More than a century ago, some enlightened individuals deeply involved in their respective churches understood how terrible the conflicts among Christians had been and what a horrible counter-witness the still-existing divisions were for the spreading of the message of Jesus Christ.
From that time, several reciprocal excommunications have been lifted, and today churches celebrate the Week for Christian Unity, starting every year on January 18, which includes praying together at the respective places of worship. Several years ago, the day of Jewish-Christian friendship, observed on January 17, was established. But such celebrations have become, by and large, an empty shell, filled only with official speeches and attended by very few people. The passion that even just 50 years ago enlivened such moments of reunion has long gone.
Two reasons stand out: (1) the realization that the process of inclusion and the overcoming of barriers could not stop with Christians, and the consequent development of dialogues, meetings, and exchanges among faithful people from all religions; (2) the realization that once a passionate project is taken over by institutions, they suffocate it, even though they purportedly intend to move it forward.
Yet the issue of human division along ideological and often religious lines is worse than ever. The overcoming of dualisms — which Matthew Fox masterfully tackled in his book A Spirituality Named Compassion — is still and will always be for humans the only possible solution. We get attached to an idea, or to a value, because it does represent effectively for us a saving moment, a glimpse of truth. We don’t understand that the opposite position, as well, may hold values and ideas that resonate within us, if we stand still and listen. I dare say that the human mind is usually excited by couples of opposites, rather than by one pole only.
If you are obsessed with youth, you are likely afraid of old age; if you are obsessed with death, you are likely afraid of life; if you are obsessed with pleasure, you are likely running away from pain. And so on.
The solution is not to lose one’s stance, so often gained through a considerable amount of trouble, but to soften it in such a way that it loses its obsessive flavor. In time, a person — or even a group or a society — might overcome a division and reach a third position which includes both the opposite poles, preserving their deeper reasons and yet morphing into a new life.
When this happens, we witness a dialectical triumph. Philosophers like Hegel believed dialectics to be the natural stuff of which reality is made. Today, we find it hardly possible to believe that, as we live through the horrors of conservatism gone awry. It is said that a philosophy like Hegel’s is good only for times when people believe in unending progress, and it smacks of imperialism anyway. But what are the alternatives for humanity?
Obviously, we cannot make peace with oppression. Neither does it make any sense to look for something decent or acceptable in the positions of people like Stephen Miller or J.D. Vance or Donald Trump. But my obsession — if you wish — is that of finding common ground with the everyday person who believes some of the things that such disgraceful human beings assert.
I tried to do this for a few years when I was leading a parish in Southern California. I failed, in the sense that the conservative minority left my church, except for very few. But I did not fail, in the sense that for a few years we were able to be together with our disagreements, contrary to many other places where the polarization had already won the day. The palpable presence of the Sacred in that place played a big role in the relative continuity of our relations.
I cannot say, however, that I know much about overcoming divisions, except that institutions are not very good at it, and political parties, of course, cannot do anything about it by definition.
There is nothing wrong with parties holding firm for values, or for institutions to replicate existing patterns. But it’s up to people capable of sharing their common humanity to become the beacon of hope in our days. After all, the real fruit of the ecumenical Christian movement was that of letting Protestants discover that Catholics were real Christians with deep values, and vice versa. That is the basic model that I care about. In times of anger and violence, is there any other way for deep healing? Or is it too early to talk about that? Or what needs to happen in order for us to be able to talk with our neighbor?
Banner Image: Artist LeRoy Nieman created this image of the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, for President Jimmy Carter. It hung in the president’s White House study. Photo by Wally Gobetz on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you agree or disagree with Gianluigi’s plea? What are your ideas or practices about overcoming divisions?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
The Lotus and The Rose: A Conversation Between Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Christianity
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Naming the Unnameable: 89 Wonderful and Useful Names for God…Including the Unnameable God
Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations
7 thoughts on “Overcoming Divisions”
For a dozen years I organized and led an Interfaith World Peace Pilgrimage to Mount Baldy, a holy mountain in Southern California. It was only intended to happen once, in 2009, but the success of having over 200 people, most of whom at 9,500 feet, praying together from numerous different faiths upon a mountain in glorious nature was something that needed to continue. It was repeated each year until Covid intervened. Tolerance and respect for each other’s faiths is vital but, to address your final question, I don’t think it is enough to bring humanity together. For that to happen, I have long advocated that we need Shock. Something so enormous and consequential that it flushes us all out of our pigeon holes into the realization that we are one common humanity all in the same boat, all dependent on one another for survival and growth. There are various ways in which Shock can come such as nuclear war, environmental collapse or cataclysmic natural disaster, and Divine Intervention including extraterrestrial visitation. Beyond such an Awakening, I no longer believe we can sufficiently talk with our neighbor. In the ultimate sense, we need to be humbled in the true, godly meaning of Shock and Awe. Hexagram 51 of the I Ching is particularly interesting on the matter of Shock stating, “The Shock that comes from the manifestation of God within the depths of the earth makes man afraid, but this fear of God is good, for joy and merriment can follow upon it.”
Thank you, Paul, I could not more agree with your words:”we need Shock. Something so enormous and consequential that it flushes us all out of our pigeon holes…” Until then, we will continue to coo in our pigeon holes and to try to convince ourselves that our pigeon hole is the best since the beginning of pigeonhood. And in doubt, we will try to make it great again.
These words from chapter 16 of Thomas Berry’s The Dream of the Earth, titled “A Cosmology of Peace” stress the importance of tension in the Via Creativa.
“The universe, earth, life, and consciousness are all violent processes. The basic terms in cosmology, geology, biology, and anthropology all carry a heavy charge of tension and violence. Neither the universe as a whole nor any part of the universe is especially peaceful. As Heraclitus noted, Conflict is the father of all things. [. . .] My proposal is that the cosmology of peace is presently the basic issue. [. . .] everything depends on a creative resolution of our present antagonisms. I refer to a creative resolution of antagonism rather than to peace in deference to the violent aspects of the cosmological process. [. . .] Neither violence nor peace in this sense is in accord with the creative transformations through which the more splendid achievements of the universe have taken place. As the distinguished anthropologist A. L. Kroeber once indicated: The ideal situation for any individual or any culture is not exactly ‘bovine placidity.’ It is, rather, ‘the highest state of tension that the organism can bear creatively.’”
Thank you GG for an important and spiritual DM about the historically universal and ongoing theme of human divisions that have led to wars, racism, social injustices, judgments, inhumane behaviors, and all types of cruelty… The deeper spiritual traditions of most genuine religions have to do with the Living and Creative Spirit of DIVINE LOVE~WISDOM~PEACE~
JUSTICE~HEALING~COMPASSION… PRESENT within and among Us in Our LOVING DIVERSE ONENESS…. I’m sure Matthew elaborates on this universal spiritual theme in the recommended book, “A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice.” Our Human family is still evolving spiritually, and each unique human Sacred person needs to take conscious responsibility for their own inner personal and communal spiritual journey because we’re interconnected and influence one another deeply in Our DIVERSE LOVING ONENESS with one another, with Beautiful Sacred Mother Earth, and with Our Sacred evolving multidimensional/multiverse COSMOS….
For me compassion and recognizing goodness in all beings invites a way forward. It is a tall order but I am choosing to believe it and try to practice it, as I dont know where else to begin.
When I meditate Ive been expanding my heart space to include empathy for the heart of the ICE officer. I relax from my anger, fear, judgment and begin to imagine their heart softening, melting. I imagine what story they might be living which brought them to sign up for this role.
This may all be naive to imagine they are broken, lonely, lost and that this is the root of why they are now masked, cruel and doing the work of evil (and likely my rational mind trying to make sense of it), but it is a place to start…to create a connection w a heart somewhere else in my state, my country …albeit a cosmic spiritual connection…and simply create capacity to sit together in the presence of wisdom, the divine, revealing love and allow healing to begin within each of us….to allow the walls to fall. If this became a collective action or movement among people, I wonder if this could be the “shock” our mother earth (which includes humanity) needs to birth forth a beloved community that can finally begin to solve the real problems of today (eg climate change, end of wars).
Peace.
I agree with Gianluigi’s concerns. MANY years ago, I learned about the Listening Program from RSVP, Rural Southern Voice for Peace. In the Civil Right Era, through this program, Southern Black community members sat down with whites who held supremist views, even KKK affiliations, to reduce tension and hostility in the local community and promote peace and justice. Generally speaking, don’t start your efforts at dialogue with the focus on the divisions. What do you and the opposing group/person(s) have in common? Start with simply subjects: favorite holiday foods, season and memories, e.g., of sledding, or fishing or garden tomatoes. Then move forward slowly, respectfully, and listen with genuine attention and share with equally genuine comments. This is NOT a competition with whose story is better, holier, etc. Avoid generalizations and abstractions. You are trying to listen/learn/share and consider common ground to benefit all in the immediate and larger community.
I appreciate the subtly of your understanding of how opposites attract human beings attention. Electricity comes to mind. Innovation lies at the intersection of opposites. The discipline of holding opposites or as the author puts it “The solution is not to lose one’s stance, so often gained through a considerable amount of trouble, but to soften it in such a way that it loses its obsessive flavor. In time, a person — or even a group or a society — might overcome a division and reach a third position which includes both the opposite poles, preserving their deeper reasons and yet morphing into a new life.” Not pretending we don’t have a point of view or a belief or that we dont want to change someone’s minds. These are critical to changing ourselves. I like the idea of the goal being “softening” and losing our obsession with being right. We build tools that enable people to manage difference in both communal and corporate settings. We operationalize listening. We practice the practices of outlistening.