The Value of Disagreement

Agreeing to disagree is harder said than done.  Tolerance "puts up" with differences without accepting or valuing others as we ought.  Instead of breeding arrogance or indifference, the genuine love of God draws near to those who are misunderstood to convey kindness, compassion, and care.  When I have substituted tolerance for love it is a terrible weight to carry which burdens beyond strength.  When I consider the love of Jesus Christ which was not offered to receive anything good from me but is all of grace, it realigns my perspective with His.

I just finished reading Jesus Among Secular Gods by Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale.  I would highly recommend it for Christians and all seekers of truth.  I found the book useful, encouraging, and thought provoking.  I believe it would be a compelling read for willing Christians, skeptics, and atheists alike.  It illustrates well how and why the claims and qualities of Jesus Christ are unique and concrete truth in a world of relativism and other "isms" which resemble sliding sand unsuitable for life and logically unsustainable.  One of the most impacting sections on the book for me personally was a fresh perspective on disagreement.  We have all disagreed with others, and typically holding contrary views does little to draw people together except to argue, become defensive, grow angry, and either raise our voices in frustration or retreat into silence.  Vince Vitale wrote in the chapter titled "Love the Truth:"

"Academic philosophy has its vices, but, at its best, one of its virtues is that it places a very high value on truth.  And one result of this is that disagreeing with someone about their core beliefs is seen as a compliment and an act of service.  It's a way of saying that the other person's ideas are promising enough to take seriously, so much so that you are willing to invest time and effort into them yourself...If a scholar takes the time to critique my research in print, that is a great gift.  And the more extensively she critiques my work, the greater the gift.  Something similar is true in sports.  Extensive critique by a good coach means that the coach sees potential in you,, and therefore believes that putting extra time into you is a good investment....Sadly, because truth so often has been abused as power play, experience has taught us that disagreement goes hand in hand with devaluing.  We have learned that the trajectory of disagreement is from disagreement to devaluing to intolerance to violence.  In fact, the opposite should be true...Because truth has so often been used as a weapon to manipulate, abuse, and control, many have stopped valuing truth altogether.  We have lost the ability to disagree in love.  Even more, we have lost the ability for disagreement to be itself an act of love." (“Love The Truth.” Jesus among Secular Gods: the Countercultural Claims of Christ, by Ravi K Zacharias and Vince Vitale, FaithWords, 2018, pp. 211–212.)

How might your interactions with people change if you viewed disagreement with them as an intentional act of love?  Perhaps even more relevant for a Christian living in a secular world, are you willing to view others who disagree with you as a gracious gift?  We do not need to be professional philosophers to glean and apply this profound truth.  Others may not see your disagreement as a gift, but we do well to view it in this fashion.  May our friendly demeanour and kind tone edify so the sensible will not assume it is a personal attack.  When we feel opposed or attacked for our stance, let us decide it is good for us to put our postulates through their paces.  It is not only our views which are being better distilled and purified, but God will do a mighty work in and through us as we humble ourselves.