Blogger Samuel D. James thinks the lost art of disagreement practiced by our forefathers could well serve this generation.
According to James, the primary examples for this lost art were the second and third presidents of the United States, who, despite being on opposite sides in terms of their political views, corresponded and debated on a wide range of topics, from the revolution to religion.
James cites the letters of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who were at one point in their lives estranged, only to rekindle their friendship through exchanging views.
"The ritual of honest, principled disagreement between people who respect one another and mutually assume the best intentions has done an astonishing disappearing act in much of our culture. Instead, our religious and political dialogue is either unhinged and bitter, passive aggressive and condescending, or else completely neutered to the point of meaninglessness," he said.
James lamented the culture of virulent nastiness and passive coddling that are prevalent not only on the internet but also in institutions that conform to the "expectations and worldview of the students, provided, that the students' belief systems are congruent with secular forms of progressivism."
"Efforts at self-justification that emphasize "honesty" and glow about "telling it like it is" are merely shibboleths. They mask the decay of an important ethic: The willingness to accept one's own fallibility and live in light of it. The art of disagreement is crucial not just to our own personal lives but to the health of the public square. If we cultivate suspicion and conspiracy theories instead of good faith, we will eventually crave those attributes in our leaders," he explained.
To find the lost art anew, he emphasized the importance of courage, conviction, and kindness, and a respect for our ideological differences that will help us sharpen our own thinking as learn from–and try to convince–one another.
Meanwhile, Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts, in his post on Patheos, advised on the Christian way of dealing with disagreements and conflict, and underscored the need to return to the Scripture when faced with such problems. He said that while not all passages of the Scripture may sound fitting for current life scenarios, there are nuggets of wisdom to be found in God's word.
"It will feel natural to us to use the world's ways to win church battles, and, as we do, the world around us will cheer. But rarely are these the ways of a God who says to us, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways" (Isaiah 55:8). The world doesn't have much room for one who tells us to turn the other cheek, who calls us to forgive seventy times seven, and who urges us to imitate his humble, self-sacrificial servanthood. So we need the Bible to show us different ways to operate in times of conflict: the ways of peace, the ways of the gospel, the ways of Jesus Christ," he said.
