Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
The argument presented by this poster is flawed. It is a fallacy of instances argument. There are more instances of the word "holiness" than there are "oneness" therefore God cares more about holiness than oneness so the argument hinges. The poster concludes that we should take care of holiness and relegates oneness to a lower tier of importance to the point of dismissing it..
There is no basis to apply that kind of "statistical" logic to the Bible. we know holiness, oneness, godliness, righteousness, mercy, kindness, grace, etc. are all mentioned by the Bible and we don't rank them by instances to determine what is more important than another. All are important, relevant, desirable, and applicable in the Christian life.
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I will admit that reading scripture is not an effort in statistics. But there is a difference between commands and prayers. Between numerous commands concerning righteousness and holiness, and a prayer concerning oneness.
And when coupled with the way that oneness is mentioned in the indirect speaking (in the epistles), it should be clear that whatever oneness is, it comes out of righteousness. As we grow in obedience, we will "arrive" at the unity of the faith. We don't dictate the terms of oneness and then righteousness will follow. You obey in righteousness and discover that you are becoming one with others who are doing the same.
Let's put it another way. Majoring on righteousness will result in oneness. Majoring on oneness will not necessarily result in righteousness. The proof is somewhat anecdotal. But very real. While far from complete, the numbers of those in Christianity that are focused on righteousness rather than some kind of oneness/unity are becoming more one. Not necessarily in terms of just dropping everything and meeting together, but in realizing that they can meet together because those other things are not the main thing. In the mean time, those who focus on oneness/unity are busy defining the basis of their unity more narrowly (and differently) than Jesus did. And becoming what Paul chastised the Corinthians for in their divisions.