today's thoughts: ecumenism

What does it matter what a person believes or not? We are saved by grace through faith. Works DO NOT MATTER. Through faith. Crap. Does that mean what a person believes does matter? But what is doctrinal belief than the written works of men to quantify and qualify God into understanding? FAITH is not work. A set of bleliefs is HUMAN WORK. Faith can BE work. But it is not WORKS. Beliefs are works. Works like opuses. Works like dissertations. Works like... well, works like college, really.
Faith takes work but is not a work.
Beliefs systems are works. They are defined by actions, by words (which are works, actions), defined by humans and human things. Faith is of God. Works, bleiefs systems, denominations, sparations, deliniations, sects, synods, religions, separations, schisms, and all else in between... those are human inventions for the comfort of human ways. And yes, while they are indeed sometimes necessary for the continuation of human faith (faith without expresion dies), and the deliniations mayeven be holy Spirit-inspired... separation is NOT of God. God is like a herd of wild mustang roaming across the plains... doesn't know or care if they are in Wyoming, Utah, or Nebraska... it's all the same field. We are all the same people to God. Expressed in different ways, or, better put: VIEWed in different ways.

Which is all well and good, but what does that mean for ecumenism? What does that mean for Christian unity (or human unity for that matter)? There is the key question.

But what really is the questions is: what is the point of ecumenism. What is the goal toward which unity is aimed. It is NOT an option to try to make one, single relion/denomination out of the entire world. That's just ridiculous. There are too many cultures and languages and classes and systems and.... well, it would take a god to bridge all those layers into one whole. Oh, wait. God does. 

But what is the point? For, me, I see the point as tolerance. Tolerance, tolerance, tolerance. Not ignorance, not people saying "well they believe such-and-such, which is WRONG!" Because what does "wrong" mean in a religious context. Well, usually (from what I've seen), it means that the person who is wrong is going to hell.
And, for that matter, what is "heresy" except the A's saying the B's have got it all wrong and are going to hell for it. So the A's kick out the B's, burn their villages and corner them in a castle for two years until they all walk into the fire, just because they couldn't agree on a silly little thing like how much money to give the leader of the A's, or whether or not B women could hold religious positions.

I'll say this once, and I'll say it again:

JUST FREAKING LOVE EACH OTHER ALREADY PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!