Should only unanimous decisions guide the church?John Piper says no, drawing arguments and reasons for his answer from Romans 14, Philippians 3, and 1 Thessalonians 5.
Here's his bottom line:
Bottom line: it is a tragedy when a body of spiritual leaders, or a body of believers in general, give the least mature people the veto power over wise counsel. There is simply nothing in the Bible that says a weak and unspiritual person in the church should be able to paralyze the advance of God's people. There will always be such people. The mindset that says God only leads his people by creating a community where there is no such weakness and carnality and finiteness is, in my judgment, an unbiblical and harmful mindset.
The whole thing is worth reading.
I've never seen anyone suggest unanimity before! Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteOne can understand the desire for it, given the modernist, democratic bent of our times.
Though there is definitely a call to unity in the premodern, non-democratic Bible.
Sweet and glorious tensions!
Piper seems right on to me.