Unity? This spurious unity is sinful and deadly

In the aftermath of November’s General Synod, there has been a lot of talk about unity, whether the lack of it or the form of it.

When asked about division in the House of Bishops, Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been quoted as saying: ‘What we’re trying to model is how do you, despite the fact we may have different views, seek to try to find a place we can occupy together.’ Justin Welby, reflected: ‘Archbishops of Canterbury must always work for the maximum possible unity in the Church, however impossible that may seem and however deep our differences.’

‘Is Christ divided?’ asks Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:13, and the bishops might well repeat this question. But then they might struggle with Paul’s appeal in v.10, ‘that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you.’ Such carefully worded soundbites about clashing convictions occupying the same space seem more akin to Isaiah Berlin’s value pluralism than Christian unity.