Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community

etween us, which fragment the city of God which is meant to provide theworld with a picture of brotherly love, the supreme sign of its credibility.We find in the Spirit, unity and plurality at the same time. There is pluralityin that unity and unity in that plurality. There is no uniformity. It is thefullness of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’Gordon Rupp – 20 th Century:‘An “Ecumenicity” which has no roots in denominational loyalties means inthe end a rootless Ecumenical Movement, cut off from the living springs ofChristian tradition which are real, existing, worshipping communities ofChristian men and women.One of the perils of our time may be the Catholic or Protestant“ecumeniac” who leans over so far backwards to be eirenical that thehistorical rocking-chair is upset.It is part of the deep mystery of his Being, that Church History, the wholeof Church History, divided in our experience – is one in him.’S L Greenslade – 20 th Century:‘The first demand – is that we should be prepared to worship on occasionwith Christians of different traditions in simple Christian fellowship, evenwhen we do not fully understand, or [when we] disagree with or actuallydislike their forms of worship. What cannot be done regularly can be donesometimes, and if we cannot do it sometimes, we had better stop talkingabout an underlying Christian unity of spirit. The second demand is thatwe should seek to lay aside prejudice and to understand other ways ofworship, holding ourselves ready to learn from them.’A M Hunter – 20 th Century:‘Preoccupied – absorbed in its own ecclesiastical concerns and disabled bydenominational differences and disputes, is the Church in fact “blocking”the witness which God’s people ought to be making to a sin-sick and fearriddenworld?’Page 89