Renewal of Your Mind

Why Can’t We All just Get Along?

August 17, 2011 at 3:16 PM 1 comment

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By Deryl S. Lampkin

Unifying to Combat Evil

It is a good thing when people of diverse cultures and belief systems can work together for a common good. There are certain things in life that affects all humanity and the earth as a whole. Some examples would be like poverty, the environment, war, peace; sickness and disease, and various other things. All regardless of color, race, creed, religion, and political party should cooperatively challenge such things.

The Dividers of Unity

Religion and politics on the other hand are personal convictions and is divisive in nature. People have a tendency to treat these two components of life as they do with identifying with a sports team. They feel that one is right and one is wrong or one must win and the other must loose. In sports this is ok. Sports are games of competition and the object of the game is to win over your opponent. After your team wins or loose, everyone goes back to his or her normal course of life.

The Labeling & Boxing of People

Religion and politics can greatly impact people lives on all levels. It should not be treated as a sports event wherein there is a winner and a loser. Everyone should be striving for a win-win situation. The problem is that we have a tendency to slap labels on one another and put each other in a box. That label in effect defines us and tells us how to view the people in the other boxes. All to often, people allow themselves to be boxed in by these discriminating labels. People need to learn to be open-minded and learn to think for themselves, and learn to logically deduce information down to the point that it makes practical sense. As long as people are religiously divided, they will also be politically divided.

Jesus Is the Problem

There is only one true and living God who is the maker of heaven and earth. But all people do not believe that. So, this is one point where the spirit of division enters in to divide mankind. Next we get divided on his identity, his name in particular. The biggest thing that separates us is Jesus. Is he the only begotten Son of God? Is he equal with God? Was he the physical manifestation of God? Did he live a sinless life? Did he die on the cross to save all mankind from the curse of sin?  Is He the only way to be reconciled back to God? And most importantly, was he resurrected from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God?

(For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then there is no reason to bother living holy and righteously before God. If this life on earth is the beginning and the end, then everyone can eat, drink, do your own thing, and rest in peace.)

These are the critical questions that truly divide humanity. There are various doctrinal beliefs that further separates us but these doctrinal differences are not foundational. They are the principle practices and guidelines, which are built upon the foundational beliefs.

The Return to Unity Will Empower the Church to Change the World

Most religions do not accept what the Christian Bible says about Jesus in respect to the above list of questions. This is the real reason why there is division between Christianity and other religions. Christians are typically on one accord concerning the foundational beliefs of the Christian faith, but they have differences in their interpretation of some of the doctrinal beliefs. Instead of them working diligently to resolve and reconcile those differences, they choose to resort to the labeling and boxing alternative. If Christians would only just forsake their name brand of Christianity and work toward reconciliation and true unification of their beliefs, they can then redeem the power, authority, and impact demonstrated by the 1^st century church.

Entry filed under: Article. Tags: Belief, Christian, Christianity, Deryl S. Lampkin, Evangelism, Faith, God, Jesus, Religion, Religion Spirituality, Salvation.