other faiths. They will eventually be led to the Whole Truth.
 
ruzz said:
All religions will unite when Christ returns.

There will be no discussions then. Only the direct source of unquestionable truth.

.
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I disagree. I believe all of Christianity should unit. We can’t be unit with pagans, gnostics, and others.
 
All who call themselve Christian should come into the Bark of St. Peter the One, Holy, Apostolic Catholic Church before it is too late for them.
 
If someone is honestly and truly seeking the TRUTH, he has to at some point look at all his beliefs and find out where he got them. The truth has not changed. It was all there when Jesus was on earth and He instituted His Church. **‘There is ****nothing new under the sun’ **So there should be only one belief system in Christianity.

Peace of Christ,
Shiphrae 🙂
 
We should aim at unity but not union. Roman Catholics and Protestants will never agree on several things. Let me enumerate five of them.
Code: 
     1. The Pope. A minority of Protestants might accept the Pope as the historic Bishop of Rome, but the notion that he is a divine-right vicar of Christ, infallible in faith and morals, will never find acceptance. Some Popes have been very popular among Protestants - certainly John XXIII - but the basic concept conflicts with Protestant emphasis on democracy within the church.

      2. Transubstantiation. Protestants (like most American Catholics, by the way) will never believe that bread and wine are transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ during the Mass.

     3. Mary is honored by Protestants as the mother of Christ (and evangelicals believe she was a virgin), but they will never revere her as the Queen of Heaven, etc. They will not pray to her or to the saints, but only to God through Christ.

      4. Protestants will never accept confession to a priest as an obligatory sacrament. Most American Catholics seem to feel similarly these days. Protestants have a general confession.

      5. Protestants will never require priestly celibacy and most Protestants will continue to insist upon the ordination of women. 

     Oh, and the vast majority of Protestants see no problem with intelligent family planning, using birth control if necessary.

     Having said all that, we already have achieved a remarkable spirit of unity between most Catholics and Protestants, and there is little urgency to work toward organic union. This way Christians may choose styles of worship as well as theological emphases that they find helpful in their spiritual journey. I'm quite sure God is more interested in our love for Him and for one another and far less concerned about our specific church affiliation. I don't recall a commandment to be a Catholic or a Protestant in the gospel.
 
Roy5 said:
We should aim at unity but not union.
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Say what? :confused:
Roy5 said:
I don’t recall a commandment to be a Catholic or a Protestant in the gospel.
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*1 Corinthians 1:10
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. *

I think that Christian history from the very beginning has shown that this sort of unity is impossible for us fallen men without some sort of authoritative pan-Christian church structure. The early church from day one was continually fighting heresy after heresy; and we have seen what happened when the authority of the 16th-century church was finally compromised by the Lutheran revolt-- an avalanche of conflicting doctrines and confessions appeared, inaugurating centuries of bloody strife. Christian disunity might be less physically violent these days, but the number of denominations continues to increase even now. I’ve seen it happen in my own home church (evangelical) and in those of many people I know. Christian unity (as commanded repeatedly in Scripture) is one of the main reasons I’m considering joining the Catholic (i.e. Universal) Church.
 
Kaily said:
Yes! Than the world will belive

“May they be one in us as you are in Me and I am in You so that the world may believe it was You who sent Me.”

Blessings,
May this unity come soon and may we become living examples of unity to draw all peoples to the complete Truth!
Kaily
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Amen.
 
mjf150 said:
Do you believe that the various Christians Faiths of the world should strive for unity?
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Hi

I think that would be a very happy occasion if all the Christians unite into one. Having more than 30000 sects/denominations definitely creates a lot of confusion and doubt on the basics of Christianity; but that should not be done under any compulsion or twisting of arms but thorugh a peaceful dialogue.

I have voted for it.

Thanks
 
Roy5 said:
  1. Transubstantiation. Protestants (like most American Catholics, by the way) will never believe that bread and wine are transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ during the Mass.
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Some Protestants do believe in transubstantion.
Code: 
     3. Mary is honored by Protestants as the mother of Christ (and evangelicals believe she was a virgin), but they will never revere her as the Queen of Heaven, etc. They will not pray to her or to the saints, but only to God through Christ.
Some Protestants do pray to Mary.
Code: 
      4. Protestants will never accept confession to a priest as an obligatory sacrament. Most American Catholics seem to feel similarly these days. Protestants have a general confession.
Protestants feel that confession to a Priest/Pastor is a good idea, but they do not feel that it should be a requirement. I know Catholics who go to confession, but don’t understand why they have too.
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     Oh, and the vast majority of Protestants see no problem with intelligent family planning, using birth control if necessary.
Some Catholics use birth control just as much if not more than some Protestants. Some Protestants do not agree to using birth control.
Code: 
     Having said all that, we already have achieved a remarkable spirit of unity between most Catholics and Protestants, and there is little urgency to work toward organic union. This way Christians may choose styles of worship as well as theological emphases that they find helpful in their spiritual journey. I'm quite sure God is more interested in our love for Him and for one another and far less concerned about our specific church affiliation. I don't recall a commandment to be a Catholic or a Protestant in the gospel.
Agreed
 
AWANTZ
Code: 
Some Protestants believe in transubstantiation? Hm! I've never met one. True, among Episcopalians and Lutherans there is more emphasis on the elements - consubstantiation, for example. Many Protestants probably accept the idea that the spirit of Christ may be more present at the Eucharist. But, transubstantiation? I don't think so. Most Protestants would view Christ as omnipresent - always everywhere.

 Some Protestants pray to Mary? Again, who are they? A few high-church Anglicans possibly. Don't believe you can call them Protestants (or Roman Catholics). They certainly wouldn't refer to themselves as Protestants. 

  Believe my generalizations were correct. These differences are major. I find it interesting that so many Catholics who go to mass faithfully more and more think like liberal Protestants. They retain some of their traditions while denying some of its central doctrines. There are others who seem to find the enthusiasm and free worship of pentecostal-style Protestantism attractive. That appears especially true among Latino Catholics, who soon will be 1/2 of all American Catholics, now about 1/3.

   Keep smiling.
 
Roy5 said:
We should aim at unity but not union. Roman Catholics and Protestants will never agree on several things. Let me enumerate five of them.
Code: 
     1. The Pope. A minority of Protestants might accept the Pope as the historic Bishop of Rome, but the notion that he is a divine-right vicar of Christ, infallible in faith and morals, will never find acceptance. Some Popes have been very popular among Protestants - certainly John XXIII - but the basic concept conflicts with Protestant emphasis on democracy within the church.

      2. Transubstantiation. Protestants (like most American Catholics, by the way) will never believe that bread and wine are transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ during the Mass.

     3. Mary is honored by Protestants as the mother of Christ (and evangelicals believe she was a virgin), but they will never revere her as the Queen of Heaven, etc. They will not pray to her or to the saints, but only to God through Christ.

      4. Protestants will never accept confession to a priest as an obligatory sacrament. Most American Catholics seem to feel similarly these days. Protestants have a general confession.

      5. Protestants will never require priestly celibacy and most Protestants will continue to insist upon the ordination of women. 

     Oh, and the vast majority of Protestants see no problem with intelligent family planning, using birth control if necessary.

     Having said all that, we already have achieved a remarkable spirit of unity between most Catholics and Protestants, and there is little urgency to work toward organic union. This way Christians may choose styles of worship as well as theological emphases that they find helpful in their spiritual journey. I'm quite sure God is more interested in our love for Him and for one another and far less concerned about our specific church affiliation. I don't recall a commandment to be a Catholic or a Protestant in the gospel.
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Roy5 said:
AWANTZ
Code: 
Some Protestants believe in transubstantiation? Hm! I've never met one. True, among Episcopalians and Lutherans there is more emphasis on the elements - consubstantiation, for example. Many Protestants probably accept the idea that the spirit of Christ may be more present at the Eucharist. But, transubstantiation? I don't think so. Most Protestants would view Christ as omnipresent - always everywhere.

 Some Protestants pray to Mary? Again, who are they? A few high-church Anglicans possibly. Don't believe you can call them Protestants (or Roman Catholics). They certainly wouldn't refer to themselves as Protestants. 

   Keep smiling.
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When I say some Protestants I am one of them. So, I guess now you have met one. I am one of the Protestants that pray to Mary as well.
 
AWANTZ
Code: 
  If you believe in transubstantiation and pray to Mary, I would be very hesitant to call you a Protestant. Perhaps you are a non-Catholic Christian - fine. But Protestant? Not by any definition I have ever read, 

   Rejection of transubstantiation and prayers to Mary and the saints were two pillars of the Protestant Reformation. True, a few high-church Anglicans are very close to Roman Catholicism. but they always have indicated to me that they are not Protestant.

   Just curious? What makes you a Protestant?
 
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