In 1529, in the face of rising hostilities between Catholic and Protestant forces, the great reformers Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli sat down together at the behest of Phillip I of Hesse who wanted to unify the Protestant lands. What followed is a mistake we still don't seem to have learned from.
A great deal depended upon Luther and Zwingli reaching an agreement; with a unified theology, Zwingli could count on military protection. On nearly all issues but one the reformers were able to agree; the sticking point was the Eucharist. Luther famously carved "Hoc est corpus meum" ("This is my body") into the conference table. He left without an accord.
Two years later, Zwingli died in battle as Zurich was attacked by Catholic forces, an attack that would likely not have happened had he and Luther been able to come to an agreement to extend Phillip I's protection to the Protestants in Zurich. Afterwards, Luther famously wrote: "It is well that Zwingli... lies dead on the battlefield... Oh, what a triumph this is... How well God knows his business."
Putting aside all my own objections to war and the politicization of the faith (not to mention the fact that both sides in this conflict were guilty of persecuting my Anabaptist forebears) I still have to wonder how Luther could see lives that he could save but walk away proud of himself for leaving them to their deaths due to a difference in theology. At least this kind of callousness towards humanity for the sake of doctrine is a thing of the past!
Or is it? And here I wade into controversial waters, but I want to make it clear that I am not asking you to take a side on the doctrinal issues here; all I want to do is to point out that just as with Luther and Zwingli, something much more significant is at stake.
In March of 2014 World Vision USA announced that it would amend its hiring policy to allow Christians in legal same-sex marriages to be employed with their organization. In recognition of a very difficult issue, they chose to accept the decisions of local churches in the matter, rather than having an official policy of their own.
In reaction to that decision, Christian families immediately pulled their support for 10,000 children, and another 5,000 - 9,000 in the weeks and months to follow - despite a reversal from World Vision two days later. Over 15,000 children who were receiving food, water and education (not to mention the personal letters and gifts many sponsors send throughout the year) had the rug pulled out from under them. Over 15,000 innocent people are paying the price for a doctrinal disagreement between Western Christians.
When this news broke, I was living in a part of Southeast Asia where poverty is rampant. I saw kids living (literally) in garbage dumps, surviving by digging through the trash for anything of value. I could see the people who would be paying for the doctrinal stand being taken in the U.S. and something inside me broke. Is this truly what we believe?
Now, I personally know people who agreed with the decisions people made to pull support from World Vision USA and they're good people. This isn't about good people and bad people. This is about the innocent people who pay the price when we who are called to be the Kingdom of God cannot find a better way to handle our disagreements.
Peace,
Theo
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