Good Disagreement in the Church of England?

Apr 26, 2016 by

by Bishop Wallace Benn:

It is clearly both necessary and right that Christians show love for one another in how they handle disagreements.

We live before a watching world. Jesus did say: ‘By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’ (John13.35). So there is no excuse for rudeness or cavalier attitudes to each other. Paul, in the chapter that begins to work out the implications of the gospel for our daily living and relationships, writes: ‘Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour’ (Romans 12.10). So in that sense ‘good disagreement’ is a healthy and desirable thing to aim for.

Live and let live attitude?

But the concept of ‘good disagreement’ is becoming something that is applied in a much broader way. It is being used to promote a ‘live and let live’ approach to important doctrinal issues and sexual ethics in particular. Unity is appealed to in a way that trumps vital revealed truths Is this helpful or right?

In the preface to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer the author raises the question of ‘adiaphora’ or ‘things indifferent’. He wisely saw that there is a large range of things that Christians can agree to disagree about. Consensus can and should be reached about what colour the new church hall chairs should be and whether we sing all old hymns or all new ones in our Sunday worship!

We can even agree to disagree on some important but not crucial doctrinal issues. Christians disagree about the age at which people should be baptised, whether bishops are essential, just desirable, or not desirable at all, and they have differing views about what happens at the Lord’s Return. These are important but are not ‘first order’ gospel related issues that threaten our salvation in Christ.

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