They argued so much. That was my overriding impression of the early church when I saw the book of Acts on a movie screen for the first time. All churches have disagreements, they always have. But when the arguing turns to strife, watch out.
Two recent experiences brought this to mind. The first was when something I said was met with criticism (say you are shocked). But it wasn’t the disagreement that surprised me; it was the sharpness of it. There seemed little charity and instead harshness and even enmity. It was out of all proportion to both the words and the context.
The second came when I chose to reascend the great mountain of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Like all truly great works, it always repays greatly upon its rereading.
One scene from The Inferno struck me more than all the others this time. It is a harrowing portrayal of a disagreement gone wrong.
Read It all here.
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