For many Christians of various confessional traditions, the principle holds true that what unites us is much greater than what divides us. The diversity of our unique cultures, languages, and traditions does not obscure our fundamental unity in Christ…a unity described by C. S. Lewis as “mere Christianity.” Such a vision has inspired numerous participants in the ecumenical movement. It is also a vision that has been contested by many, especially, apologists of particular Christian traditions. Such a unity, they claim, can only lead to a watering down of the truth preserved by the authentic custodians of the apostolic faith. They see the claims of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant forms of Christianity as mutually exclusive and fundamentally different.Most of us have encountered both of these views. Assessing the merits of either approach can be complicated at best and discouraging at worst. How does one account for the diversity in Christian belief and practice? Some choose to look to the past, drawing on the history of the early Church and the patristic literature. Others like to focus on the present realities of our post-modern culture in which a plurality of perspectives is not questioned but rather assumed to be the status quo. Others still look to the future with the eschatological reign of God in mind, a time of perfect unity between all of God’s people.
At various points in my own journey of faith I have looked to the past, present, and future for answers to the question of Christian diversity. When looking to the past, I have found great riches in the patristic heritage of the East and West. Inspiring views of the meaning of Christian unity, the sacraments, and the authentic passing on and living of the faith. For many in Christian antiquity, the various local churches shared a fundamental unity from the beginning through their mutual, organic connection with the apostles. This unity was complimented by a common understanding of the gospel and a shared tradition of worship. The many churches holding to these essentials faced persecution by secular authorities and competition from sectarian Christian groups. Despite this, they continued to pass on their faith to successive generations many of whom are numbered today among the Catholic (Roman and Eastern), Orthodox (Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian), and Assyrian churches. Needless to say, in the face of so great a cloud of witnesses from the first millennium of the Church’s history (and their contemporary heirs), I have often found myself questioning many assumptions from my Protestant upbringing.
This process of self-reflection and questioning has often been accompanied by discussions with other Christians, who serve as bearers of the ancient traditions in Catholic and Orthodox communions. They have often introduced me to new ways (or old as the case may be) of thinking about God, prayer, and life in general. Their insights have inspired and stretched my thinking. Many times I have asked myself, can I continue in the particular form of Christianity in which I was raised or should I switch to another one? Should I enter into this great drama of receiving from the ancients and passing on to the next generation? I wish I could say that such questions have always been enlightening and spiritually profitable, but in reality they have often led me turn in upon myself and lose sight of the relational dimension of my walk with God. This is not to say that such questions are unimportant in the search for greater understanding of the gospel, but in some cases they can become ends in and of themselves. That being said, I believe that many Christians do switch to one of the ancient forms of Christianity in accordance with God’s prompting, though others choose not to switch in obedience to God’s will too.
What about the post-moderns on this subject? How do they account for the unity and disunity of the various churches and Christian communities? While many patristic authors support the view of a visibly united Church that shares a common ministerial hierarchy and understanding of the sacraments, post-moderns tend to look elsewhere for a model of Christian unity. For them, it is only through a multiplicity of Christian traditions that true inculturation of the gospel can occur. As the various churches and Christian communities adapt to their local contexts, the culture, language, and other aspects of their people enter the great Christian tradition. This results in a living out of the gospel that is truly universal and sufficiently open to the diverse gifts that God has given His people in various places.
If looking to the past emphasizes the univocality of the ancient apostolic testimony and looking to the present highlights the polycentricity of global Christianity then looking to the future shifts the focus to a perichoretic existence in the kingdom. Only in the eschatological kingdom will the fullness of unity be realized as people of every tribe, tongue, and nation enter into the great doxology to the one God. Then the perfect and loving unity of Father, Son, and Spirit will be mirrored by the communion of saints. Since this eschatological reality is outside our early understanding of time we can embrace its reality now through examples of the Spirit’s work among us. We can work our way back from the perfect unity shared by God’s people in the kingdom to our present-day reality of a visibly divided Christianity, knowing that both realities are in God’s providential care.
How then should one account for so many people switching Christianities? What is the nature of the relationship between Christian diversity and confessional identity? In my opinion, the answer to both of these questions lies in human nature itself. Since human beings are finite creatures it is natural for them to search for realities that transcend their limitations. This search is ultimately trans-temporal and trans-spatial, leading them into the realm of divine mystery. Only God fully knows how the past, present, and future will be transformed in the eschatological kingdom. Only God sees things as they truly are.
Switching Christianities is a decision that some people make on their journey of faith. It is a decision that is often made after much reflection and prayer. It is difficult for us to assess the validity of these decisions because only God knows a person’s heart condition. In spite of this, one does not need to be indifferent to the phenomenon. There is objective truth even if humans cannot know it exhaustively like God can. The ancient, the post-modern, and the eschatologically oriented believer all can learn from one another. The fullness of the truth that they are all seeking is in the person of Jesus Christ. Only through His initiative and power will the current reality of Christian diversity be transformed into the eschatological reality of the one, united people of God.
The following prayer by Origen of Alexandria (ca. 185-ca. 245) is a most fitting way to close this reflection: “May the Lord Jesus touch our eyes, as he did those of the blind. Then we shall begin to see in visible things those which are invisible. May he open our eyes to gaze, not on present realities, but on the blessings to come. May he open the eyes of our heart to contemplate God in Spirit, through Jesus Christ the Lord, to whom belong power and glory through all eternity. Amen.”
