by Clark D. Cowden

Schism is unlikely. Honestly. While theoretically possible, it is improbable. Historically speaking, I know we had our New Side/Old Side split, and our New School/Old School split. I know we had our Fundamentalist/Modernist controversy that caused some people to split off and form Westminster Seminary, the Orthodox Presbyterians and then the Bible Presbyterians. I know the Presbyterian Church of America split off from the Presbyterian Church in the United States (the old southern church), and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church split off from our reunited church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Our Presbyterian history in these United States is one of splits and mergers and divisions and reunions. But, it is doubtful we will have any more splits, in spite of our current rhetoric and tone. Why? Because these splits happened in the Enlightenment era, based on a modern worldview. Today, we live in the post-Enlightenment era, where splits are not part of the post-modern worldview. What do I mean?

The modern era of Enlightenment thinking was rooted in a worldview that was based on Greek dualism. This thought pattern consistently divided reality into two opposing forces: good vs. evil, capitalism vs. communism, right vs. wrong, Republican vs. Democrat, blue state vs. red state, etc. Obviously, much of this kind of thinking still prevails today.

For example, someone recently gave me a copy of the pamphlet, Can Two Faiths Embrace One Future? The premise of the whole document is based on the Greek dualistic thinking of the modern era. I recently heard someone say, “Schism has already happened in the Presbyterian Church.” This is an example of modern world thinking: either/or, two opposing camps. That is the way the modern world of the Enlightenment taught us how to think. Is there another way? Yes.

In Jonathan Wilson’s book, Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World (Trinity Press, Harrisburg, 1997), the author discusses the analysis of western culture by Alasdair MacIntyre in his book, After Virtue. In describing our post-modern world of today he says, “Western culture is fragmented, not pluralistic. It is incoherent; our lives are lived piecemeal, not whole. The disagreements that we have are difficult to resolve because we cannot locate them within some coherent position or community. We do not live in a world filled with competing outlooks; we live in a world that has fallen apart.”

When I look around the church today, I hear people talking about competing outlooks. That is the view of many. But, that does not adequately describe the post-modern world we live in today. We live in a fragmented world that has fallen apart. The church is much more likely to splinter into five or ten or fifteen different fragments than it is to split into two opposing camps. The church is less like an egg that can be divided into the white and the yolk, and more like the eggshell that fragments into many tiny pieces. The question is not whether we will experience a schism and split into two separate churches, but will our current fragmentation continue to grow deeper and wider, such that we experience a formal fragmentation of our structures? The church is like Humpty Dumpty. We are like “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men.” Can we figure out how to put Humpty back together again?

Yes, we can, but it will not be easy. The path forward will involve learning and experiencing a new kind of connectionalism. Our current connectionalism is based on property, polity, and pensions. A post-modern connectionalism that addresses our current state of fragmentation will be based on relationships, missional experiments, conversations, and a generous orthodoxy. We must discover again what is strong enough and interesting enough to connect us together with people we love, respect, admire, and long to learn from.

So, I believe schism in our denomination is unlikely. I believe that is a modern era phenomenon, and that it is doubtful we will divide into two opposing camps. The danger of the post-modern era is that we will splinter into multiple fragments. This scenario is much more tragic than schism and much harder to resolve once it officially hardens. The situation is urgent. We do not have time to spare. This is a challenge we must begin addressing now.

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