Our peculiar God transforms us into peculiar people, people who love others, even if they do not
– James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful Community
love us in return.
These days, it seems there is a virtual cottage industry around determining why Americans are so divided. In
books like Why We’re Polarized and Them: Why We Hate Each Other–And How to Heal, scholars an
journalists have sought to diagnose the source of our outrage toward “the other side.” Conclusions abound.
Everything from social media algorithms to identity politics has been blamed for our collective ailment.
Some analysts offer a way forward, while others simply point to the problem(s).
Many long for the days when open hostility wasn’t so quotidian, when people from opposite ends of the
aisle could disagree agreeably and our political persuasions were only a fractional representation of
ourselves. Yet, amidst all the hand-wringing, one thing it seems we have often overlooked is the complicity
of the Church in fostering and contributing to this divisiveness. Far too frequently, religious communities are
guilty of stoking the fires of the culture war rather than providing a life-giving alternative. It’s a sad day
when people come to church to have their political (and other) prejudices confirmed rather than challenged
by the Christian ethic of love.
Thankfully, there are pockets of the Christian community that have not played into the bickering and
outright hatred of the larger public discourse. In this sense, these churches are peculiar because they don’t
mirror the prevailing habits of the culture around them. They seek to lead with love, seeing each and every
person as one created in the image of God, worthy of respect and understanding. They understand that we
can have very real differences with others without hating or disowning them. The love that we display as
followers of Christ may only seem like a drop in the bucket, but it sends a powerful message to observers
that there is another way to live, one that is peculiar but ultimately more meaningful and joyful. Let us
continue being this type of peculiar people.
Grace and peace,
Beau