Molehills: The Ecumenical Movement

Oxford defines “ecumenism” as, “the aim of promoting unity among the world’s Christian Churches.” A surface inspection suggests that this is a noble, admirable goal. After all, Scripture states that Christians should endeavor, “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” Ephesians 4:3. Psalm 133, which I could quote in its entirety regarding the topic, says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1.

With that, the conscientious believer may only humbly reply, Amen! But there is a caveat lurking in these verses. For the church proper, that is the gathering of a said church under an umbrella whose name defines its nature, believers are to keep the unity of the Spirit. The Psalmist rejoices that brethren—that is, fellow believers—partake in united fellowship. Then who qualifies as brethren, and what qualifies as unity in the Spirit?

The ecumenical movement, chronicled by numerous writers over the last several decades, has gone well beyond the pale of the Christian church, and the term ecumenism has been perverted to mean something more than what it once did. Like the term catholic, which means universal, theoretically describes Christians as part of the church united, since it was attached to Rome for the last 16 centuries it is affiliated with that professing body. And ecumenism has been hijacked and redefined as something broader, more universal in its scope than merely Christian denominations meeting on common ground.

But what is common ground in professing Christianity? Well that question may be answered many ways by those who profess to be Christian, but such people tend to add to Scripture and forfeit in reality what they claim in their confession. Scripture alone is the determiner of who believes to the saving of the soul and who does not. Yes, orthodox doctrine, that bulwark of ancient times that Peter, Paul, John and others defended and promoted is the hallmark by which one may recognize a brother in the faith and know they share unity in the Spirit. The Bible defines what professing body is actually Christian and what is not. Yes, there may certainly be genuine saints in the ranks of a denomination that claims to be Christian but denies it in their doctrine, but it remains that the body itself is corrupt, heterodox, and disqualified.

Aforementioned Rome stands at the forefront. The system of Rome, which went FAR beyond Christianity to encapsulate paganism and more, transfixes upon Mary as God’s mother, transubstantiation as the method of salvation, purgatory, prayers to saints, indulgences, forced celibacy, vain repetition in prayer, the rosary, venerating graven images, et al. These tenets, which comprise Roman Catholic doctrine, must be accepted by its adherents. And while many Roman Catholics do not accept some or many of the tenets their church teaches, that does not nullify the fact that the church itself is founded upon this extra biblical and anti biblical doctrine. Yet modern ecumenism suggests that evangelicals reach out to the Roman Catholic Church in overtures of brotherhood, as though Biblical Christianity and the grotesque caricature of this aberrant cult had anything suggesting commonality on a doctrinal level. 

While Rome lauds its adherence to Scripture, the teachings of the church fathers and decrees of their popes are to be taken on equal footing, like some unstable tripod of authority. This was demonstrated by the (now) current Pope Francis opening holy doors in December and January for the absolution of sin, to help the faithful earn their way into Heaven. Is this Scriptural? How is the believer supposed to find common ground with this? The doors the pope opens have nothing to do with Jesus’ words to Peter in Matthew 16:18, 19. This was not a prerogative to Peter alone, since it was spoken again to all of His disciples in Matthew 18:18, and in a different manner in John 20:23. The pope cannot open or close any door, any more or less than any saint at all who has believed in Jesus as Savior.

Truth must be paramount for fellowship in the Spirit to be genuine and mutually pleasurable. Otherwise believers will be unequally yoked with unbelievers in the bid for finding common ground where there essentially is none. The veneer is present, but the substance is lacking. Mormons likewise fall into this camp, having strange doctrines that are extra biblical and anti biblical. Joseph Smith is elevated to a role that is on par or perhaps superior to Jesus Christ. Christ is Satan’s half brother, while God the Father was once a man that evolved into godhood: the same process Jesus is undergoing, and all Mormon males for that matter. Mormons may be baptized in proxy for their dead relatives, bringing them into the church, while the concept of Hell is itself cast out as the church teaches the eventual, universal salvation of all. That is to say nothing of the polygamy Joseph Smith practiced and endorsed and the temple rituals that bear some eerie similarities to Satanism, since Satan helped man progress in the right direction toward godhood, according to Sterling Sill, assistant to the twelve Apostles. The Book of Mormon, a strange plagiarism of the KJV Bible and potentially a long dead fiction writer named Solomon Spalding, sprinkled with some ingenuity on Joseph Smith’s part, is held—like Smith himself—as the Bible’s equal. And perhaps its superior, since it took Smith to bring the revelation of the angel Moroni to the world and take the apostate church out of the dark ages of ignorance. Apparently the Bible alone was insufficient for such a task.

I could go on, but I believe the point has been made. This molehill, or mountain, of discourse and debate that is ecumenism in the church has served as the ruin of more than one well intentioned soul, including the illustrious Billy Graham. But the church may only extend itself as far as the confines of doctrinal integrity permit, which defines for the believer how to express God’s love to a fallen world. A denomination outside the pale of orthodox Christianity cannot be treated as though all are brothers and equals because doing so insulates them from the truth. We condone lies and error in order to get along in the Spirit. But if someone has not heard and believed the gospel they do not have the Spirit, and therefore are not brothers but enemies of God still, in desperate need of hearing the truth that sets us free. 

Many such cults, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, do not even believe in the personhood of the Holy Spirit, so how can we expect to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace? The answer is simple: we relegate ecumenism to the small sphere it should occupy within professing Christendom, and recognize that churches such as the Roman Catholic Church and Mormonism are missionary fields. If we do meet fellow believers within them, it may behoove us to compel them to escape such a place unless God has laid it on their heart to work for Him inside the organization. But, as far as extending the olive branch with such entities is concerned, the Apostle Paul answered for us when he wrote, “what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?” 2 Corinthians 6:15. May we all consider our calling carefully, and in love reach out to those we know deceived by such establishments, to preach the truth that they may have life in Jesus’ name. Salvation is, by Jesus our Lord’s definition, very exclusive and narrow. It is through Him, or not at all. And we may only know our Lord through sound doctrine, righty dividing the word of truth as the saints before us, that we may be saved by grace through faith, and we may share that blessed message with others. Amen.