Part 1: Relief

One of the most relieving observations about human history is the amount of disagreement between good people. The founders of America came to agree on certain fundamentals: we ought to severe ties with Britain; we should employ every available resource in the cause of freedom: our lives, fortunes, and sacred honor; we acknowledge and honor the Creator, the natural law that He established, and the unalienable rights that He has bestowed upon each person. Yet the writings of the founding fathers are full of disagreement on what the proper application of these fundamentals ought to be.

Part 2: The Great Awakening

John Wesley and George Whitefield, two of the most influential figures in the Great Awakening, strongly disagreed on a very significant theological matter: God’s sovereignty in predestination. Yet their efforts in the mutual cause of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ changed the course of human history.

No one could argue against the fact that the great apostles, Peter and Paul, were two of the most godly and influential men ever to walk the face of earth; yet as Paul references in Galatians chapter 2, they apparently had a severe disagreement. Jesus’ disciples argued on multiple occasions, but they had something essential in common: they were following Jesus.

Part 3: The Clashing of Minds

In the birth and growth of any cause, disagreement and argument between sincere people ought to be embraced - not argument for the sake of argument - argument for the sake of truth. We need to, in appropriate settings and ways, express our disagreements - not for the sake of being right, but for the sake of genuinely seeking the truth. The one vital ingredient to any sincere quest for truth or any dispersion of it is love. “…speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”

“As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” - Proverbs 27:17