"We must confess that Jesus' prayer for the church to manifest the perfect, loving unity of the triune God has by and large not been fulfilled. Whatever else the church may be known for in the world, it is not generally known for exemplifying a distinctive, radical, self-sacrificial love, either toward those within the body of Christ or toward those without. The church generally has not left people with the impression that we are unique in the way we affirm the unsurpassable worth of each individual, regardless of how immoral and unlovable he or she may be.
"If anything, the church today is largely known for its petty divisiveness along denominational, doctrinal, social, and even racial lines. On the whole, it is perceived as being less loving and less accepting than most other communities. It is often known for its self-proclaimed and often hypocritical alliance with good against evil and for its judgmentalism toward those it concludes are evil. But, tragically, as a corporate body it rarely is known as being distinctive because of its radical love. In contrast to Jesus' prayer, the world is not compelled to believe in the triune God on the grounds that his love is undeniably present among Jesus' disciples."
Gregory A. Boyd, Repenting of Religion: Turning from Judgment to the Love of God (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004), 46.
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