Jace said: "Alan, why is God’s “revelation” to man so full of discord? Why does God, seemingly, want so many '-isms'?"
I agree with Jace that this is perhaps an area where we have much common ground. We both observe the obvious lack of unity within the church and are both, I think, in agreement that this division isn't necessarily a good thing.
Having affirmed that, I don't think some of the distinctions are all bad. Part of the church's purpose is to be the body of Christ in the earth. We are to represent who he is. I would not be comfortable at all with the notion that my particular brand of this expression is the be all end all. I've participated in some other flavors of worship and service that are quite different from my own, but I recognize that they are representing a very real and present aspect of who God is in a way that my flavor does not. I have developed a great love for the Anglican communion in the past few years for example. There are some doctrinal distinctives where we might disagree. There is very little in their approach to corporate worship that would overlap with the way we approach things in my congregation. But I am glad both exist, for each demonstrates distinct facets of God's nature in a unique way and I am convinced his glory deserves such varied representation.
I recently had the opportunity to worship with a congregation of believers that meets near the top of Mount Carmel in Israel. This congregation is led by a gentile from the USA, is made up of a hodge podge of Jews and Arabs who have become followers of Jesus. The worship and preaching is in Hebrew, but simultaneously translated into Russian and English and I think Arabic. So much of what I experienced in that setting with this small group of a few hundred is different from what I experience when attending my own congregation. But is this a bad thing? Is uniformity the goal? Does God really want us to be assimilated into the Borg?
Much of the division within the church saddens me though, for it isn't really born out of a desire to give diverse expression to our representation of God on the earth. It isn't about pursuing what we see, but rather about defining ourselves based on what we are not. Church history is filled with stories of divisiveness, fear based grabs for power, hate, bigotry, murder, genocide, inquisition, and the like. The blood is waist deep if not higher.
The Orthodox divided from the Roman Catholics over a doctrinal issue about the Trinity. The Catholics were saying the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. The Orthodox insisted that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone. This theological discussion is quite fascinating and both sides make some very good points, but let's be honest. This division wasn't about doctrine. It was about power and control.
In the Bible Belt where I live it is well known that many congregations exist because of church splits. If you ask about the split you will hear a story about a disagreement over the color of the carpet in the new building, or some other point of contention. I am convinced the presenting issue is never the real issue. The division was about immaturity. It was about a grab for power and influence. Any issue, doctrinal or aesthetic, will do just fine as a catalyst.
What does this prove? Those who have been charged to represent the savior are the ones most in need of salvation. Though I carry him I need him still.
This doesn't mean that God gave us the wrong kind of book. The kind of wrong at the root of our divisions in the church we didn't get from any book. We got this wrong from our own hearts. When what is in me is fear and lust for power, I will read any book through that filter. Jesus speaks to all but his message is heard by those who have ears to hear. Many have ears that don't hear, for the filter of immaturity and selfishness is just too thick. Jesus' message can only be embraced by those who will first let go of their self focus. Many who claim allegiance to a creed have never made this transaction. I find the need to make it daily and sometimes I do not. I am aware that somewhere someone today is likely processing their need to forgive me for my own self focus.
Finally, I will admit that the Bible is a difficult book to make sense of. When the root of man's problems is knowledge (knowledge of good and evil), a book with clear concise information, a book of mathematical precision, a book of data, would only serve to compound our problem geometrically. Our problem is that we are disconnected from the source of life. So God has given us a book that tells us the story of how he has made a way for us to connect again. No matter how high up I climb the tree of knowledge I will never get to the tree of life. You can't get there that way.
Religious folk who approach the Bible in order to find the correct data will always misuse it, even when the data is accurate, even when their understanding of the data is accurate. When the agenda is to be right rather than to be in right relationship, division is inevitable. I can't possibly feel right unless I can distinguish myself from those who are wrong.
According to Jesus, there's going to be a lot of people who spend their lives trying to be right biblically who are going to get turned away at the door. Lot's of goats who think they're sheep. The way is narrow that leads to life and few find it. It's not that God has made the way obscure, but rather that the nature of life is such that it cannot be found apart from surrender.
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