Mar 31, 2010
How Christians Can Be Diverse, Respectful, and Redemptive: #3 The Right Kind of Diversity
We may agree that Jesus asked God to keep his followers united when he prayed in John 17. We may even conclude that God gives us many resources to love others and to remain relatively united. However, once we hit the street with this, we find at best diversity and worst some folks who are tough to love.
Some of those we find tough to love, may suggest that we’re not all that easy to love either. What’s a Christian to do? Can we be both diverse and united as Jesus prayed?
The Wrong Kind of Diversity
We’ll sometimes run into diversity that strays from what Jesus had in mind. Sometimes we’ll meet folks claiming to be Christians who either doubt core beliefs or live contrary to the way of Jesus.
Drawing these lines can tough, and to be honest, we are not in charge of determining who’s in and who’s out. However, we do have a responsibility to seek the best for others and to testify concerning what we know of Jesus. Rather than avoiding or lambasting them because they may have some wrong beliefs or practices, such people are in greater need of compassionate dialogue.
There will come times when it’s best to disengage, especially with those who use abusive language, manipulation, or ill-informed attacks against us. We can meet them with good, but when the other party is committed to destructive behavior, we can only leave the door open.
Even Paul reached the point when he handed certain blasphemers over to Satan for a time of correction. I have no idea what exactly he meant or how to exactly apply that, but I think that at least teaches us that we can work for unity and restoration to a point. If there is no response, we can only pray for that person’s deliverance from error.
The Right Kind of Diversity
Christianity is a global faith that is 2,000 years old, and therefore we’d better be prepared to accept some diversity. It’s an essential part of our faith.
However, it’s easy to see diverse perspectives as a threat. If there are several views on the sacraments, atonement, spiritual gifts, social justice, and whatever else, then there’s a chance we may have it wrong. This is where things typically fall apart.
Though we certainly rely on the power of God and his love for us to maintain our unity, we have a part to play. Our diversity is a tremendous asset that has much to teach us.
As we encounter common practices and beliefs that transcend time and cultures, we’ll find truths that are likely more certain. In addition, when we meet Christians who call our beliefs or practices into question, we have an opportunity to ask ourselves some hard questions, to learn, and to hopefully nurture a humble faith.
Many of my most significant moments of spiritual growth have occurred by dialoguing with Christians from different perspectives. From Palestinians believers in Jerusalem, to Latin American theologians, to acquaintances from several African nations, God has affirmed some beliefs, while also pushing me into new practices and perspectives that have now become integral parts of my faith today.
In my book Coffeehouse Theology I share how reading evangelical theologians from South America challenged me to take the words of Jesus seriously in Luke: “Blessed are the poor.” I realized that maybe the poor really are blessed with God—something Americans don’t often think of on our own.
We can view theologians such as our evangelical friends in Latin America as threats to our beliefs, practices, and values. However, what if we saw them as our allies in drawing near to God? We have the same Spirit, same Savior, and same Father even if the rest of the details are tough to sort out.
Diversity can certainly be tricky to navigate. However, it need not always become a problem. In fact, by learning from diverse believers from other denominations or hemispheres we can work toward a mutual respect for one another even if we don’t always agree with one another.
Should we disagree with our diverse brothers and sisters, we’ll need to consider some ways that we can work toward mutual civility. That’s what we’ll discuss tomorrow.
Ed, this is a really good series. I appreciate your openness to people while remaining dedicated to the truth of God’s Word. I have thought recently that the nature of truth makes it compelling to talk about. It’s only our confused focus on wanting to be right that keeps us from being excited when people want to talk about the truth with us even if we can’t settle on who is “right.” I, too, have been so encouraged by talking with people whose viewpoints I initially would have rejected because they didn’t sound “right” to me. It is a comfort to know that there are more of us than I thought out here wandering between the ivory towers enjoying people and reveling in the grace of God in Christ Jesus together. Keep it up! I’m excited about your thoughts on civility.
God bless you as you write and blog for Him.
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I have to admit, when I read your headline I thought “that’s pretty much impossible.” I’ve been feeling really discouraged about this very topic lately—well, I almost always feel discouraged about it, but it seems to have intensified in recent weeks. Thanks for putting things into perspective here.
Thanks Josh. This is certainly a tricky topic, but it needs to be discussed! Glad you dropped by.
Kristin, there are a lot of discouraging things that happen among Christians through theology, relationships, and practices. Without “cutting myself off” from certain folks, I have certainly avoided dialoging with them because I don’t think anyone will be edified all that much. I have been wounded by Christians as well, and have had to keep my distance, forgive, and move on with my life.
Sometimes unity doesn’t mean complete agreement. It’s probably a commonality about certain things and a tolerated (not quite the word I’m looking for) diversity in other things. Tomorrow I’ll hope to touch on the notion of “interdependent particularity.” Kind of a mouthful, but an essential concept for this discussion.