B I B L I O N - ENGLISH VERSION
This is how All Together Different stands
apart from the vast majority of Christian lite-
rature. Rather than try to subvert our identity
and image with dogma in an attempt to create
a sense of forcible and artificial union, this
book stirs us to embrace our individuality as
part of God’s plan for each and every believer.
According to Koessler and Tucker, three
things form the individual identity of a
person: divine image, human culture and
sinful disposition. The person is created in
God’s image, but due to Adam and Eve’s
disobedience, that divine image is corrupted
by an inherent inclination towards sin. This
same person is born, lives and dies inserted
in human culture and society. These are three
things that determine the way an individual
sees himself and the world. The authors
explain how identity is not defined in a
single instance of our lives, but it gradually
develops throughout our lives. Identity is also
characterized by things such as the person’s
physical and mental attributes, relationships
and commitments.
Since individual identity is as important
to God as it is to the human being, congre-
gation should integrate that identity instead
of suppressing it. Nevertheless, Koessler and
Tucker alert to the existence of a second iden-
tity – a collective identity, shared by believers
and established “in Christ”. By recognizing
that connection to the rest of the body of
Christ, the Christian is called to reprioritize
his identities, being “in Christ” but remaining
true to himself. The book goes over some
of the main characteristics in the individual
identity that may trigger division within the
Church such as gender, ethnicity and age, and
how these things work positively in the belie-
vers’ collective identity. The authors reflect on
Paul’s experiences with the church of Corinth
and with Philemon and Onesimus, observing
in particular how Paul used diversity – the
Roman influence in Corinth’s society and
the master/slave type of relationship between
Philemon and Onesimus – to unite all parties
involved.
Lastly, this work talks about the believer
as living in the world without being of this
world – a “sojourner”, as the authors put it.
By living in this world as a sojourner, the Ch-
ristian identifies with the predominant human
culture, but reckons that his citizenship – his
way of being as a believer in God – shape
his view and his actions. Even though his
individual identity may relate to this imper-
fect world, the believer does not conform to
earthly culture and society alone, ever seeking
the Kingdom of God through his faith in
Jesus.
All Together Different is an excellent work
in ecumenism and awareness, with biblical
and scientific advice that allows us to unders-
tand the relation between individual diversity
and the collective union of the Church. This
is a book that teaches us how much “this
Christian identity […] binds us together, even
with those Christians who are unlike us.”
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