wfn.org | Commentary: Is there really more that unites us?

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Jan. 23, 2001    News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville,
Tenn.  10-71B{026}

A UMNS Commentary
By Ann Whiting* 

There is more that unites us than divides us. Al Gore said this in his
concession speech. George W. Bush said the same thing, if not in the same
words, in his acceptance speech.  We United Methodists heard the same words
before, during and after General Conference.
  
It's a nice sentiment. But we as Americans and as United Methodists need to
be cautious. "Making nice" may feel better than contentiousness, but it may
not always be faithful.

The Rev. Erik Alsgaard, with the United Methodist Board of Church and
Society, wrote a commentary shortly after Election Day in November entitled,
"Voters' divisions mirror those of church." (UMNS #507, 11/09/00). He
compared the lines of difference in the presidential election with similar
lines in the United Methodist Church: gender, race, socioeconomic status and
geography. I want to explore two others: political philosophy and theology.

There are fundamental differences between liberals and conservatives, both
in politics and in the church. Webster offers these definitions: 

"Conservative: tending to preserve established traditions or institutions
and to resist or oppose any changes in these."

"Liberal: not restricted to the literal meaning, not strict ... tolerant of
views differing from one's own, broad-minded ... favoring reform or
progress. ..."

Neither label nor position is inherently negative or evil.  Our problems
arise, I think, when we cling to the far edges of these ideologies or faith
positions.

Change for the sake of change is empty. Holding on to the past without
critiquing the value of beliefs and institutions in a post-modern society
limits our creative response to change. That's how conservatives get into
the most trouble with liberals, I suspect. Liberals in the church, for
example, get in trouble if they let their open-mindedness outrun their
scriptural grounding.

The faithful balance is to conserve those institutions that "work" and offer
the hope of justice and peace in God's world. United Methodists must
conserve our Wesleyan heritage of vital piety and social holiness. We also
need to agree that revelation did not end with the closing of the canon. The
Bible is the fundamental, but not only, witness we have to God's revelation.
Liberals, more than conservatives, seem to embrace that ongoing revelation.
And we all need to agree that any scriptural witness must always be filtered
through the lens that is the life and ministry of Jesus.

Unless we can embrace and live out the best of these two ideologies -- and
avoid becoming mired in the reactionary positions of either side -- we will
not be a united country or a united church.

Moving from the abstract to the concrete, here is a representative list of
the issues we cannot "make nice" about in the United States:
·	Bitter, partisan divisions exist over legislation.
·	The gap between rich and poor continues to grow.
·	The "haves" continue to protect their positions and power, and the
"have-nots" become increasingly marginalized.
·	Racism and hate crimes continue to grow.
·	City schools continue to provide sub-standard education and
experience a high dropout rate.
·	Gun violence continues at crisis levels.
·	We continue to disagree on whether the targets of our efforts should
be individual or systemic.
·	We continue to disagree on the role America should play in the world
as peace broker and peacemaker.

Nor can we continue to ignore divisions in the United Methodist Church, such
as we see in:
·	Divergent beliefs on the authority of scripture and how the biblical
tradition should inform current faith and practice.
·	Differences in understanding how the Holy Spirit works in our lives
and the life of the church.
·	The practice of continuing to label each other and then vilify the
"other."
·	The willingness of some to opt out of the connectional system in
fundamental ways (for example, by withholding apportionment payments).
·	Failure to find ways to dialogue with each other on critical justice
issues.
·	Failure to recognize that the debate around homosexuality is also
the "lightning rod" for a more fundamental struggle to determine the
character of the United Methodist Church

The list of what unites us -- as a nation and as a church -- could be
equally long. But what unites us will be diminished and superficial until we
meet what divides us head on. 

Healing is not easy; grace is not cheap. But I believe we can heal, as a
nation and as a church, if we listen to each other, embrace the good in the
other and then name and work on those things that divide us. Now there seems
to be more that divides us than unites us as a nation and as a church. It
need not always be so, but we need to be honest. 

The plumb line for embracing unity in the United States should be the same
as it is in the United Methodist Church: Do justice. Love kindness. Walk
humbly with God. 

# # #

*Whiting is editor of the Michigan Christian Advocate, the newspaper of the
United Methodist Church's Michigan Area. A longer version of this commentary
originally appeared in that publication.

Commentaries provided by United Methodist News Service do not necessarily
represent the opinions or policies of UMNS or the United Methodist Church.

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