Several years ago the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches adopted as a motto: Doctrine divides, service unites. While there is a certain truth to that sentiment it denies the importance of proclaiming correct doctrine. The idea of “you believe what you want and I’ll believe what I want” can have catastrophic consequences in the human family. For example, in the early Church there were controversies over the correct way to understand God (which came to be called the Doctrine of the Trinity) and the identity of Jesus as the Christ (the doctrine of the Incarnation.) Even in the Bible, the first epistle of St. John we see the beginnings of this controvery.Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well. Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. Struggling to work out the proper way to articulate these mysteries is not theological hair-splitting but necessary to situate ourselves as human beings in the world. It is because Jesus was truly the Son of God and not merely a nice guy and good teacher that human beings have a eternal dignity. Jesus as our elder brother brings us into the very life of God so every human being is precious and beloved.
