“Can’t we all just get along?” Not easily, apparently. It’s almost become cliché to speak of the polarization in America today. Disagreements over everything from politics to specific points of doctrine divide families, divide friends, and even divide church congregations.
In Ephesians 2:11ff, Paul explains that both Jew and Gentile have been brought together in one body, leading to an end to centuries of cultural hostility. Can the gospel do the same thing for today’s divisions?
Writing in The Atlantic, Peter Wehner notes:
“When the Christian faith is politicized, churches become repositories not of grace but of grievances, places where tribal identities are reinforced, where fears are nurtured, and where aggression and nastiness are sacralized.”
The solution, however, can’t simply be to “agree to disagree.” Certain political and social issues carry considerable moral weight. There should be room for rigorous debate.
Graham Ward says that the church community should be a place of “gracious contention.” By that he means that the church body should remain a gracious and loving community, while still creating space to discuss important public or cultural issues. What exactly does this look like in today’s congregations?
BECOMING A DELIGHT TO DISAGREE WITH
Let’s ask the question another way: Are you a delight to disagree with? Even when you don’t see eye to eye, do others walk away from your conversation feeling valued and heard?
If not, there’s hope. In his book Confident Pluralism, John Inazu lays out several characteristics that can help individuals learn to discuss differences more graciously. We can adapt these characteristics to the Christian story, and use these as a model for gracious contention.
Humility
First, disagreement demands some level of humility. By this we mean that we should recognize “the limits of what we can prove.”
This can be tricky. On the one hand, Christians should have confidence in certain aspects of the faith. The resurrection of Jesus Christ, for example, is a source of great confidence. But other questions such as the age of the earth or the particulars of the American immigration policy may not be as certain, or as readily demonstrated.
In other words, humility means that we recognize that not everyone shares our underlying beliefs about a particular issue. And it also means that we be willing to admit that we’re wrong—or at least shift our perspective on an issue.
Tolerance
Tolerance doesn’t mean accepting other points of view as equally valid. The word “tolerance” most literally means “to put up with.” You may encounter people with a different political perspective (or party!) than your own. Tolerance within the Christian community means that we love that person even if we find their views on gun control to be abhorrent.
Tolerance also demands that we respect other points of view. That starts with understanding them. Here’s a good test: Are you able to articulate your opponent’s viewpoint in a way that he/she would recognize as accurate? If not, you may be guilty of constructing your own version of their views—which is a far cry from genuine tolerance.
Again, tolerance doesn’t mean agreement! But only by putting up with opposing views can there be any possibility to change minds or engage ideas.
Hope
Inazu advises that we need “patience” to deal with deep-seated disagreements. While this is true, the Christian community has something better than patience: hope.
Consider a simple analogy for a moment. As a Christian, do you trust that God has the power to preserve your life and safety when you’re behind the wheel of a car? Do you also wear your seat belt? Of course you do. As you should. It’s perfectly possible to place your immediate hope in a safety device even while your ultimate hope is in God.
In the same way, we may place our immediate hopes in a political party or social policy. But as Christians, we don’t see these policies as our ultimate hope. God is our truest hope, and he has promised to one day make all things new.
As a result, we don’t become threatened or enraged when others don’t share our immediate hope in a party platform. Instead, we share a common devotion to God, and recognize that one day his work to unite all things in himself (Ephesians 1:10) will surpass any work that’s accomplished through our present political process.
ONE IN CHRIST
Supreme Court Justices Anton Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsberg could not have been further apart politically. And yet they were close friends. The papers and documents on cases they worked on together are filled with handwritten notes and other exchanges, evidence of their deep friendship despite their differing views.
How much more should this be true of the church? In Christ, we are one in the gospel. That’s the direct application of Ephesians 2:15. So, if you are a Republican, you have more in common with a Christian Democrat than you do with a non-believer who shares your party affiliation.
Make your identity in a political view or affiliation, and you will be deeply threatened by disagreement and dissent. Anchor your identity in the finished work of Christ, and differences never have to create distance between you and your spiritual family.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
- Are you a delight to disagree with? Why or why not?
- Which of the three characteristics (humility, tolerance, or hope) do you find most helpful?
- How might you help other Christians engage in more civil discussions?
