Reason # 2: Years of Loyalty to a Denominational Standard:Because the body of Christ is so divided into various denominations on secondary and lower level truths/issues people have their doctrinal grids already set in stone in their minds. Thus people come to Scripture with this pre-established ideology and then go to scripture and place their ideas into the text to make the Bible conform to their views. Sometimes the confessions of the denomination require obedience to that standard and thus the leader cannot without loss of income deviate from that standard. And many will not do that lest they be ousted and lose the support they have for their survival as they view it. In such cases refinement of theology is very hard and rare.
Solution? Before any denominations in the history of the church arose the churches immediately after the apostles embraced some basic yet cardinal or fundamentals of the faith. Those who embraced these fundamentals were viewed as brothers and sisters in Christ even if differences in some other areas existed. Those who did not were rejected as non-Christians for rejecting the core essence of the faith. If we would learn to go back to this, what Dr. Al Mohler and others wisely call the theological triage, and unite around those highest essentials & allow for differences outside of those then more progress can be made and the unity with some diversity could allow acceptable boundaries as people refine their theology.
Solution? Before any denominations in the history of the church arose the churches immediately after the apostles embraced some basic yet cardinal or fundamentals of the faith. Those who embraced these fundamentals were viewed as brothers and sisters in Christ even if differences in some other areas existed. Those who did not were rejected as non-Christians for rejecting the core essence of the faith. If we would learn to go back to this, what Dr. Al Mohler and others wisely call the theological triage, and unite around those highest essentials & allow for differences outside of those then more progress can be made and the unity with some diversity could allow acceptable boundaries as people refine their theology.