I find it interesting how easily some people throw around words like "apostate," "unfaithful," "heresy," etc. During the speak out session at the opening of the afternoon session at GA a few speakers admonished the church with selected scripture. The admonishment was intended, evidently, to scold commissioners and the church for it's failure to follow scripture. One speaker referred to the "apostasy" heard at presbytery meetings.
Now I am no stranger to hyperbole. Get me started on a topic I feel passionately about and I am likely to dig into my thesaurus and make some bad decisions. We all, from time to time, forget that words matter. The things we say matter. And just because something sounds one way in your head does not mean that it will when it gets out in the world.
To call a member of the church apostate is about as harsh as you can get. Webster's defines an apostate as one whose beliefs have led them to no longer be a part of a religious or political group. To call someone apostate is to say that they are no longer part of the church. Saying that to anyone is uncalled for but saying it to people who have given of their time, energy and wisdom to spend a week doing the work of the church is offensive.
And often those charges of apostasy come with scriptural allusions that are cherry picked for their use in condemning. There is no need to rehash the dangers of proof-texting and using scripture to prove your point rather than to illumine God's.
Healthy disagreement is a good thing for the church. Name calling and theological bomb throwing are not healthy debate. If you disagree with an action of the church, articulate what you believe IS faithful. To resort to ad hominem attacks against those with whom you disagree makes it very easy to dismiss you and your point of view.
There are many actions we take as a denomination that would, I believe, benefit from some measure of disagreement and debate. Unfortunately, the vocabulary for disagreement has become the vocabulary of scorched earth and what could be valuable voices in the conversation are lost to their own hyperbole.
If there is a common theme running through this GA, it is jointly the possibilities that come when we take a breath and speak in faithfulness both when we agree and disagree and the danger of shouting so loud in anger that your voice is ignored or reduced to background clutter. The words we use and the ways we use them matter.
I think that all too often in our heartfelt desire to do things "in order", we forget to be decent. Kindness in how we deal with one another can go a long way in promoting "the peace, unity and purity" that we have promised in our our ordination vows.
ReplyDeleteThank you for these very important words.
ReplyDeleteThank you both for the comments. I am as guilty as anyone of being careless with words. It is part of being passionate, human and sinful all at the same time! But we do need to be careful. I am SO impressed with the care that YAADs and TSADs are taking in what they say and how they say it. And a young adult shall lead them!
ReplyDeleteIt is clear to me that we view life, ministry, and the workings of GA very differently. But, I also see how that brings about healthy dialogue reminding me that my way is not the only way or always the right way. Thank you for the way you honestly share and involve yourself in dialogue. That is why it was so great to be in Seminary together!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, is there ever a time which it is acceptable to call someone apostate? It sounds to me from what is written above that you would say no, but I wanted to check.
It is one of the great things about seminary and these ongoing conversations that are far too rare in the church today!
ReplyDeleteAs for whether it is ever acceptable to call someone apostate, I think it is a tough question for us. My best answer is to say that it would be extremely rare that it would be acceptable to call someone apostate and it is certainly not the job of any individual in the church.
Part of the trouble is that we use those words to describe people rather than ideas or opinions. We declare that if you hold this opinion then YOU are apostate or YOU are a heretic. Does an opinion on a matter of theology eradicate the whole of a life of faith?
To use a less conflicted topic than same-gender issues, consider the debate on corporal punishment. It may be reasonable to say that the theological proposition that it is ok to paddle a child is heresy or heterodox while it is a bit extreme to say that an otherwise faithful person who holds that opinion is wholly a heretic.
In the end I think much of the problem is our all or nothing mentality in the church that has resulted from a generation of settling differences in zero-sum voting rather than ongoing discernment. We conflate a single issue with the whole of the Christian life so differences on that single issue are inflated in meaning and importance.
In any event, I am glad to keep a conversation going with a colleague who sees through such different glasses than my own. If only the church could do this more often!