The Archbishop of Canterbury called for Christians in deep disagreement to choose ”˜to be gracious’.
Archbishop Justin was addressing Churches Together in England’s Annual National Church Leaders Meeting at Lambeth Palace on Monday evening, where he spoke on ”˜graciousness and respect in disagreement’.
Acknowledging the ”˜reality’ of divisions between Christians, Archbishop Justin said that ”˜genuine reconciliation’ was not ”˜agreement’ but ”˜learning to love one another in deep disagreement. . . The miracle of the church is not that we agree and love one another; it’s that we disagree and, despite that, we love one another.’
More jaw from the reconciliation-bore.
Btw, has be persuaded Trinity Wall Street to fund his Reconciliation Centre? Or maybe Porter was after some of that money stolen from the Thank Offering.
Christian reconciliation is not the only ministry worthy of the adjective “loving.”
Out of deep love, God’s leaders must sometimes give and follow hard instructions that they know will cause a measure of grief, trusting in faith that God’s Spirit-empowered people will both discern and do God’s work (2 Cor 2:4).
Regarding the sexually immoral in the church (even to an über-pagan extent), the greedy, the idolaters, the slanderers, drunkards, and swindlers who simultaneously claimed to be fellow believers in the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul did not say, “Learn to love those with whom you are in deep disagreement.” Some behaviors (including deadly, cancer-like false teachings) cannot be allowed to remain in the house under the banner of “love” because they destroy the faith of some, especially the weak and vulnerable whom we are to cherish and protect (2 Tim 2:18).
Judging those within the church (1 Cor 5:12) in terms of expelling the wicked (Deut 13:5, et al) is regrettable business but required of those who have committed themselves to love God with all of their heart, soul, and strength as well as to love their neighbors as themselves. It is difficult to do and dangerous to avoid. We must be aware of how our adversary seeks to outwit us. But when those persons who have been properly expelled experience genuine sorrow for the grief they have caused, then the work of affirming forgiveness, comfort, and love become orders of the day (2 Cor 2:7). I have seen this in action, indeed a praise-inspiring miracle!
Jesus did not say to the money-changers in the Temple (who most certainly would have confessed themselves as fellow Jews), “I am learning to love you in spite of our deep disagreements.” He took action based on the consuming zeal he had for God’s house.
This, too, was the loving thing to do.
Instructive and thankfully infrequent, but most definitely loving.
Perhaps in heaven I will meet a brother who will tell me, “I used to be a greedy money-changer in the temple, doing such evil that I had forsaken my inheritance in the kingdom of God. But I was washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God! Thanks be to Christ who loved me so!”
Thank you, Fisher. Powerfully stated.
I am “Liking” Fisher’s statement like on Facebook. Very well said. Common Christian sense. Amen (with an “ah”) for good English measure.
There can be no gracious disagreement these days. All disagreement is from disagreeable, angry, mean spirited, people like myself. Gracious disagreement means spineless, condescending, Welby wobbly, tacit approval.
If one meets an enemy, does one graciously accept them into his home for dinner. Or does one put up his shield, fire something at the area from where darts originated, and duck again behind the shield. Where does “turning ones’ cheek” fit into this mess? Is it upon an immediate misunderstanding. I say yes. If the individual approaches you with the desire of your demise, hoping you will allow two shots into the chin, you should see him or her as an enemy that desires the life within you. And we as Christians desire life. We dislike death…what that other individual wishes for us.
So we must attack the individual that desires to use our kindness against us. We must fight unreservedly for his or her downfall and unhappiness. That person must know that if they want to attack, they will be met with Godly venom and anger. They do not have the mindset to continue once their evil is known. And they don’t know how to combat that. They will accuse you of meanness….something that was all in their plan against you. You WILL lose your peace for a day. But the evil one will lose a soldier all ready for their attack against you.
Here is the big point. The original attacker will lose peace. They will not have the feeling of having “got one over” on a person that didn’t have the wisdom or faith to fight back. What you desired to gain, his or her soul through nice Christian interaction, will instead be won by their feeling bad about how they feel after having left a spiritual altercation. Call them a liar. Why. They are the children of the liar and deceitful to their core.
Peace be with you. They already squirm in pain. Maybe you can make them look deeper at themselves.
Yes, we forgive 7 times 70 if they are a completely blind spiritual individual. If they are out for our blood, (Christ’s Blood) we really should be wearing armor fit for the fight. Forgiveness protects the individual that messes up ignorantly. Battle must be entered against one with the sword drawn and seen to be swinging on the way in. That person is aiming for your heart. (Christ’s Heart) “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting…”
Confusing categories (truth and love) is a rhetorical device meant to smooth over incoherence – this is never pleasing to God.
Thank you, Carl. This may be an unfair representation, but when I read Abp Welby, I feel like he is telling me to turn a blind eye to sin. I think he would be better served to simply ask Anglicans on both sides of the theological divide to pray for one another.
–Jesus told us to bless our enemies.
–It counteracts the sins of unforgiveness, grudge-holding, and hate.
–It implies a radical trust in God’s wisdom. I have a hunch that God’s idea of ‘blessing’ may well be different from my own.
Jill, the ABC is quite capable of asking the two “sides” to pray for one another – hence my assumption, and your feeling, that his intention is otherwise. I foolishly thought that after he got settled in, he might begin to speak the truth in love. But it appears he is genuinely confused about what constitutes the truth – at least as Scripture presents it. This is so very troubling to have yet another ABC whose “personal opinions” do not align with Scripture! I understand “falling short” (all too well), but these are basic theological truths, not those which are “hard to understand which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction”. Thanks.
Carl+–Love and truth are two very different things, for sure. Jesus said to love one another as he loved us. I was listening to Jerry Clower the other day. If you don’t know, he was a southern comedian from Mississippi who grew up during the Depression and won the Navy Cross on Iwo Jima. He was talking about his father who abandoned them when he was still a toddler. He was grousing about it one day in his teens when a family friend, an older black lady overheard him. She said “Jerry the Bible says honor your father and mama. It don’t say honor your father if he is a nice man who took good care of you. It says honor you father and your mama ’cause they brought you into this world.” Now I’m confused bacause it looks like that old balck lady thinks love and truth may be the same thing. Maybe Jesus did to? It just depends on which end of the barrell you’re looking down, I suppose.