Can multiculturalism work? What should our attitude as Christians be toward the same?<\/p>\n\t
Multiculturalism is the belief that people from diverse cultures can peacefully co-exist without changing. It doesn’t work because there is no effort at uniting the groups, only a pretense of unity by ignoring the differences. Actual attempts at unity are disparaged or even condemned as taking away from a group’s heritage. The end result is that the groups are driven apart, all in the name of “unity.”<\/p>\n
The church is composed of diverse people. “Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed<\/em>” (Daniel 7:14). However, it doesn’t seek differences, but a coming together in unity. “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:1-6). It is done by recognizing that there is only one standard under which we live. Paul didn’t ask people to get along in their differences but to have unity knowing that is a single standard for us to accept. “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment<\/em>” (I Corinthians 1:10).<\/p>\n There are frequent attempts at ecumenical movements. These fail because there is no single recognized standard of authority to which everyone must conform. Instead, there is a desire to find the minimum to which everyone can agree and then declare that it is good enough. The problem is this always excludes someone because no one agrees on everything. So the group gets watered down and eventually fractures because they have nothing in common anyway.<\/p>\n Unity comes when people put effort into coming together around a single standard. Refusing to adapt or change toward that single standard produces division and conflict.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Can multiculturalism work? What should our attitude as Christians be toward the same? Answer: Multiculturalism is the belief that people from diverse cultures can peacefully co-exist without changing. It doesn’t work because there is no effort at uniting the groups, only a pretense of unity by ignoring the differences. Actual attempts at unity are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[456],"class_list":["post-31445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-unity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32360,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-contradiction-that-jesus-said-he-would-send-the-holy-spirit-but-he-also-said-some-would-see-him-coming-in-his-kingdom\/","url_meta":{"origin":31445,"position":0},"title":"Is it a contradiction that Jesus said he would send the Holy Spirit, but he also said some would see him coming in his kingdom?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Preacher, In Matthew 16:28 Jesus said, \"Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.\" My question is did Jesus came on the day of Pentecost when the church was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31493,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-isaiah-5417-apply-to-us-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":31445,"position":1},"title":"Does Isaiah 54:17 apply to us today?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does Isaiah 54:17 apply to us today? I hear people use it a lot. Thanks. Answer: \"'In righteousness you will be established; you will be far from oppression, for you will not fear; and from terror, for it will not come near you. If anyone fiercely assails you it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62870,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-unity-in-diversity\/","url_meta":{"origin":31445,"position":2},"title":"Is There Unity in Diversity?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Romans 12:3-16 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You find the motto of the United States in many places, \u201ce pluribus unum,\u201d \u201cfrom many, one\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It describes the sentiment that people from all over the world can come, settle here, make a life for themselves, and be united\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60509,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-church-in-prophecy\/","url_meta":{"origin":31445,"position":3},"title":"The Church in Prophecy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jerry C. Brewer Over the period of many centuries, the process of revealing God's eternal purpose in the church was gradual. As parents impart knowledge to their children in portions and parts from infancy to adulthood, God dealt with the human race in the revelation of His eternal purpose.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45705,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-jesus-supposed-to-reign-over-israel\/","url_meta":{"origin":31445,"position":4},"title":"Isn’t Jesus supposed to reign over Israel?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How is it that the following verses define the church as the kingdom of Christ when it specifically states the kingdom of heaven? \"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88477,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/vital-starting-points-for-unity\/","url_meta":{"origin":31445,"position":5},"title":"Vital Starting Points for Unity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer All believers should, at the least, accept that Jesus wants His followers to be united together. He prayed \"for those who will believe in me through their (the apostles') word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31445\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}