I believe John Piper said: ‘Emotional blackmail says, “If I feel hurt by you, you are guilty.” There is no defence. The hurt person has become God. His emotion has become judge and jury. Truth does not matter. All that matters is the sovereign suffering of the aggrieved. It is above question. This emotional device is a great evil.’
I presume that we are all guilty of such thinking at times. It is too easy to allow our emotions to be the arbiter of the truth about our relationships, and when this happens chaos ensues. It can happen in families, amongst friends and even in churches.
Two outpourings
The Church of England has faced two outpourings of emotional angst in the last month. The first surrounded the publication of the House of Bishops’ statement about sexuality – known as GS2055. Those seeking to change the teaching of the Church of England claimed that the decision of the House of Bishops to uphold the doctrine of marriage meant that their ‘voices’ had not been ‘listened’ to. This meant that they felt ‘betrayed and hurt’. One commentator described their definition of ‘listening’ as ‘I speak and you agree with me’. They felt that the Bishops needed to think again. The Archbishops responded by apologising and promising ‘a radical new Christian inclusion’.
‘Power is a powerful drug and the detox process is hard’
One of the most insightful speeches at the Church of England's General Synod in July came from The Revd Lindsay …