I agree. I did not mean to imply that I was writing them off, just bemoaning the state of affairs. We can’t just write off the Farels of the world. Being non-Farelish to the Farels requires patience, wisdom, love, a tough skin to absorb slights (perceived and real), and. In short to treat them the way you would want to be treated in a heated discussion. Also, it helps to be aware of one’s own inner Farel and the things which we can each be intransigent about, whether it be one’s favorite types of music, favorite computer operating system, political party, favorite TV news channel, preferred mode of baptism, etc. Being self-righteous to the self-rightoeos is, I guess, a little like being proudly humble, and indeed is something to watch out for in our own hearts.

Yes. But notice how Calvin didn’t just write off Farel and call him an ‘intransigent’’smiter of infidels’ (even if he was!) He was trying to be non-Farelish with Farel himself. Not easy, and Calvin certainly didn’t always succeed. But Calvin understood that it was wrong to be self-righteous toward the self-righteous.

The reformed blogosphere would look so much different if we could hold this helpful idea in mind more often. It would be so encouraging to see our leaders build bridges and leave well enough alone, moving towards whatever amount of unity is possible instead of calling out every perceived difference/inconsistency in our brothers’ and sisters’ theology.