Disputable matters. I guess they have always existed and will always exist. Often we think of how great it would have been to have lived in the first centuries when Christianity was unadulterated; however, I think that is a false assumption. Disputable matters were already present.
Their matters were more connected to their identity than ours. Often today these are issues of worship for which we do not have specific ancient instruction; their matters, on the other hand, came from direct commands of the Torah. Surely they had more emotion connected with their opinions than we do.
Paul's call to them was not a call to uniformity but rather to higher ground. It was a call to do everything in faith, have mature beliefs, seek mutual edification and live out the kingdom of God. No matter what that looks like today surely it will not be anymore uniform than what they experienced. Uniformity is not synonymous with unity.
All of life is about reflecting the image of God. Since we are all shaped differently by different backgrounds and origins, diversity that is united will better reflect the amplitude of the creator than will uniformity. No room here for judging and bickering; only room for uniting behind a common purpose.
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