Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community

Dr Charles Malik – 20 th Century:‘I find reconciliation and unity the simplest thing in the world if only menlove Jesus Christ above everything else, and fix only on his Cross and hisResurrection.’Cardinal Walter Kaspar – 21 st Century:‘There can be no unity as long as any given church maintains that theaccepted and binding truth of another church is contrary to the Gospel.An ecumenical spirituality – will primarily be a biblical spirituality, and willexpress itself in the common reading and study of the Bible, which for allChristians is the fundamental common witness of God’s salvation inhistory fulfilled in Jesus Christ.’Richard Baxter – 17 th Century:‘In things necessary, unity; in things indifferent, liberty; in all things,charity.It is not as Romanists, Greeks, Lutherans, Calvinists, Arminians, etc, thatwe are saved, but as catholic Christians aspiring to the highest perfection.It is a great and common sin to be part of religion as a faction and toconfine one’s love and respect to a denomination instead of the churchuniversal. Of the multitude who say they are of the Catholic Church, it is alltoo rare to meet with those who are of a catholic spirit.How rare then it is to meet a man who suffers and bleeds for the woundsof the church universal and takes them to his heart as his own sufferings.Stick close to this one Bible and let nothing come into your faith or religionbut what comes there; and when controversies arise, try them by this.’John Owen – 17 th Century:‘There are many sore Divisions at this Day in the World, among andbetween the Professors of Christian Religion, both about the Doctrine andWorship of the Gospel, as also the Discipline thereof. That these divisionsPage 78