Following the assassination attempt on President Trump, a shift started taking place in the political culture. It took a near tragedy for some to finally take a step back & reconsider the vitriolic partisanship being spewed. Calls came for more national unity among Americans. But already we’re seeing this tiny moment of Kumbaya come & go. The nature of politics, & especially identity politics, is inherently divisive. It’s likely to get even worse with the upcoming election. Yet, many are tired of the hostile divisiveness & hunger for a return to some patriotic unity.
Considering the completely different worldviews & values held on each side of the divide, such a return is improbable, if not impossible. At the most basic level, yes, we share unity with our fellow countrymen simply by virtue of citizenship. We can stand for the flag & recite the Pledge together. But that doesn’t mean we express that unity by compromising our faith & values. We’re hardly “one nation under God, indivisible” anymore. We can share some measure of unity with those we disagree with politically, so long as it’s over matters that do not compromise our morals. Not all errors are equal or rise to the level of division. But we can never compromise with evil. Even tolerance of evil leads to a takeover by evil. There can be no uniting with evil.
Some of our fellow citizens are actually anti-American–they oppose the very foundations of our society–the U.S. Constitution, Christian principles, & capitalism. They oppose the right to life by promoting the murder of the unborn; they oppose the right to liberty by promoting Marxism, censorship of free speech & the free practice of our faith; & they oppose the pursuit of happiness through promoting godless ideologies, economic theft, judicial oppression, & never-ending warfare. It’s all based in rebellion against God. If we are to have real unity it will mean a return to the original principles in the Constitution which we have drifted far from.
Can you imagine the Apostle Paul saying, “As Christians, let’s unite with fellow Roman citizens for the common good”? The early Christians were persecuted by the State, not because they worshipped Jesus, but because they refused to worship the Roman gods & emperor. Paul would say let’s honor & pray for those in authority so that we can have a peaceful society where we can practice & share our faith (1 Tim. 2:1-4, Rom. 13:7). But he would not say let’s go along with the civic religion in the name of patriotic unity. Politics isn’t just about administrative policies, but ultimately, theological philosophies. So who I can actually express some unity with as an American are those who share my broad political values–who agree on philosophies, principles & even political personalities.
The same is true in church culture. Christianity is divided in many ways, sometimes over relatively meaningless points, but often over serious differences. So while there have been ecumenical calls in the past, it’s not truly possible without a return to biblical authority. We can only share certain levels of unity with other Christians. We share no unity with those who claim to be Christian yet are not actually saved, or who even deny the foundational truths of the faith (such as those in the Mormon & Jehovah’s Witness religions). They teach from different extra-biblical authorities about a different Jesus & a different way of salvation (Gal. 1:9, 2 Cor. 11:4). We should be divided from them.
We share some general unity with those who hold to broad Christian teachings, such as Roman Catholics & Eastern Orthodox churches, but note that we’re not in full fellowship because they hold to authorities beyond scripture, & so teach some unscriptural & even anti-scriptural beliefs. We may express that general unity in some ways that promote Jesus, morality, & benevolence.
We can have more unity with Evangelical believers who share more of our biblical faith, yet differ on some points of doctrine (such as spiritual gifts, free will, baptism, church government & gender role issues). But we can only share full fellowship with those who embrace the identical or near-identical biblical beliefs we do. Scripture tells us that in doctrine–where God has spoken–we are to have oneness (Eph. 4:3-6, 1 Pet. 3:8, Phil. 2:2). But in matters of disputable opinions–where God has not explicitly spoken–we have liberty (Rom. 14:1). Despite these differences, we do not resort to hateful rhetoric. We speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). Unity is desirable (John 17:21, 1 Cor. 1:10), but not at the expense of truth.
I can still have theological unity with someone I disagree with politically. But our goal, whether on a political or theological level, is to share unity only at a level that does not cause us to abandon Biblical principles. We dare not abandon truth in the pursuit of pseudo-unity.