[HarleyD]

Not to rain on your parade, but I think the idea of a caucus among members of a particular sect or faith where you can't differentiate between the caucus members and the non-caucus members is silly.

I'm not sure if "silly" is the appropriate term but I agree with your statement. Not to discuss these fundamental issues of faith seems to go against one of the fundamental commands of Christianity-that we grow in our faith until we achieve the "unity" of faith.

Eph 4:11 And truly He gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, and some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
Eph 4:12 for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
Eph 4:13 And this until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Eph 4:14 so that we no longer may be infants, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, in the dishonesty of men, in cunning craftiness, to the wiles of deceit.

The discussions and arguments you see here are not unhealthy. Rather they help us to confirm or question our very principles, helping us to grow in our understanding of doctrine. This is how God intended, iron sharping iron. It is John Bunyan's view in Pilgrim's Progress, as we climb higher and higher up that mountain, climbing to that one true understanding of God. Ecumenicalism is simply accepting everyone's view and never moving forward; never moving up the mountain to a correct understanding.

I have learned a great deal about everyone's faith not from the quiet threads where we all agree, but from the threads where we do get rowdy. What we all could grow in is a bit more love in how we express things (myself included). But even this is something that we can only learn by being challenged in our walk.

[Petronski]

Productive discussions of faith can continue and yield great fruit under the simple rubric of “Speak only of your own beliefs and ask only straight questions.”

In fact, the “ecumenism” tag might well end up much like a great arbor or pergola to that end. Keep the vines from crawling in the dirt, give them access to sunlight, drying wind and pollinating insects and they will thrive.

[greyfoxx39]

The discussions and arguments you see here are not unhealthy. Rather they help us to confirm or question our very principles, helping us to grow in our understanding of doctrine. This is how God intended, iron sharping iron. It is John Bunyan's view in Pilgrim's Progress, as we climb higher and higher up that mountain, climbing to that one true understanding of God.

Lovely!

Ecumenicalism is simply accepting everyone's view and never moving forward; never moving up the mountain to a correct understanding.

Oprah would agree.