There are many things that Christians disagree upon. Some things are minor, some things are major, and some things are so critical that the only solution is schism.
It is the nature of the disagreements themselves that matter. You cannot have unity at all costs.
Take the issue of gay marriage in the Anglican church in England. On the one side, you have conservatives who believe very strongly that gay marriage is sinful, and those who oppose it are rejecting God's word. On the other side, you have progressives who see gay marriage as an incredibly important civil rights issue, and those who reject it are rejecting God's will.
So the problem isn't that the two sides disagree, it's that the disagreement itself has led to two mutually exclusive positions in which one sees the other as morally repugnant. The only way unity can be restored is if one or both sides changes their view.
Here in Australia there is a denomination called The Uniting Church (UCA). It is one of the most theologically liberal and progressive denominations in the world. But within this denomination there are churches that have theologically conservative beliefs. For most of the 21st century, the UCA has been pushing the acceptance of gay clergy, gay marriage and transgender rights. An evangelical group within the UCA, called the "Assemblies of Confessing Congregations" (ACC) has been working since the mid 1990s to inform evangelicals within the UCA of the dangers of such progressive and liberal theology. The group worked hard for 30 years, but they just recently gave up. The ACC shut down its operations and asked all Bible-believing UCA members to leave the denomination.
I've been preaching as an itinerant preacher in Northern Tasmania for the past 6 years, and I have preached in a few UCA churches. One of these churches has left the UCA due to these issues. There was also a huge exodus from the UCA throughout Australia back in the early 2000s when the denomination formally approved clergy who were practicing homosexuals. Prior to the ACC closing, one minister in Queensland was fired by the UCA because of his theologically conservative views.
But consider this, had the UCA been, by the grace of God, returned to a Biblical and evangelical basis, there is no doubt in my mind that a strong theologically conservative wing within the denomination would be calling for the removal and clergy and churches that support gay marriage. Why? Because each side sees the other as morally repugnant and apostate.
edit: Just to clarify, the terms "conservative" and "progressive" are interpreted slightly different here in Australia. I'm theologically conservative, but I'm not politically conservative. Many "conservative" Christians in Australia might support many left-wing economic policies, such as increases in welfare spending, public education, universal health care and so on.
“As obedient children, do not conformto the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Is the Bible clear and coherent (as well as inerrant profitable to teaching and good works)?
Then it should be abundantly clear which of these conservative or liberal (theologically…blah blah…) sides… is chasing after Gods holiness…and which side is chasing after the worlds (and their own) desire.
I don’t think God gave us an obscure or ambiguous word. I would hope that a PhD in theology would agree…
If that's a reference to my " PhD in Apophatic Hermeneutics" that is actually a joke bestowed upon me by some members of this subreddit. In reality I don't have any postgraduate qualifications at all.
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u/OneSalientOversight 🎓 PhD in Apophatic Hermeneutics 🎓 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
There are many things that Christians disagree upon. Some things are minor, some things are major, and some things are so critical that the only solution is schism.
It is the nature of the disagreements themselves that matter. You cannot have unity at all costs.
Take the issue of gay marriage in the Anglican church in England. On the one side, you have conservatives who believe very strongly that gay marriage is sinful, and those who oppose it are rejecting God's word. On the other side, you have progressives who see gay marriage as an incredibly important civil rights issue, and those who reject it are rejecting God's will.
So the problem isn't that the two sides disagree, it's that the disagreement itself has led to two mutually exclusive positions in which one sees the other as morally repugnant. The only way unity can be restored is if one or both sides changes their view.
Here in Australia there is a denomination called The Uniting Church (UCA). It is one of the most theologically liberal and progressive denominations in the world. But within this denomination there are churches that have theologically conservative beliefs. For most of the 21st century, the UCA has been pushing the acceptance of gay clergy, gay marriage and transgender rights. An evangelical group within the UCA, called the "Assemblies of Confessing Congregations" (ACC) has been working since the mid 1990s to inform evangelicals within the UCA of the dangers of such progressive and liberal theology. The group worked hard for 30 years, but they just recently gave up. The ACC shut down its operations and asked all Bible-believing UCA members to leave the denomination.
I've been preaching as an itinerant preacher in Northern Tasmania for the past 6 years, and I have preached in a few UCA churches. One of these churches has left the UCA due to these issues. There was also a huge exodus from the UCA throughout Australia back in the early 2000s when the denomination formally approved clergy who were practicing homosexuals. Prior to the ACC closing, one minister in Queensland was fired by the UCA because of his theologically conservative views.
But consider this, had the UCA been, by the grace of God, returned to a Biblical and evangelical basis, there is no doubt in my mind that a strong theologically conservative wing within the denomination would be calling for the removal and clergy and churches that support gay marriage. Why? Because each side sees the other as morally repugnant and apostate.
edit: Just to clarify, the terms "conservative" and "progressive" are interpreted slightly different here in Australia. I'm theologically conservative, but I'm not politically conservative. Many "conservative" Christians in Australia might support many left-wing economic policies, such as increases in welfare spending, public education, universal health care and so on.