"Let's All Agree To Disagree"

 

     Back in the seventies, some among us warned that with the introduction and devoted promotion of the new Ecumenical Movement that claimed to be the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer for unity in John 17: 21, many within the Lord's church would be persuaded and unity-in-diversity would become common, even the standard among God's people.  It has happened!  As it was pointed out then, so we echo the same truth today that the unity among God's people for which Jesus prayed in the shadow of the cross was and is based on the mutual belief and acceptance of the word (John 17: 14, 17-21, 2 John 9-11).

     In my current polygamy/proper interpretive method debate, I was reminded of the above.  In the below quotation, one of my disputants is addressing another who posted regarding polygamy being a sin.  This man who posted to the list publishing the debate did use the word "opinion" in his post, in an apparent effort to be humble, and my disputant is addressing this matter. Notice his thinking, rational, and modus operandi and the, "Let's all agree to disagree" mentality:

     "Considering the beginning of your post, after the definitions, it seems you put all of this in the realm of opinion about polygamy and marriage. When you put it that way, brother, you get me right in the same boat with you in most effective ways we would approach the polygamous man today.

     I would not tell him he is sinning by having several wives because I could not... Some folks call a lot of things sin that are never addressed as sin, making up all sorts of rules to go along with their preferences, so as to bind their personal standards as law on others.... I can respect your opinion without taking it as my own, as you can do with mine. Still we are at peace and loving toward one another in the bonds of peace which are found in Christ Jesus."

     I have been debating the marriage, divorce, and marriage to another matter almost assiduously for about ten years.  We are now seeing another wave of graduated error emerging:  Polygamy tolerance among those claiming to be preachers of the gospel.  Well, why not?  Some could not tell when a person was married or divorced, due to their floating and nebulous ideas about what constituted marriage and/or divorce. 

     Seven years ago, I debated a respected preacher who maintained that two Christians conjugally living together without what most think of as marriage was not sin and that the elders where they were members had no right to say anything to them.  He did not even contend for a common law marriage circumstance.  "A marriage license has nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not two people are married," said he.  I have debated a number who have no concept of when divorce occurs.  I recall one woman whom I was counseling who claimed her husband had committed adultery, all of a sudden informed me that she had a date and had begun dating.  I emailed her back and asked her how she had fulfilled her state law requirements pertaining to the civil dissolution of her marriage so fast (it had only been about a month).  Her reply was, "I failed to tell you that I have also been talking to brethren....(all prominent preachers in the church) and they told me, 'It is o.k. that you go ahead and start dating, the civi