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You asked

what current social or cultural barriers function similarly to the ancient temple's dividing wall?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Ephesians 2:14-16

For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself one new man of the two, so making peace; and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby.

The apostle Paul is writing to followers of Jesus in Ephesus, a major city in the Roman province of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), likely in the first century CE. He is explaining how Jesus has brought together Jewish and non-Jewish people, who were historically separated by religious and cultural boundaries.

What steps might break down the walls that divide communities today?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Galatians 3:28

    Emphasizes the idea of unity and equality among all people in Christ, regardless of social markers.

  • Isaiah 56:7

    Looks forward to a time when God's house will be a 'house of prayer for all peoples,' suggesting inclusion.

  • Acts 10:28

    Shows Peter's struggle with the Jewish law's separation from Gentiles, illustrating the 'wall' in practice.

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