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Question 5
Reflect on William Law’s quote about Catholics and Protestants being divided over “opinions” while united in “the lust of the flesh… the pride of life”; what parallels do you see today where Christians are fiercely separated by theological positions but comfortably united in the same cultural sins?
Another way to ask: Where do you see Christians divided by theology but still sharing the same cultural sins like pride and lust?

Direct Answer The transcript suggests a sober parallel: Christians can be loudly divided by doctrinal debates while quietly sharing the same worldly desires and behaviors. The warning is that Christendom can sound spiritual yet look pagan in its actual moral tendencies.

Support from Transcript:

  • William Law says Catholics and Protestants “have hated, fought, and killed one another” over “different opinions,” showing intense division on doctrine.
  • Yet he says they were in “the highest union and communion… as to the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life,” exposing shared worldliness.
  • Law adds that Christendom is “full of the nicest sayings about faith, grace, works… heresies, schisms,” but also “full of all the evil tendencies” of the pagan world.
  • Bercot applies this same critique to Catholics and Arians, saying they were united in “wickedness” and lacked “godly fruit.”
  • The chapter’s main contrast is theology-as-essence versus “an obedient love-faith relationship with Christ,” implying that shared cultural sins reveal where the “essence” really lies.
Discussion Follow-ups What “nicest sayings” do Christians use today that can cover over unchanged living? If we tested our unity by shared holiness rather than shared culture, what would change?