John Frame has wisely taught that good argument requires mutual understanding. That is, your opponent must recognize his own view in your presentation of the debate. Too often in discussions and arguments between Rome, Constantinople, and Geneva there have been caricatures of one another’s teaching. There most certainly are real and substantial differences between Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox. Yet it serves no one to add to these differences misunderstandings and false charges. Time and again students of the church discover that there is much that unites these three main divisions of Christ’s bride.
Defections from one branch of Christ’s church to another are nothing new. Such defections are however, disquieting to the peace of families and churches. The temptation is to race toward condemnation of those on the other side of the fence, without giving due consideration to what they actually might think or have to say. It is a fine line to walk then between bigotry and careless acquiescence. We need something more. We need to strive toward a unity that embraces all of Christ’s lambs while pressing on toward the truth of the “faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).
To do this we need well trained and gracious contenders for the faith in every corner of the church. In the resources below you will find some defending the dogma of one view and some critiquing the errors of another. Errors must be resisted. Traditions must be evaluated and reformed in light of the Scriptures, which must be our final and ultimate standard. But in the end Christ is not divided. Therefore, in all our controversies, we must labor and strive toward the high goals of unity and truth within all of Christ’s church.
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