Issues and personalities

The church does some things very well but also tends to do some things very badly. 

One of the things that the church in general does badly is to confuse issues with personalities. All too often the idea being expressed is inextricable linked with the person expressing that viewpoint and as a result every debate about that issue becomes seen as a personal attack. Many people seem unable to discuss ideas in the abstract. 

I first saw this when, as editor of a journal, I published an article critical of the re-establishment of the Methodist Diaconal order after it had previously been closed. The article weighed up the evidence and speculated if the will if God had been truly discerned or if a mistake had been made. I received one enraged letter from a distraught deacon who was very upset that this article was undermining her whole life and vocation. She saw it as a personal attack and wanted to cancel her subscription immediately. My reaction was one of surprised that such a highly strung, over sensitive and non-discerning individual had got through the Churches usually tight selection processes. Perhaps she was just having a bad day!

We see this issue emerging whenever the church discusses issues that are controversial or uncomfortable. The current debates about gay marriage have not always brought out the best levels of intellectual debate. Those who have had the benefit of learning debating at school or university will have gained a great advantage whenever they take part in any discussion. They will understand that what is important is to focus on the issue and the arguments of your opponent and who or what your opponent is as a person is irrelevant. The popular mass media often engage in personal attacks but this is often when they have little real argument of substance to offer to counter the points being made.

Am I being unreasonable in expecting better from the church?