Cleveland is a social psychologist, and in Disunity in Christ she explores why so
many Christians affirm the need to celebrate diversity in the Church but yet
fail to follow through on these aspirations. She recognises that people are
naturally drawn to those who are like-minded or from similar or identical
cultural backgrounds, but argues convincingly that participation in the body of
Christ gives us a far more basic identity than even such important identity
markers as gender or race. The Church as the body of Christ falls into disunity
when its members privilege their ‘natural’ identity over the fact that they are
members of the body of Christ.
The majority of the book is taken up with Cleveland’s treatment
of the various cultural group dynamics that can influence Christian behaviour
for ill. Of particular interest to me were her comments on homogeneity in the Church (it’s not good!) and how often we confuse our cultural beliefs with our
faith in Christ.
I must confess that, at times, I felt quite disheartened by
the enormity of the task true reconciliation and cross-cultural work presents.
And so, if the book has a main weakness, I would suggest that maybe there could
have been more hints or examples as to how negative group dynamics can be
overcome. However, Cleveland’s fine analysis of the problems surely contains
within itself the seeds of reconciliation, and, as each chapter concludes with
some study questions, there is plenty of scope to discuss the issues and act
upon them.
To conclude, let me wax hyperbolic once more: Disunity in Christ is the most important
book you’ll read this year.
That's quite a wrap, Terry! Thanks for the heads up on this book.
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