picture of church building at night time

The Evangelical Times carried a report of a debate in the newspapers about the ecumenical movement. The debate was sparked by Methodist ministers  and Roman Catholic priests preaching in each others churches for the first time in the isle of Man.  Pastor Matthew Else took part with vigour, earnestly contending for the faith and affirming that 'apart from the new birth there can be no Christian unity'. David Boadle, minister of Onchan Baptist Church , wrote 'to agree that tolerance and love are vital', but also to 'take issue with the assertion that there are no doctrinal differences that prevent fellowship..... To deny certain essential doctrines is to deny the very essence of God's way of salvation. 'For example, the Scriptures affirm both the full deity and the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ .... Sadly, many professing Christians deny either or both truths, yet this is no bar to ecumenical fellowship .... 'Many deny that the death of Jesus was an atonement for sin, or that he really rose from the dead. This does not exclude them from the ranks of the ecumenical movement. 'Love is vital but truth no less so. There comes a point at which divergence becomes falsehood.'

Not sure of the date of the article, but references in it indicate the 1970s.

Click on the image for a larger view.