The Ecumenical Movement
Or
Unity in the Mystical Body of Christ
By Raul Enyedi
Introduction
T |
HE TECHNOLOGICAL and scientific development
that began in the latter part of the 19th century brought with it an
increased secularization of the world. Religion
seemed to be retreating under the siege of atheism. Many at the time were seeing in this the
death of the religious man.
But religion survived, and even
though some were foretelling its end, André Malraux foretold its victory, by
the words that are now famous, “the 21st century will be religious
or will not be at all.” And the form in
which religion was to win the victory seemed to have been shaped in the midst
of this “battlefield.” But what exactly
was going on in the bosom of the religious world at this time?
The religious canvas of the 20th
century was painted mainly in the colors of the newest movement within
Christianity: ecumenism. If in the
beginning it was nothing but an insignificant and ignored movement, soon, it was
transformed into a force that was more and more imposing, ending up as the main
movement of the Christian world.
The word ecumenism that describes
this religious movement comes from the Greek oikoumene, meaning world, earth, the whole dwelling part of the
earth. The word itself indicates the
target of the ecumenical movement: one church in the whole world, universal,
and visibly united, ministering for the conversion of the non-religious world. Ecumenism is an attempt to accomplish an ecclesial
unity and reunification, by the means of specific doctrines, methods and
activities.
Ecumenism is characterized by
dialogue, openness toward communication with the view of reaching a mutual
understanding, partnership and collaboration.
Unlike the “openness to dialogue” of the denominations before them,
which was done just to prove the other party wrong and not to come to a common
conclusion, this movement offers “an ecumenical space” of discussion with the
very purpose of coming to common points of agreement.
The ecumenical movement is a
novelty in the history of Christianity. Modern
organized ecumenism has its origins in two interdenominational meetings. The first of them took place in
The second of these meetings took
place at
The doctrinal basis of these
conferences was post-millennialism, according to which doctrine, Christians had
to convert the world before Christ would come back.
Since that moment, ecumenism
progressed at an incredible rate, becoming the most popular trend in modern
Christianity, challenging all denominations to a response. Probably the most notable response came from
the Roman Catholic Church, at the Second Vatican Council, which answers affirmatively,
though ambiguously, to the protestant ecumenical movement.
The religious condition of the
Christian world, characterized by a progress of missionary efforts, the desire
to expand the frontiers of Christianity, tiredness due to centuries of
denominational confrontations, the obsolete attitude of traditional
denominations toward the new challenges brought by a rapidly changing world, fading
denominational distinctions, the appearance of new societies and movements,
especially the Pentecostal movement and later the Charismatic… all these
contributed to the drawing closer of denominations, the establishment of
relationships and the beginning of dialogue which would increase and strengthen
in the following years.
The social conditions (racism,
violation of human rights), political conditions (appearance of several
totalitarian regimes and dictatorships) and the economic conditions of the
world (extreme poverty of large portions of the planet, the negative effects of
globalization) generated situations that were thought to require a response
from Christianity.
These were the main factors that
made up the background of the world religious scene in which ecumenism was to
begin its performance.
The most famous ecumenical
organization, the one with the greatest openness, is the World Council of
Churches, an organization
composed of Protestant and
For this movement to be successful,
all the component parts must be brought together and kept as such, working as a
whole, as an organism; even though its every cell – local church, in our case –
functions individually, nevertheless, its work must follow the purpose of the
whole organism.
Therefore, an efficient ecumenism
must have all its parts brought into harmony sufficient enough to make possible
working together for a common goal. This
is accomplished by the means of four essential elements:
1. Common purposes
2. Common activities
3. Common doctrine
4. A legislative, executive and administrative apparatus
that would insure the implementation of the above three points at all levels,
from the international forums to the common members of a local church.
Since these points require our
special attention, we will try to analyze each one of them individually.
Common
purposes
Among all the things that would
make ecumenism impossible, the lack of a common purpose would be the first on
the list. This is the binding agent that
holds churches together, since the varied doctrine, common only in the main
points, is not strong enough to bring or hold together these ecumenical
churches.
It is essential that the main
purpose of the movement would be the particular purpose of every member of it. This purpose is one that would be followed
even if the organization would not exist.
The main purpose invoked is the
going forth of the Gospel to the whole world, the sharing of the Good News of
Christianity with every inhabitant of the planet. This is the purpose, or rather, the ideal of
every Christian, every church, every denomination of Christianity. This ideal has never been reached before,
and, even with modern means like mass media, it still cannot be reached. But, what is practically impossible can
become possible if all Christians, everywhere, would work together for this on
a local, regional, national, international and even worldwide level. A worldwide ecumenical organization would
help individual efforts, making mission work more efficient, thus increasing
the chances of success.
Of course, along with the main
purpose come other objectives of the ecumenical movement, all of these being
also the local or denominational objectives of the different organizations engaged
in this movement. The fight for the
defense of human rights, children’s and women’s rights, the fight against ethnic
and racial discrimination, violence and military conflicts, as well as
cooperation in humanitarian efforts; the promotion of peace… these are only a
few of the objectives which the ecumenical movement considers to be called to. Slogans like love, fellowship, worship,
praise, unity, equity, justice, dialogue are found in the vocabulary of every
member or admirer of this movement.
The supreme purpose ecumenism
proposes to Christians is to be “one in Christ.” It is said that all the members of the
universal invisible church must be one in Christ, referring to the words of the
Lord from John 17, “that they all may be
one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I
in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou
hast sent me.” The unity in the mystical body is absolutely
necessary in order to convert the world, claim the promoters of ecumenism.
Here is how the WCC sees the unity of the mystical body and the result of it: “the churches together serving a world in need.”[2] The same document further states: “After centuries of division, the churches recognize anew that they are one in Christ. Within the ecumenical fellowship they witness together, work against injustice, and seek to overcome their theological and historical differences.”[3]
Common Activities
But there must be found ways of
putting into practice the above mentioned purposes, otherwise, they remain only
on paper. This leads us to our second
point of the program of the ecumenization of Christianity: common activities.
Doubtless by just working together
with our neighbor, making conversation with him, we come to know each other
better. We are always closer to a person
that we know, it does not matter how little, than to a stranger. Likewise, organizations come to strong
long-lasting relationships by means of common interdenominational activities
and dialogue. Pope John Paul II said: “The more that we meet together and love one another, giving witness to
the joy that unites us, the less difficult will be the path ahead.”[4]
These activities must exist at all
levels. Congresses and conferences are organized,
where national and international leaders of several denominations participate. Such meetings can be dismissed with a fellowship
dinner, the Lord’s Supper or even with the rite of feet-washing between these
leaders. Seminaries or classes on different
themes, where renowned professors from different denominations are invited, are
also useful for the training of future ministers.
Mass-media is also used to promote ecumenism. Talk-shows where prominent figures of various
denominational backgrounds are invited, to discuss friendly topics common to
all; different publications, articles in newspapers, internet sites,
audio-video materials – all these are used to promote ecumenism and common
attitude and action.
Interdenominational, social or
charitable organizations like orphanages, senior citizen homes, soup kitchens
for the poor, kindergartens, schools, clinics and hospitals all have their
important part in the play. But the
crucial importance belongs to the ecumenical manifestations in which the common
members are involved. If ecumenism fails
at this point, the above mentioned activities are deprived of all ecumenical
fruit and importance.
The common members represent the
overwhelming majority in every denomination and if the decisions made at the top
of the pyramid do not find their fulfillment at the base, it is like they never
existed, because this level is the real mirror of the ecumenical system,
reflecting its true state and efficiency.
Therefore, marches that unite such
members as well as other manifestations of this kind, like religious concerts,
crusades and other common religious programs, held in neutral locations, all
these bring their contribution in sowing an ecumenical attitude in the hearts
of the participants, in the bosom of their churches and in the community to
which they belong.
But one of the most efficient
instruments used for the accomplishment of a mental or spiritual unity on an
international, nay, even worldwide level, is prayer – a specific time when all
believers worldwide pray for the same things.
This leads us to what is known as “The World Week of Prayer.” It brings together, in a spiritual sense, all
the participants worldwide. This week is
observed once a year, but the dates sometimes differ. The theme, the biblical texts and the prayer
requests are also supplied to all, so that the unity of all participants may be
even deeper.
As a concept, the prayer for unity
of Christians, in which several denominations participate, existed as early as
the 18th century and grew in the 19th and in the first
decades of the 20th. These
ideas came either from protestants with Pentecostal inclinations, or from
Roman-Catholics.
The World Week of Prayer concept originated
with the French abbot, Paul Couturier, who, in 1935, proposed “The Universal
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.” The
year 1964 brought two extremely important events. The first took place in
Though other ecumenical
organizations use different dates or materials, the ideas and the practice come
from the source quoted above.
A step beyond the boundaries of
Christianity and of the dialogue with monotheistic religions was made by Pope
John Paul II who called all the Christian denominations and the main world
religions to pray together for peace. This
was accomplished for the very first time on
Following the “spirit of
Other common activities of a
special importance for the ecumenical movement are religious holidays. Complex ceremonies, traditions and different
customs have developed around them, leading to a “spirit” of these holidays: a
powerful emotional charge to all the participants. The main ecumenical holidays are Christmas,
the Baptism of Jesus, Palm Sunday, Easter, Pentecost, the Ascension. The dates of these holidays are set by the
Roman Catholic Church and by Orthodox Churches.
In the past, evangelicals
categorically opposed these holidays because of the pagan origin of their dates
and practices and also because there is no commandment in the New Testament to
observe such holidays.[6] In
present times, evangelicals that are involved in the ecumenical movement
participate in the Catholic/Orthodox holidays, selecting out of these observances
those that have some connection with Jesus.
Why are these varied common
activities so important? One work is
worth a thousand words. And even more,
if the words bring forth arguments instead of consensus… At the same time, when
people are kept busy, their disposition toward meditation or doctrinal study, regarded
only as simple theory when compared with the activities they are involved in,
decreases.
And these reasons are more than
sufficient in the attempt to calm the waters, already too troubled over doctrinal
issue.
Common
Doctrine
The third point is by far the most
difficult, creating fiery debates and great arguments between the participants in
these discussions. The previous two
points were designed to help in the accomplishment of this third one. Only with such an accomplishment would ecumenism
have a solid foundation and the unity would be thorough.
The thing that hinders the doctrinal
unity of the movement and slows down the fulfillment of the ecumenical
objectives is denominational identity: that is the maintaining by the member
denominations of doctrines specific to them, which makes them different from other
members.
Most denominations base their
existence on these very particularities.
The problem they face is that, with the leveling down of these
particularities, they lose not only their identity but also the reason for
their separation and establishment. If
they accept the giving up of their distinctions, they denounce their founders
and predecessors as schismatics and charlatans.
The model ecumenical church is a
“post-denominational one,” where churches refuse to consider the differences
between them, insisting to look only on shared likenesses.
Nevertheless, denominational identity remains an intense problem. Even the WCC faces this serious problem. They say: “Yet another challenge comes, paradoxically, from the sharpening of identities in churches within the traditional ecumenical movement. This may be a necessary response to a rapidly changing world, with its uncertainty about the future, loss of traditional social values and increasing secularisation. It need not be anti-ecumenical. But it often is: an emphasis on the local and familiar, a fear of what is different, financial stress – such factors call forth a ‘re-confessionalizing’, a turning inward which leaves fewer resources for the ecumenical fellowship.”[7]
Any such “sharpening of identitites” and inward looks to their own particularities is a challenge for ecumenicals, as long as they try to just cover the differences, and not to settle them once for all.
As a protection against some ecumenical heterodox groups and as an attempt to show their members that they share also common doctrine, not only purposes and activities, a submission to a confession of faith is a condition to join an ecumenical movement.
This confession being an ambiguous one, there still remain enough untouched points of doctrine and sufficient room for denominational identity to allow cooperation between various groups. The purpose of the confession is not the solving of these differences, but the emphasis on common faith elements, bringing the joined churches into an “ecumenical space” where they can discuss their doctrinal differences.
According to the promoters of
ecumenism, there are two pillars upon which the whole movement rests: The Holy
Scriptures and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. We will discuss later the scriptural basis
for ecumenism. The ecumenical essence of
the Creed is found in the statement: We believe in the one holy catholic [universal]
and apostolic church. The
doctrine regarding the Church, developed in the ecumenical Councils, call all
those that believe in the universal church to spiritual, practical and
doctrinal unity.
A common doctrine remains, doubtless, the most difficult point to be accomplished, and seemingly now impossible. But the diminished importance of doctrine in a pragmatic action-oriented world favors the fulfilment of this purpose. It does not really matter what you believe as long as you are involved in mega-actions, such as human rights defense, aid for the poor of Africa or militation for peace in the Middle East…
The
Apparatus
The fourth point is the legislative, executive and
administrative apparatus that makes the decisions and insures that the
decisions made at the top are executed at all levels. Indeed, we are talking about a well
structured pyramid organization.
The decisions
made at the headquarters are
transmitted to every national member organization, which, in their turn
transmit them to their regional organizations.
From here, the decisions are brought to the local level (the churches)
by pastors, committees or other authorized ministers. This structure is composed of associations,
unions, conventions, alliances of churches or inter-religious councils. In fact, even mission boards and church
committees may be included here, since everything that goes beyond a local
democracy is a piece in this immense worldwide machinery.
Of course, most of these unions,
conventions, etc. were not founded to
serve the purpose of ecumenism, but, in time, they changed their character and
purpose. Ecumenism found in these supra-church
organizations a structure already formed and functional, and uses it as an
important instrument in its rapid advance.
These pyramid structures are
strictly necessary for the ecumenical movement because, had they not existed,
the discussions would have had to be held with every local church individually, which process would require a long period of time
and huge human and financial resources.
Since ecumenism would function only
on a local level without supra-church organizations, we will take two examples
that show how some worldwide decisions are accomplished in the life of a common
member in a local church.
The first example refers to the
world week of prayer of the World Council of Churches.
In the WCC, the decision is made
that the world week of prayer will have the theme “he makes both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak” – Mark
In order to see even better the
ecumenical pyramid system and the way it works, we will take the second example
closer to us.
A similar program of common prayer
is initiated by the World Evangelical Alliance.
This program may take the form of the above mentioned one, or may be
just a call to prayer regarding a certain need.
Such a call to prayer may be on behalf of the Christians in
The path of such a program may
follow this route: from the headquarters of the World Evangelical Alliance, the
appeal is transmitted to the European Evangelical Alliance, which, in its turn,
sends it to the Romanian Evangelical Alliance (made up of the Baptist, Pentecostal, Christians after
the Gospel Unions and the Orthodox movement Army of the Lord). The next
step the appeal takes is to the
Of course, not all the churches that
are part of ecumenical organizations have the same rhythm in implementing the
decisions made at the top. There exists a
certain liberty at higher levels in sorting the decisions, so that none comes
to the common member before being filtered.
In this way, some churches are running ahead, others are coming behind. But all of them have the same target and will
arrive, sooner or later, at the finish line.
The Real Purpose of Ecumenism – The “
Besides the purposes already
enumerated, there is another objective, not often talked about, which becomes
clearer as worldwide ecumenism is studied carefully. This objective is the
The purpose of ecumenism is to
bring Christianity from the state it was found, that of “Churches separated” to the state of “Church One.” Now we are in
the intermediate state of “Churches one,”
a phase characterized by common purposes and activities. The final phase will not be accomplished
until the doctrinal issue is solved.
But what will be the role of
Catholicism in the future? Why is the
Catholic Church interested in ecumenism?
She does not consider herself as holding only partial truth, nor does
she think truth is to be looked for and found in the “ecumenical space of
discussion!” The Catholic Church is the
only one that has a different position from the rest of the churches involved
in ecumenism. Our answer is that the
Roman Catholic Church seeks the returning to her of her lost and prodigal
daughters, now called by her “separated brethren.” And nothing helps her cause better than
ecumenism!
The Catholic Church already
cooperates with different ecumenical movements, the
discussions between these parties being in some cases quite advanced. Since no ecumenical movement has such doctrinal
consistency as can be found at the
Ecumenical activities – the
The involvement of ecumenical
churches in humanitarian, social and political activities makes them
social-humanitarian institutions or organizations for defending human rights,
and not churches of Christ! This is not
the kind of work for which the churches were left on earth!
The churches must be working for
the objective expressed in the command of the Savior: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto
the end of the world. Amen.” – Matt.
28:19-20. “Go ye” is a divinely authorized
commission or sending (vs. 18), the sent
ones are working for God (vs. 19) and
enjoy Christ’s presence (vs. 20). The disciples are persons who heard the
Gospel, believed it and were baptized (Mark
If a church does not fulfill the
purpose unto which she was left here, if her activities are not related to this
objective, she cannot be a
Ecumenism – Founded on False Doctrine
In the attempt to resolve the doctrinal problem, ecumenism appeals to subtle and dishonest strategies. Some of them are the following: the distortion of Christian history with the view of healing the wounds of the past, the reinterpretation of denominational particularities, the redefinition of doctrines, when such is possible and helpful, the abstractization and relativization of such terms as unity, love, truth, fellowship, Church, body of Christ, etc. which lose their meaning and weight when taken out of their biblical context, and come to mean something else than their original designation…
But how strong is the common
doctrinal foundation of the ecumenists? We
shall analyze the validity of the interpretations given to the scriptural texts
that are considered to be the doctrinal basis of ecumenism.
One of the main doctrines ecumenism
owes its existence to, as already mentioned, is post-millennialism. The ideas of the founders were that Christ
had to find, at his coming, a converted world.
Does the Bible speak about the conversion of the whole world? We answer with a definite “NO!” bringing only
one of a multitude of proofs, this alone being convincing enough. The Lord says: “…when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” – Luke 18:8. The implication is that truth will be here,
but not a lot. There is no way He will
find a converted world!
One doctrine that brings the
ecumenists closer is the doctrine of salvation by works. Catholicism states that participation in the
sacraments of the Church is the way to salvation; Orthodoxy preaches also the
doctrine of human effort in the attempt to reach sanctification; Evangelical Protestants
promote decisional regeneration, or the exercise of the human free will in
making a decision for Christ, manifested in a variety of forms. All of these are nothing but mere branches of
the same humanist doctrine – the human capacity to save itself, to merit God’s
grace.
The Scriptures clearly condemn this
humanist doctrine, stating repeatedly that grace cannot be earned, neither
mixed with human works.[9]
The verse so often quoted by
ecumenists, “one Lord, one faith, one
baptism” shows the spiritual, doctrinal and practical unity of church
members.
“One faith” shows the unique and
compact character of truth. This truth
was revealed by God in the Holy Scriptures, and the responsibility to defend it
and proclaim it to the world was given to churches. In this sense, a
The unity in diversity taught by
Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 and Ephesians 4:1-16 is the spiritual and doctrinal
unity of the body as a living organism in the diversity of members (that had
different designs, gifts and even different measures of such graces). This unity was their basis for common
activities and common purpose in the body or assembly in that certain place.[10]
What is present ecumenism teaching
us? The unity of the mystical universal
body of Christ in purpose and action, in the diversity of doctrine. Once again, the difference between God’s way
and man’s way is clearly seen.
John
True unity does not lie in a common
purpose or in common actions, does not lie even in love! True unity lies in truth, in the holy Word! People today are ready to sacrifice the truth
on the altar of love to the honor of unity, but their union will not, cannot be
accepted by God! The way of ecumenism is
the human alternative to the divine plan, because it despises the revealed way
to accomplish unity.
Oftentimes ecumenism appeals to the
Scriptures to justify itself. But can we
find in the Scriptures examples of ecumenism, of openness toward other faiths and
of toleration of errors? Was Jesus, our
Lord and Savior, an ecumenical leader, open to dialogue and cooperation with
the other contemporary religious groups?
Is He really praying for ecumenism in John 17? Anyone that studies the context and the life
of Jesus will clearly answer in the negative.
What about His followers? Were
the apostles ecumenical in thought and action?
What do the Scriptures say?
Our Savior had polemical
discussions, not ecumenical ones with the religious leaders of His days,
condemning their deviations in doctrine and practice (Mark 7:9, etc.). Consider Peter, preaching on the day of
Pentecost and later in the
The messages preached by all of
them emphasized the individuality and the uniqueness of Christianity as
possessor of full truth (See Acts
It is obvious that the first
Christians did not conceive of any inter-faith dialogue. But neither did they conceive negotiations
with “separated brethren,” that is with those who did not remain fully faithful
to the Christian teachings, but took upon themselves the authority to add to or
take from the teachings received from the apostles. Hence, Paul calls repeatedly to separation
from these people, “…that ye withdraw
yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the
tradition which he received of us” (2 Thess. 3:6). “And if any man obey not our word by this
epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish
him as a brother” (vs. 14, 15),
showing the proper attitude toward those who departed from truth (See also
Another verse the ecumenists refer
to in order to justify their attempt to reach unity in doctrinal diversity is
Philippians 3:16, “Nevertheless, whereto
we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same
thing.” Like every other time, the
study of the context solves the supposed problem and rejects the claims of the
ecumenists.
In the previous verses Paul talks
about the perseverance in the life of faith, comparing it in verses 12-14 to an
athlete’s run, in which he tries to get to the finish line, that is the
resurrection of the dead. Verse 15 says:
“Let us therefore, as many as be
perfect, be thus minded [to keep running, persevering]: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded [doctrinal variation
from Paul], God shall reveal even this
unto you.” Paul does not give up one
inch of doctrinal field, but states that God will lead those who were differing
from the apostle to the same doctrine. In
verse 17, Paul urges them to follow him as he was to be an example for them.
In this context, Paul pleads in
verse 16 for unity based on common doctrine, and this unity was to grow as
doctrinal differences were eliminated, not by negotiations and attempt to reach
consensus, but by aligning themselves with the doctrine revealed and authorized
by God.
These are only a few examples of
the many that could be quoted to prove that there is no ecumenical thinking in
the Scriptures, neither such practice among the first Christians. No, ecumenism did not exist even as an idea
in the New Testament, much less as a practice!
And since all the New Testament churches were independent, and none of
the supra-church organizations of today existed then, ecumenism was impossible!
Therefore, what is the true
foundation of ecumenism? From the
multitude of possible examples, we have chosen only some to prove that the
Bible does not support ecumenism. There
is only one pillar left: The Creed and the Dogmas that developed during the
ecumenical Councils, after Christianity became state religion! This is the true foundation of ecumenism! This is the foundation upon which the
Catholic Church has discussions with the Orthodox Churches, and upon which the
Protestants are brought back to their
The Ecumenical Pyramid
We might say that without the
pyramid of para- and supra-church organizations, ecumenism would be impossible! How much time, effort and finances would be
required to persuade hundreds of thousand local independent churches of
different denominations to join in such an ecumenical “dance?” It is impossible to give such an answer…
But we may ask, at this point,
where is the starting point, the source of ecumenism? Some would answer: the supra-church
organizations, such as associations, unions, conventions, etc. That answer would be correct, but incomplete. Even though the ideas start there, the
responsibility for the development of ecumenism belongs to local churches! Indeed, it was not the local churches that
decided the change of the flag from the mast, but the organizations superior to
them. The local churches found
themselves in a position of indifference, ignorance or inability to change
something in the system.
Let us remember that it was not
always so! These organizations,
transformed into instruments of worldwide ecumenism that dictate to the local
churches the course they have to follow did not always exist! There was a time when churches, independent
but working together as sisters, were contending for biblical truth as they
understood it, keeping themselves separated from everything that seemed to be
evil or unbiblical!
Today, the idea of a democratic
independent church seems to be something strange, at least.
Membership in a scriptural church
brings with it the responsibility to contribute to the church’s life by
participation in the democratic process of making decisions, by the vote of the
members. In these supra-church systems, however,
the power of decision does not belong to the member, but his representatives. The church is not any longer a democracy
under Christ, her Head, but a republic where members choose a small group to
make decisions for them. In such cases,
the common member and the local churches lose the control over the activities
that take place at superior levels and become just the executors of the orders
that come from above.
The ordinary member does not care
any more about what happens and is satisfied to believe everything he is told
and to execute what he is ordered. And
for such a member, ecumenism seems to be the safest and most comfortable path
to follow in the future.
Conclusion
Is ecumenism really the only option
for the future of Christianity, the only way to take the Gospel further? A prominent Romanian ecumenical preacher said
some years ago: “The future of Christianity is a moderate ecumenism…” Is that so?
Compromise, giving up the identity, politically correct doctrine… is
this the way without alternative we will follow? Let us remember where it leads… The way of
ecumenism, paved with good intentions, with beautiful slogans about unity leads
to the one world church, united in purpose, activities and doctrine but without
Christ and truth!
What is then the alternative to
ecumenism? We find the answer in the
Scriptures, “be ye separate” – separation from all that is defiled, the
independence of churches from the state and from supra-church organizations. Yes, churches totally separated from the
state, independent from associations, conventions, alliances and councils is
THE ONLY REAL ALTERNATIVE to ecumenism![11]
But are all independent churches
the churches of Christ? No, only those
who have their doctrine, practice and origin in the Church established by Jesus! His churches do not follow the teachings of
men, but the Word of God; they were not established by some man, but by Christ
(Mat.
The only churches that preserved
the original Christian doctrine and practice and can claim an uninterrupted
existence in all times are churches of a Baptist kind.
In these two thousand years of
Christian history, churches of a Baptist kind (known in these times under many
different names) never ceased to exist, but they continually carried on the
struggle for a pure church. Thus, these
Baptists opposed the Catholics and Orthodox and the pagan doctrines they
brought into Christianity. They held the
Protestants responsible for stopping midway on the road to a pure church, being
thus the authors of a further confusion.
These Baptists condemned the heresies of the modern restoration movements,
holding such a restoration unnecessary and unscriptural. They subjected all these groups to the test
of the Scriptures, the universal standard for measuring all the teachings of
men, reproving and rejecting all those who came short to this standard.
These churches subjected themselves
to the same test of the Scriptures, and found that some of them that had the
name “Baptist” were not scriptural churches any more. Some of these churches organized themselves
and created supra-church structures that serve the ecumenical movement today. These turned their ear from God’s call to
separation, polluted biblical teaching and practice and came to deny their very
history and predecessors, just for the sake of conforming to the image of this
unification movement. But their apostasy
and unfaithfulness does not destroy God’s faithfulness to His promises!
Just as he did in every century, God,
in His providence, kept also in these times a remnant of churches faithful to
Him so that it might be said that there was no time in these two thousand years
of Christian history in which He had no testimony!
We believe that true churches today
are found among the Baptist churches; they are independent and missionary. They preach the free grace of God and in the
work of perpetuation (preaching, baptizing and establishing new churches), they
practice the New Testament order, that is, a scriptural church organizes a new
scriptural church!
Thus, we call you not out to a
confused, obscure place, but we call you to be part of the churches of the
Lord, that are pleasing Him, churches that have no other Head but Him, that are
ready to obey Him no matter how great the price may be! We call you to be part of an Independent Sovereign
Grace Landmark Missionary Baptist church!
“…come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and
touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto
you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” – 2 Corinthians 6:18
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues.” – Revelation 18:4
[2] WCC 9th Assembly – Changing Ecclesial and Ecumenical Context, capitolul Challenges of Diakonia Today, http://www.wcc-assembly.info/index.php?id=1545&MP=1507-1514
[3] Ibid.
[4] The message of Pope John
Paul II to the participants in the XIIth International Meeting of Peoples and
Religions for the Day of Prayer for Peace in Bucharest, 1998. http://www.santegidio.org/en/ecumenismo/uer/1998/papa.htm
[5] Some key dates in the history of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, vezi http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop2006-10.pdf sau Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and throughout the year 2006, http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/weeks-prayer-doc/rc_pc_christuni_doc_20050603_week-prayer-2006_en.html. The full text of Decree on Ecumenism of the 2nd Vatican Council can be found at the following address: http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html
[6] These holidays are a
superposing of Christian names on ancient Jewish rites or, more often, on
ancient pagan holidays, from which the practices and sometimes even the dates
were preserved.
[7] WCC 9th Assembly – Changing Ecclesial and Ecumenical Context,
capitolul Challenges of Diakonia Today, http://www.wcc-assembly.info/index.php?id=1545&MP=1507-1514
[8] This is no excuse for churches not to help those in need, to defend the oppressed, to preach peace against violence, etc. but it must never be forgotten that the objectives and activities of the churches are of a spiritual nature and all the other activities of a material nature must be done with a view toward the spiritual one.
[9] By its very definition,
grace is unmerited favor. It is the gift
or the favor that God makes to man, without the man deserving in any way what
is given to him. The motive of God
giving grace depends totally on Him, and not on man. The Scriptures say salvation is by grace, to
the exclusion of human works (2 Tim.
1:9, Tit. 3:5, Eph. 2:8, 9).
Speaking about election, apostle Paul excludes the idea of mixing grace
and works or the earning of grace by works in Romans 11:5, 6. To say that you can earn or merit grace,
God’s unmerited favor is the grossest contradiction in terms.
[10] The
comparison of the church with a body in the writings of Paul indicates clearly
the way he understood the nature of the church.
A body involves locality, both in time and space (if a leg is in Africa,
a hand in America, an ear in Europe in the Middle Ages and the other does not
exist yet, being still future, it is ridiculous to say that all this members
form presently a body) but also a spiritual and organic union (even if all the
components of a body are to be found in the same place and time, but are
separated or amputated from it in such a way that the body is completely
disassembled, again, we cannot conceive of calling these members a real body
(see Eph. 4:16)). Therefore, when we refer to the word church,
we mean the local assembly in a certain place.
[11] It
should not be understood that a local church is a closed and isolated
community, not having any connection with other churches of the same faith and
practice. On the contrary, following the
New Testament pattern, churches may have dialogues and may cooperate with other
churches like them but having as a basis the very spiritual and doctrinal unity
that is lacking in the ecumenical movement.