One Bread, One Body

…each of you is saying, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?

1 Corinthians 1:12-13

It was distressing to hear those words proclaimed during a weekend of unprecedented division and conflict. Not much has changed in the 2000 years since then.

Two of my least favorite words are liberal and conservative, which have become code words in the culture wars. It is one thing when they are applied to a specific idea and quite another when they are used to describe a person. They are pronounced by pundits and speakers as if they can sum up a human being's entire body of thought and belief with one word. So and so is a liberal. Conservatives hate women. Liberals want to ruin the country. Some people talk as if "conservative" means virtuous and "liberal" means depraved. Some people talk as though "conservative" means racist bully and "liberal" means reasonable broad minded person. They are even worse when they are preceded by a pejorative adjective or used as an adjective followed by a pejorative noun. ("Liberal asswipes" is my current least favorite but "conservative clown" is about as bad)

The words are used as handy packages of policy opinions, as if a person has to accept one set if ideas or the other. I never fit in either box. My father saw me as a screaming liberal, and it is likely many of my in-laws do too. My high-school and professional friends find me excessively conservative. I believe in free-trade and limited government, but I make exceptions and would happily see health care heavily regulated and pharmaceuticals subjected to price control. I believe strongly in a woman's right to the sanctity and control over her own body, her right to decide when where and how to have sex, to say no, and to have law enforcement take her seriously. All women, especially pregnant ones must have access to good health care. But I support the rights of the unborn and oppose abortion. I would defund Planned Parenthood as long as they perform them. 

I also oppose the death penalty,  support common sense gun control, believe a nation of immigrants has to continue to admit people fleeing oppression. I believe it is my duty to care for people in poverty and support policies that address entrenched poverty. I love my country and consider myself patriotic. Low life types who wrap their patriotism in xenophobia and racism tread on my rights as a citizen to express my love of country as I please.

These words infest church matters as well. We argue about how to arrange the furniture in the sanctuary. We attack each other over the tension between compassionate toward sinners and firm on definitions of sin.

So am I a liberal or a conservative? I hope I'm a Christian. I believe in Christ and Him crucified and try to live accordingly. There are some in my church who have so convinced themselves they must be one-issue voters that they have sold their souls to one particular political party and look the other way on all other issues. I don't.

I wonder if Paul was writing today, I wonder if he might write, …each of you is saying, "I'm a Republican," or "I'm a Democrat," or "I'm a Conservative," or "I'm a Liberal" and not "I belong to Christ." Is Christ divided? Was any politician crucified for you?

I think rather, Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. (I Corinthians 10:17)

We might try listening respectfully to start. We might read the gospel and try to live it out.