In a recent discussion about denominations, I began to think about the lack of depth in church Bible study and how the two topics are related. It seems that unity is very important in churches these days but what are we sacrificing under its banner?

“Just don’t talk about religion or politics,” is a general rule of discussion in pubic group settings, but has that mindset crept into the church as well? Not that I’m promoting disunity, but I find it very hard to have an in-depth spiritual discussion without very specific issues like anthropology, soteriology, and Christology coming up. So what do we do?

In the name of unity we focus on the general ideas of the Nicene Creed and topics of Christian Living, because when we discuss who we are, who God is, how He saves us, etc. in detail, that’s when the wheels generally come off. People disagree, people feel intimidated, people take things personally, people would rather stay in the shallow than actually think about what they are saying when they repeat vague Christian cliche. Studying, thinking, learning, about God is too difficult.

And so we have the non-denominational and community church — not to mention a lack of Biblical literacy, the rise of moralism, and the inability to bring the Gospel to a world that has moved past the typical shallow answers a long time ago.