One of the advantages of reading a denominational magazine like Christianity Today is that you can easily identify the source of many errors in the church today.  The current fascination with ecumenism among us is certainly traceable to the thinking of “evangelical scholars” rather than the teaching of the Bible.
    An article by Bruce Shelley entitled, “Denominations – Divided We Stand”? (9/7/98) defends denominationalism as being the very thing “to make unity in the church possible” (p. 90).  How can there possibly be unity in such division?  You have heard of “unity-in-diversity”:  “Apparently it is possible to find our unity in Christ and the gospel even though we agree to disagree over some finer points of doctrine and traditional practices” (p. 90). According to Mr. Shelley  and   the  misguided  brethren  today  who follow his line of thinking, denominationalism is not wrong, but sectarianism is, and if you claim to know that there is but one way of truth, then, you are sectarian.
    Some of our brethren have bought into this desperation argument even though it flatly contradicts Scripture.  Jesus prayed for the unity (not unity-in-diversity) of his disciples (John 17:20-21).  Jesus said, “a house divided against itself will not stand” (Matthew 12:25).  Paul condemned division in 1 Corinthians 1:10.  Paul taught that there is but one church (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18).  Was Paul sectarian?  If not, then, why is one so who agrees with Paul?