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In his book Ecumenism Means You, Too, Harmon argues:
... ecumenism is not pluralism. Ecumenism is the quest for unity amongst Christians now divided by denomination. It is not the effort to find some generic essence of religion that might minimise conflicts between the religions. Interreligious dialogue that respects the real differences between the religions is necessary to clear up misunderstandings that Christians, Jews, Muslims and adherents of other religions may have of one another, and this too is an important task for the church's theologians. (Page 3)
Harmon argues, where 'younger Christians tend to attribute denominational divisions to human sinfulness' (Page 5) this is an encouraging sign. I would add, it was impossible a few decades ago and is a mark of the success of the ecumenism of the twentieth century. This is something I have referred to in earlier posts and is marked by the idea of Christians Together, as opposed to Churches Together.
Harmon goes on to suggest on page 6, 'Abandoning denominational commitment in the name of being "non-denominational" can actually undermine the quest for Christian unity in some unanticipated ways, and moving easily from a church of one denomination to a congregation of another can be a symptom of the consumer mentality that is endemic to American Christianity.'
Many younger people in my experience are proud of their ability to move between churches. I have expressed my doubts before. It can mean a Christian is unwilling to be formed by a single tradition and by refusing the detail of a single tradition, the possibility is that faith itself is superficial.
This is not in itself a reason for no movement between churches. Sometimes people need to change as their faith matures and this is fine, so long as the move is accompanied by a determination to grow roots in the new tradition. It is even helpful for some people to put down roots in two traditions, they can be interpreters between the two.
It is almost as if Christians Together and Churches Together inhabit different worlds. The problem is we don't recognise and encourage open debate about these two approaches and how they might be reconciled.
Reception is no longer a matter of persuading congregations to accept agreements between church leaders (if it ever was). Today, the task is a dialogue between generations moving, it seems in opposite directions.
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