The election is over. Now what? In this series, I will use Romans 12 to frame reflections of this presidential campaign and hopefully encourage us to live faithfully as we return to the “ordinary time†of the American political calendar. See Part 1 here. Editor’s note: For previous statistical analysis and nonpartisan political reflection from Josh’s expertise, see this link. [Read more…] about After the Election Part 2: Diversity and Unity this Thanksgiving Holiday
Civility
“Uncommon Decency” in the context of Pluralism
Christian hearts must be open to other people. God wants that of us. That is what I have just been arguing. But just how open are we supposed to be? We live today in the midst of many lifestyles, many systems of thought–don’t we run the risk of having our hearts pulled in so many different directions that we finally have no center of our own?” — Richard J. Mouw, Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World (Revised and Expanded, InterVarsity Press, 2010), 80.
It’s not surprising that Richard J. Mouw moves from the “Open Heart”, with a strong emphasis on empathy and an exploration of the spiritual underpinnings of Christian civility, to the “red flag” of and important daily realities of pluralism. Pluralism is an important topic which we have explored a number of times. I particularly appreciated Mouw’s brief exploration of What’s good about pluralism? (Ch 7):
- God and diversity
- Pluralistic consciousness
- Pluralism and idolatry
- Cultural diversity.
After a consideration of the framework offered in the first seven chapters of Uncommon Decency, I can imagine a campus context in which a weekly discussion group/dialogue delves into: [Read more…] about “Uncommon Decency” in the context of Pluralism
Cultivating empathic sensitivies vital to “Uncommon Decency”
Civility requires that we reduce the psychological distance between ourselves and others. We need to develop a sense of commonality with people who initially strike us as very different from ourselves. One important means of doing this is by cultivating empathy.
“Empathy” literally means “in-feeling” — it is to project myself into another person’s feelings so that I begin to understand what it is like to have his experiences. If I want to gain empathy for a neighbor who is consistently defensive and insulting, I can try to imagine what it is like to be torn by the hurts and fears that give rise to his antisocial behavior. In doing so I may find links between his inner life and my own; or I may use my imagination to explore feeling that I myself have never experienced directly.
Obviously, we cannot develop empathy toward each of our fellow citizens on a one-to-one basis. But we can cultivate empathic sensitivies toward people in general by concentrating on some of our commonalities.
I’m highlighting the need for empathy here because I believe that the enlargement of our empathic sensitivities is an important part of becoming more human. When we break out of the bonds of self-centeredness, entering into the experiences of other people, we come closer to fulfilling God’s puposes for human beings. and we become more Christlike, since the incarnation is the ultimate ministry of empathy: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Empathy is good for our character development, but that is not its only value. It is also important for our evangelistic efforts. Christian groups that empahsize the need for “relational evangelism” recognize this point. They know that forming genuine friendship with unbelievers — so that we enter into their lives in order to learn about their uniquely individual hopes and fears — establishes a healthy basis for introducing them to the person and the work of the Savior.
The quest for empathy can be helped along by a good dose of curiosity. . . . — Richard J. Mouw, Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World (Revised and Expanded, InterVarsity Press, 2010), 58-59.
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The Day for “Uncommon Decency” has come. Let’s embrace it!
As Martin Marty has observed, one of the real problems in modern life is that the people who are good at being civil often lack strong convictions and people who have strong convictions often lack civility. I like that way of stating the issue. We need to find a way of combining a civil outlook with a “passionate intensity†about our convictions. The real challenge is to come up with a convicted civility.
Civility is public politeness. It means that we display tact, moderation, refinement and good manners toward people who are different than us. It isn’t enough, though, to make an outward show of politeness. Being civil has an “inner†side as well. . . .
But how can we hold onto strongly felt convictions while still nurturing a spirit that is authentically kind and gentle? Is it possible to keep these things together? The answer is that it is not impossible – but it isn’t easy. Convicted civility is something we have to work at. We have to work at it because both sides of the equation are very important. Civility is important. And so is conviction.
The Bible itself recognizes the difficulty of maintaining convicted civility. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews lays the struggle out very clearly: we must “pursue peace with every one,†he tells us, while we work at the same time to cultivate that “holiness without which no one will see the Lord†(Hebrews 12:14) — Richard J. Mouw, Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World (Revised and Expanded, InterVarsity Press, 2010), 13-17.
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Is God Relevant in the Public Square?
A special thank-you to the Emerging Scholar from Johns Hopkins University who passed along notes from Is God Relevant in the Public Square? Living with our deepest differences in a world of exploding pluralism — Os Guinness (March 26, Veritas Forum).* Anyone have testimonies regarding or reflections upon the creation, cultivation, encouragement, and/or maintenance of a “Civil†Public Square on their campus, in their discipline?
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Os Guinness, an author and social critic, began by asking us to take a look at history. In the last century, someone has been killed every moment in the name of religion. Yet — as we’ve discussed here before — if we look at those killed by secular regimes in this century, the number is greater by far than all those killed by religions in all of past history combined.
What lessons can we learn from this? Guinness proposed three.