Good Disagreement?: Grace and Truth in a Divided Church

by Andrew Goddard (Author), Andrew Atherstone (Author)

New
Paperback
2015
$10.50

At every level of church life from the local congregation to worldwide denominations, Christians can find themselves in turmoil and divided over a range of important issues. Many conclude that harmony is not achievable, and never will be. Can we, as Archbishop Justin Welby has asked, transform `bad disagreement' into `good disagreement'? What would that look like in practice? This book is designed to help readers unpack the idea of `good disagreement' and apply it to their own church situations. It doesn't enter into specific contentious debates, but instead considers issues such as reconciliation, division, discipline, peacemaking, mediation and mission. It asks what needs to happen for those from differing viewpoints to both listen and be heard, and does not shy away from hard questions about unity in the gospel and the church's public witness. The book draws lessons from the New Testament, church history, and contemporary experience, with chapters from a dozen theologians and practitioners. They are editors Andrew Atherstone and Andrew Goddard, Tory Baucum, Martin Davie, Lis Goddard, Clare Hendry, Toby Howarth, Ashley Null, Ian Paul, Stephen Ruttle, Michael B. Thompson, and Tom Wright.

Synopsis

At every level of church life from the local congregation to worldwide denominations, Christians can find themselves in turmoil and divided over a range of important issues. Many conclude that harmony is not achievable, and never will be. Can we, as Archbishop Justin Welby has asked, transform `bad disagreement' into `good disagreement'? What would that look like in practice? This book is designed to help readers unpack the idea of `good disagreement' and apply it to their own church situations. It doesn't enter into specific contentious debates, but instead considers issues such as reconciliation, division, discipline, peacemaking, mediation and mission. It asks what needs to happen for those from differing viewpoints to both listen and be heard, and does not shy away from hard questions about unity in the gospel and the church's public witness. The book draws lessons from the New Testament, church history, and contemporary experience, with chapters from a dozen theologians and practitioners. They are editors Andrew Atherstone and Andrew Goddard, Tory Baucum, Martin Davie, Lis Goddard, Clare Hendry, Toby Howarth, Ashley Null, Ian Paul, Stephen Ruttle, Michael B. Thompson, and Tom Wright.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
Edition: New
Publisher: Lion Books
Published: 16 Oct 2015
ISBN 10: 074596835X
ISBN 13: 9780745968353

Author Bio

Andrew Atherstone is research fellow of the Latimer Trust and is involved in a ministry of writing and speaking. His main research explores aspects of Protestant and Evangelical history. His first two books are The Martyrs of Mary Tudor (Day One 2005) and Oxford's Protestant Spy: The Controversial Career of Charles Golightly (Paternoster 2007). His latest book is a popular biography of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby Andrew Goddard is a well-known speaker and writer on Christian Ethics. He has recently been appointed Associate Director of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics (KLICE), based at Tyndale House in Cambridge. He is also editor of the Anglican theological journal Anvil, a fellow of the Anglican Communion Institute and a member of the Church of England's Faith and Order Advisory Group. He is also a member of the Leadership Team of Fulcrum, the Board of Directors of the International Jacques Ellul Society and the Ethics Group of Grove Books. In November 2012 he was installed as an Honorary Canon of Winchester Cathedral in recognition of his services to the Anglican Communion.