Creating a course on how to disagree makes as much sense as a course on how to engage in sexual intercourse. If you can’t do it without instructions, you probably should find something else to occupy your time.
The meandering path Justin Welby trundled down to take him from the Alpha Course to the Disagreement Course is shrouded in mystery, a fantasy that would be beyond even the fertile imagination of Bunyan and his Byways to places like the Hill of Difficulty or the Slough of Despond.
For those who would like to descend into the Ditch of Disagreement to explore Disagreeing Agreeably, here you are.
From his history and that of most modern day ABC’s he has chosen to worship the god of political expediency probably due to the fact that his appointment was subject to the civil government – the god to which he has chosen to bow. The Anglican Communion will NEVER have a true Christian leader in the modern world as long as the current situation remains.
I wonder if the Disagreement Course will teach some helpful biblical vocabulary and turns of phrase for good disagreement, such as:
– “You brood of vipers!” (Matthew 3:7, 12:34, 23:33)
– “Woe to you… hypocrites!” (Matt. 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27)
– “Woe to you, blind guides!” (Matt. 23:16, 24)
– “You blind fools!” (Matt. 23:17)
– “Blind Pharisee!” (Matt. 23:26)
– “For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” (Matt. 23:27)
– “You snakes!” (Matt. 23:33)
– “…ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 4)
– “…these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.” (Jude 10)
– “Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.” (Jude 11)
– “Hidden reefs [or ‘blemishes’]; … shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darness has been reserved forever.” (Jude 12-13).
– “These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.” (Jude 16)
– “…scoffers, following their own ungodly passions” (Jude 18)
Now, that is some good disagreement… albeit from a non-Anglican source.
The foundation of truth, righteousness and holiness trumps the foundation of “fear, suspicion and hatred”.