Unified Disagreement

I imagine the aspirations of unity would resonate in the heart of most Christians. However, the way in which many in the Church seem to understand unity is often drawn from Ephesians 4:3 “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”. The most common exegesis of this text is that unity is defined in the context of being in agreement, but this is not the meaning of unity in Paul’s teaching. When understood as agreement, it becomes impossible to achieve, even in the Church. It’s more likely to encourage the seeds of disharmony, by restraining robust discussion and shutting down diverse opinion.

I’m not suggesting the word unity can’t be used as agreement in a general sense, but not in this case. Here it refers to the source of unity, where the subjective finds its objective meaning, where spiritual unity finds its job description. Unfortunately agreement in the Church has little to do with the context of spiritual unity, but our somewhat naive proclivities imagine the word unity conveys the idea of power, purpose, and prophetic expectation, and encourages the feelings of brotherhood, oneness, and hope. All these superlatives are comforting, but the unity of the spirit can be somewhat harder to accept because it exists it spite of our disagreements. The intellectual, social, and theological reality is that disagreement is inevitable and systemic, and more complex than just preaching on the idea of being united.

Ephesians 4:5 explains that the spiritual headship of a Christian rests in one God, one spirit, one faith, one hope, and one baptism, and in God the Church finds its purpose. In essence Christians are united in the source of their faith alone, and if we disagree on various issues we don't cease to be united. We’re encouraged to keep this common bond of faith, through peaceful endeavor, in spite of disagreement. Nothing in the narrative suggests we will agree on all things, and if there were no disagreement between believers in the Church, Paul’s narrative on maintaining peace did not need to be written? Unity of the spirit has a kingdom purpose, and it’s the only thing we’re encouraged to maintain, in a relational sense, and each of us has gifts and talents to help in this process.

When we deliberately attempt to shut down differences of opinion, relationships become stressed, which is the very thing we’re trying to avoid. Disagreement is inevitable, but the negative approach we take to avoid it, actually disrupts the precept of unity, and invariably causes more harm. Opposing viewpoints can be reasonable and profitable for compelling reasons, as long as they offer mutual respect, and support the fundamentals of salvation, which is “unity of the spirit”, and don’t condone sin? It’s a little like saying, because a sports team is united in playing the game, they’ll also be friends, and agree with each other. This notion is clearly unrealistic, a sports team will never agree on every aspect of the game, life, or friendships. This doesn’t mean the team is any less united in the team’s purpose, and they have to learn to respect the differences for the good of the game.

In the Church this tension might be exemplified in situations where those who disagree with people in authority, are treated with suspicion, questioned about submission, or accused of not being in unity. In this instance the exegesis has more to do with controlling the disagreement. Unfortunately this approach seems to resonate strongly in three types of personality, those with unresolved offense, those who avoid conflict, and those with a desire for control. This can be problematic if these character types are found in positions of leadership.

However, as parts of the body we also need each other, so, as a diverse collection of humanity we come together as a body, and pool the resources God has placed within each of us. As Christians we don’t lose the right to make decisions or think for ourselves, just because we become part of the body. We remain individual parts of one body. In a common faith we strive to maintain unity, through peace, in the face of independence and difference. If we want to maintain the same objective, we must overcome the idea that disagreement breaks our unity in Christ, and learn what it means to keep the main thing, the main thing. An example of this might be in the case of two Pastors in the same Church, who disagree on some theological issues. Both believe in the same doctrine of salvation, both are spirit filled, and both have compelling individual views about Church. The question is, can both have the pulpit? Or, will one try to shut down the other because they disagree? Unless we can negotiate the reality of disagreement, unity is a fantasy that will continue to hinder Gods purpose for the Church.

At a local level it’s not uncommon to find Pastors from different denominations meeting together to encourage working relationships on behalf of their city. Even these situations can and do present challenges to unity, especially today as the widening social morale effects a once more consistent belief across the Church. How does one maintain unity of the spirit, in the face of serious theological differences? These differences challenge the fears and insecurities which drive us to segregation? Exploring these disagreements may be a discussion that most simply avoid, and segregate themselves from.

I would imagine that teaching about unity arises from the idea that some degree of disagreement, or relational disconnect exists in the first place. It’s with some dismay when I here the topic of unity being preached, and experience tells me that it will quickly be forgotten, and nothing will really change as a result. It’s just a passing fancy. Until the word is interpreted with the correct hermeneutic, we may never see change in the way we handle disagreement, however faith and hope might suggest otherwise. Unity within a framework of disagreement is a reality we face every day, and it seems unwise that we reject differences of opinion in the name of unity. Truth, not harmony, is the priority of Christian endeavor and if this is reversed we end up with a cult. Unfortunately, this seems to find more success in non Christian relationships. If we took the time to check our fears and prejudices, we might see life at the end of the tunnel.

Reading

Rom 15:5, Col 3:15, Rom 12:5, and 1Cor 1:12-13