It’s been said that America hasn’t been this divided since the Civil War. Maybe, maybe not. I would imagine that during that conflict there were people on both sides who were reading the Bible and praying to God. For over 2,000 years, Scripture has been a source of comfort, inspiration, and instruction to Christians and Jews around the world. Through every war, every instance of social unrest, local and regional calamities, people have turned to Scripture in their time of need.
Sadly, it has also been used as a cudgel to beat believers and non-believers alike. Atheists and secular humanists have used Matthew 7:13 “Judge not lest ye be judged” as a retort when Christians object to events such as “Drag Queen Story Hour” at the local library. Protestants have used Scripture to defend their believe in salvation through faith and grace alone: Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.” In reply Catholics cite James 2:18: “But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” Religious differences between Catholics and Protestants can get deadly, as history demonstrates.
I’ve been involved in quite a few debates with fellow Catholics over Vatican II, the Traditional Latin Mass, and more trivial concerns such as suitable Mass attire, worship music and attendance. In these debates and others that I’ve engaged one thing I’ve learned is that no one changes their deeply-held beliefs as a result of an internet debate. The same is true of political debates between conservatives and leftists. While these debates can be instructive rarely do we encounter people who change their minds on substantive issues.
I engaged in a debate with a Christian from another denomination back in the early 2000s in the days of the old internet message boards. This debate went on for weeks, each one of us marshaling evidence from Scriptural and non-scriptural sources to buttress our arguments. It was not acrimonious in the least and at the end we decided to call it a draw. While we both learned a great deal about the other’s position, neither one of us was ready to jump ship, so to speak, and join the other’s camp.
I think the most important thing I learned from that experience was that while the two of us may have had doctrinal differences, we did share some core beliefs. Over the years I have come to believe that there is more that unites Protestants, Catholics, and even Jews, than divides us. We all share some or most of the Bible, we all believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and we’re all waiting for the Messiah.
Right now the atheists, secular humanists, Satanists, radical Muslim extremists and others want Christians and Jews silenced, marginalized, ostracized and in some cases, dead. When we bicker and fight amongst ourselves our opponents stand laughing on the sidelines because we’re doing their work for them.
“Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” — 1 Peter 5:8
Look at what is happening in the world and especially here in America, Canada and Western Europe:
These things are denials and reversals of Objective Truth. Do they seem angelic, or do they seem demonic? Satan is very busy and we should be united in fighting him. We need to be standing shoulder to shoulder rather than toe to toe. Yes, we have, and will continue to have, doctrinal disagreements, but at this point in time don’t we have bigger fish to fry?
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This article was originally published at www.americanthinker.com
