Christians Don?t Know How to Fight
      

<p>Over the last couple of weeks there have been a collection of issues causing dissension in the Church which I have followed a bit.  One was the firing of Todd Wilken from Issues, Etc., and the other big one was the ELCA's release that they had sorta but not quite decided that homosexuality was not Scriptural but they're going to keep looking into it.  Couple of others, too, but those were the big ones.</p>
<p>To me the problem here goes beyond the actual circumstances of these examples and more to the point that they are good examples of how the Christian community just doesn't know how to fight.  In the case of the ELCA, it is almost as though they are deathly afraid of anyone raising their voice.  Heaven forbid someone might get angry or offended.  In the Wilkens issue (LCMS) it's more like someone took their toys and went home.</p>
<p>Now, it is common to speak of Christians as being in a family but there must be different notions about family going on.  My family growing up was pretty tumultuous at times and there was a lot of speaking of one's mind.  Despite that, the family hung together because, well, that's what you got to do.  You can try to disown your brother if you like (sorry bro), but you can't, really.  Not really.   I strongly suspect that for many Christians the idea that we are ‘family' is just pure lip service.  We don't actually treat other Christians like family.  If we cared for them, we'd speak our mind.  If we cared for them, we'd hang together even in the face of differences. </p>
<p>There is a tension here, no doubt.  You have to pick your battles and what if it's something that there can be no compromise about?  I think the problem is that the Christian church hasn't spent a reasonable amount of time on a theology of love.   When I say ‘love' I can just see some folks groaning and others applauding because they think I'm talking about something soft and cuddly, and frankly girly.  But neither view is right.  Jesus was not soft and cuddly.</p>
<p>Lacking a well thought out understanding of what it means to be in loving relation to other people, as modeled by God through Christ, when conflict emerges you see two basic tendencies in the church:  paper the controversy over in soft and conciliatory whispers or cut and run.  Systematic theologies have been constructed for baptism, the Lord's Supper, the church, the end times, etc, you name it.  The one word/concept that is supposed to be the greatest of the three that remains is lucky to even be mentioned in a systematic theology book.</p>
<p>Love doesn't mean you don't fight.  But it does help you understand how you should fight.  Consider this a call to the theologians out there that we layman desire a systematic theology of love- pronto.  While it still matters, if you please.</p>

         

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