Compromise?

I have heard quite a few sermons and talks making the point that we cannot compromise as Christians. In particular, that we cannot compromise our beliefs. That no matter what we come up against our beliefs are the root of our faith and that we must hold to them even when it is extremely difficult to do so.

I have been thinking about this a little and I am coming to the conclusion that such thinking is ridiculous. First of all, the root of our faith is not our belief, but Jesus, the Savior of the world who came as man and God to die for our sins and be raised again. Period.

Second, how can we as Christians live together without compromise? I am not just talking about our basic disagreements in life, I am talking specifically about our beliefs and theology. To be uncompromising in our beliefs is to assume that we have everything right. This would mean that we all agree on the same interpretation of scripture and are absolutely 100% correct. That we have truth nailed down.

I can tell you right now, those people are out of their minds if they think that. Look at Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council. The church has existed for very little time and already two of their major leaders are arguing over their beliefs. Paul and Peter do not agree theologically on how to deal with the Gentiles. Both think they are right and the incredible story ends with a compromise. Something that both can agree on because it is rooted in the primary truth of Christ, which allows the other issues to fade into the background.

I would like to propose that compromise is exactly what the church needs more of today. Because I have found that when we compromise, we are finding the true root of our faith and finding a way to work the other stuff, the non-essentials, around the central truth of Christ crucified and raised again. We do not need teachings about not compromising because if we have responded to the love and power and grace of God in Christ, the no one needs to tell us not to compromise because we are ready to go to hell and back over that truth. It is how we translate that truth into the everyday life of the church that desperately needs compromise, not the truth itself.

We are facing terrible tragedies in the Episcopal tradition these days and they are happening, in part, because of this idea that we cannot ever compromise our beliefs. It is a shame because it means we have missed the point.