the division of humanity is the suffering of God

Last updated on: January 2, 2014 at 10:19 am by David Hayward

the division of humanity is the suffering of God 2014-01-02T10:19:51-04:00 David Hayward

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Unity isn’t to be achieved but believed. We are all one. But we are not all as one. The manifestation does not match the reality. This is clear.

The Spirit is not only within the human collective, incarnationally it is the human collective. I suggest our divisiveness is therefore the suffering of Spirit.

I read Zach Hoag’s post, “Resolved: Quitting the Progressive Christian Internet in 2014”. This concerns me because I am a part of the Patheos Progressive Christian network. His disappointments are that it has lost its way, does not reflect essential Christian values, is defensive and entitled, and is schismatic and divisive. I cannot disagree with him. I think it is floundering. I think it does get very nasty. I think it is full of annoying personal maneuvering. It is embarrassingly competitive. It is, in many ways, just downright mean. Generally speaking, it appears to me progressives are fighting over the biggest piece of the pie for personal gain. Few seem really interested in exploring, discovering and articulating a unified and unifying theory. I’m trying with my z-theory, but I have much more work to do there.

But I won’t quit the conversation. It is too important to throw in the towel now because of its potential. I wrote a post a few weeks ago “How the Progressive Christian Movement Can Move Forward” in which I suggest that we should appreciate:

Diversity instead of division.
Cooperation instead of competition.
Joy instead of joylessness.

It wasn’t one of my most popular posts. It could be that it is poorly written, irrelevant, or, among other reasons, uninteresting to those involved in the conversation. But I still stand by these values. I think they would be helpful guides that might lead us to a more joyful and cooperative appreciation of diversity. Yes we must continue to challenge and overthrow stupid and damaging beliefs and behaviors. Like weeding the garden to make room for the good stuff. But I want to do this hopeful that the reality of our unity will eventually become apparent to us all.

suffering_of_god_spirit

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