Discrimination and Bigotry

Did you know that discrimination and bigotry are not the same thing? Bigotry is hatred toward a class (race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc.). There has never been anything positive about bigotry. Discrimination is about choosing between options. This can be used negatively, such as choosing that white people can move into a neighbourhood and choosing that blacks cannot. But it can be used positively as well. To say someone has a discriminating taste is not an insult. When I chose a seminary to attend, I discriminated against seminaries that were from a different theological persuasion. I would suggest that everyone discriminates at some level.

I came across a blog post about the dangers of churches that discriminate. I agree to the level that discrimination overlaps with bigotry. I believe that all people should be welcome, not just into the church building, but into the church community. All should be embraced and loved.

Where the issue came up was the reference to full participation in the church. This was the line that separated the inclusivists from the exclusivists. Inclusivists argue that absolutely everyone should have full participation. But what is full participation? Since anyone can attend, I assume that refers to a sort of leadership (not necessarily pastoral but running some ministry or program).

I argued that there should be some limits on who is involved in leadership. The pastoral epistles teach that there are indeed qualifications, based on lifestyle, for leadership. I was immediately accused of homophobia even though neither Paul nor I mentioned homosexuality. I was also challenged with the problems of interpreting a biblical text. Even if you argue that there is a challenge to understand every detail of those passages, it is clear even to the first time reader that Paul is saying some are in and some are out.

I understood from the conversation that the ideal of inclusivism trumps any biblical teaching. Not only is the Bible difficult to interpret, it presents some exclusivist claims which is problematic. Apparently we are to start with inclusivism and then accept those parts of the Bible that agree.

Am I a bad person for being exclusive? I don’t think so. I have two children with severe autism. Do I think that they should have full participation in the church? Absolutely not. My daughter would rip up the Bibles (as she has done to many books) and attack the pastor (which would be fun to see). I know my congregation loves my children, but full participation is not appropriate.

Again, this is not an attack on homosexuality. I once asked a youth leader to step down because he was living with his girlfriend. It was the opposite of what we were trying to teach the youth. Was it discrimination against people in common-law relationships. I suppose so but I still stand by my decision.

Are progressive Christians better than evangelicals for being so inclusive? I’m not sure that they are as inclusive as they claim. What would happen if a progressive Christian church was looking for a youth pastor and a fundamentalist Christian applied? Would they embrace that fundamentalist in an attempt to be fully inclusive to all theological stripes? Unlikely. We all discriminate at some level.

To be clear, I am inclusive in terms of people attending church and being embraced by the Christian community. We must love and welcome all. But there are limits on full participation. Progressive Christians do this too, they just pick a different group.