Does Doctrine Unite or Divide?

When I was a teen we sang this song:

We are One in The Spirit,

We are One in The Lord.
We are One in The Spirit,
We are One in The Lord.
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
And they'll know we are Christians by our love.

We will work with each other,
We will work side by side.
And we'll guard each man's dignity
And save each man's pride.
We will work with each other,
We will work side by side.
And we'll guard each man's dignity
And save each man's pride.
(From "We are One in the Spirit" by Peter Scholte, 1966, F.E.L., licensed)

Life in the church doesn't always live up to these high ideals. Lack of unity is disappointing. Unity is a tricky problem in the church, isn't it?

In Bible study the other day, we discussed the relationship between doctrine and unity in the church.

We decided that doctrine has a strong tendency to divide rather than unite.

What do you think?

Listen to Pastor Bob's lesson here.
Read the study notes here.