Solution to church history problem

Church History.

As I shared before, reading the early history of Christianity in many ways does not make pretty reading.  There is much to rejoice about, the growth of the church, the perseverance of the saints through incredible torture and persecution and so on.

However, there was also so much doctrinal confusion.  There was so much sectarianism, rivalry and pride between different church groups.  The end results are still evident today with the separation of the church in the west and the east.  Many of the early church groups such as the eastern Coptic churches trace their start back to these early schism and controversies. 

As I read these accounts my mind and heart felt deeply disturbed and shaken.  So much of what we take for granted in today’s Christian world was not so obvious back then.  Some of these doctrines we take for granted today cost people their lives, people were tortures and ostracized by groups in Christianity. 

Yet today, as example we don’t often think about and debate the doctrine of the Trinity.  Perhaps only when the Jehovah Witnesses come around do we suddenly brush up on our understanding and our arguments against them.  Theological students may enter into a debate on these matters and perhaps some Pastors may from time to time face a difficult question regarding this doctrine of some other difficult issue that we to a large extent take for granted.

How do deal with these issues from the past?  Some use it to ‘disprove’ Christianity.  Some may feel threatened by this and either ignore it or fall back into a ‘larger’ mentality of ‘their’ doctrinal position, whatever it may be.

There is much to be said for the consistent daily reading of the Bible from cover to cover.  As I have been reading, I read Philippians 1:18.  “What then?  Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.”  This may not be a most profound solution, but what it does is give us an answer as to how to come to terms with the past and in the now, how to deal with those who may not agree with us. 

We may not agree on some very important matters, but what are the essentials?  Do we have agreement on those?  Can we get agreement on the essentials and then agree to disagree on other issues? 

If not, rest in the words of Paul, as long as Christ is proclaimed, God will work it out.  This does not mean we condone error, simply accepts there is nothing we can do about much of the error being proclaimed, but trusting that God will deal with it in His way and in His time.