Following the Royal Wedding at the weekend we were greeted with newspaper headlines on the Monday such as this, in the online edition of The Telegraph:

Meghan Markle to fight for feminism: Prince Harry’s new wife given Palace blessing to champion women’s rights.

On the face of it this seems good that the new member of the Royal family will stand up for something of current concern in the nation. However, the more I think about it, the more I wonder whether the multitude of ‘isms’ we have in today’s society is more in danger of taking us out of balance and dividing us than restoring a balance and uniting us.

Feminism, globalism, Islamism, multi-culturalism, homophobism, capitalism, humanism, socialism…to name just a few of the virtual wedges being driven into society, challenging us on which side of each contemporary divide we stand. Then the voices get louder and the next thing we know is that what were once moderating influences and topics of open debate become authoritarian forces that brook no dissent.

Is this the biblical way? I don’t think so. The biblical way is one of balance in all things. The multi-faceted truths of God’s word are set in dynamic, healthy relationship with each other - such as justice and mercy, family and community, love for God and our neighbour. When we separate out a single truth and major on it, even in the Church, we often breed division and imbalance rather than the opposite.

We experience this, for example, in our denominationalism. Even when we seek to bring balance in a certain area of truth such as, for example, recognising God as Creator, we can easily corner ourselves into a special interest group such as what Creationism can become. And dare I include in the list of potential divisive "isms" in the Church, aspects of feminism which are fanned up by the world around us?

Should we, therefore, pay special attention to this in our Christian communities and not allow the swirling tides of the world to dictate the way we view our ministry and mission? Is not this summed up by the Apostle Paul in his exhortation to unity of the faith, symbolised by the picture of the One New Man of Ephesians 2:15?

Author: Clifford Denton