One of the definitions for faction is a state of conflict within an organization; dissension: a splinter group · In 1 Corinthians 1:10-14 describes four factions in the Christian church. One observation is that three factions were created by following different leaders, and the last one was a faction with no leader or overseer. The leaders were Paul, Peter (Cephas), and Apollos. All three leaders were Apostles of the Lord Jesus and were given specific giftings, teachings, anointings, and assignments. *Note-the Apostles did not start the factions; the people did. Why? Because people are diverse in their opinions, and everyone processes things differently. Also, personal experiences and personalities will draw people to different leaders. Some people preferred Apollos’s teaching over Paul, while others followed Peter. That in itself is not a bad thing.
According to Paul, the issue is that the people began to divide into groups and claim themselves as a specific faction with their leaders. Paul responded to this with a question, “Is Christ divided?” The obvious answer is no. He then goes on to communicate that all the Apostles belong to the church and that everything Christ died for -every blessing belongs to the church. There was no reason for the factions; they were to receive from all of the Apostles. Those Apostles were powerful and rich in knowledge; why not accept all of them? Why divide?
The church in Corinth was divided because they were immature. They were insecure, jealous, and prideful. Pride is deceitful and hides. One of the reasons that factions spring up is that the leader and or the group secretly believes that they are superior or better than the other groups. The leader believes they are the called one, the set apart one, and the others are not.
Factions are through the Christian community today for various reasons, and factions are in full swing in political circles. In the same way, churches splinter and rip apart, factions in political groups do the same, especially conservative Republican groups. The Democrats are going off a cliff, and yet they’re going off together. There may be infighting in the Democratic Party, but you would never know it at the ballot box.
Republicans, on the other hand, fight, split, take their ball (ballot) and go home. There is little unity in the Republican party. Republicans have a hidden pride issue, and many leaders of the factions are too proud to gather as a team with the others. Money is a massive factor concerning dissension in the party. As in many churches, money, influence, and an educational, polished look are more important than bringing together people with the same values and ethics to win battles.
Take, for instance, the battle for the Senate seat in Pennsylvania with Dr. Oz against Fetterman. Many conservatives in the Republican party refused to show up and vote for Dr. Oz because of his past shows leaning toward liberal ideology. Dr. Oz was not conservative, but Fetterman was not well enough to speak at the debate, and today is still incapable (due to his health) of leading in the seat he won. The faction in the Republican party caused that seat to be lost. That was another national battle lost for the cause of rooting out the creepy, weird policies of the Democratic party. Oz was not pure, but he wasn’t creepy, weird, or sick.
Many conservatives have a purist mentality that there can be no wavering in elected officials' values and moral compasses. In their mind, there are no lesser than two evils, only good and evil. The problem with that stance is that according to scripture, we that are Christians (and most conservatives are Christian) will be judged by our conscious. Some Christians drink wine; others don’t. Some Christians watch certain television shows, while others refuse to watch any television. Some abide by specific dietary rules, and others eat whatever they want. Conscious guides people.
Guidelines and rules create factions, and Christians divide, but there are parallels to this in the Republican party. Conservatives will not vote for the moderates because the moderates don’t want to include the social issues that conservatives value. Moderates are the polished ones, secretly thinking they are better than the others. They will not stain themselves with the dirty, grueling issues of child sex trafficking, transgenderism, and abortion. They say they are against all those issues, but they never speak about them. Why? Because of money, position, and pride, they must stay in power and not rock that boat. If they keep quiet, attention won’t be drawn to them, and they are safe in their positions (for now).
There was a Protect the Children Rally in Olympia, Washington. The rally aimed to protest a law that was enacted legalizing trans-surgeries for children without the parent’s consent. A counter rally attended the Capitol as well. The counter rally had several Democrat representatives show up and take a stand for mutilating children; the Republicans had very few representatives show in attendance. The question is, why didn’t all of the Republican representatives attend the rally? Why was there only a few? All the Republicans voted not to mutilate children but didn’t come out to the rally at the Capitol in mass. Some probably headed home, but many others were close enough to make an appearance. Why didn’t they? Who were the people they didn’t want to know they attended a Protect the Children Rally? What are they hiding behind? Or do they not care enough to show up? It doesn’t make sense, but there is reasoning behind the actions.
Washington activists recently tried an initiative drive with several initiatives to sign. The project failed. One of the reasons is that there were too many initiatives to sign and explain, and it was a bit overwhelming. Another reason some factions in the party didn’t help due to disagreements. All of the initiatives were solid Conservative/Republican issues, but due to infighting, not everyone on the team participated in the drive to get signatures.
The thinking of leaders that want to stay in power is if you stay in the middle and don’t veer off to the left or the right, the position is safe. Most people in the middle ignore what is happening around them because they are full of responsibilities. The average citizen works and goes to school; some enjoy sporting events, cultural arts, literature, concerts, gaming, vacations, etc. Life is good in America; continue to let people believe it’s not that bad and everything will be okay. But as people walk out the front doors of their homes, it’s not okay; it’s getting worse, and few in these leadership positions that lead in the middle are explaining what is going on,
For instance, crime has risen in Washington State. Car theft is up 500 percent. Law enforcement is doing nothing because their hands are tied by the legislators in Olympia. What are the citizens to do? They are told to continue to vote for the same sheriff, or someone worse will come in and allow even more crime in our communities. That is a true statement. Citizens don’t want more crime, but by voting for the guy in the middle, things stay the same, and if change doesn’t come from leaders speaking out, corruption will continue, and the status quo goes on under the same man or woman in the middle.
In political battles, sometimes choosing the status quo or the middle could be the best or only choice at the time. It’s like a chess game; the move is check, not checkmate. It’s stopping the other side from advancing. Voting for Dr. Oz was a status quo move and would have contained the aggressive, progressive agenda in one battle. People that are activists forget we are at war with an enemy that wants to steal, kill and destroy. His name is Satan. It’s the same with church leaders. Pastors refuse to address the subjects above (transgenderism, abortion on demand, sex education in the schools, biblical civics, etc.), and they are safe. Don’t rock that boat, and don’t upset your followers; there will be little criticism, and the status quo will remain the same in our churches.
Pastors are afraid. There are reasons for the fear. One is the fear of dividing the church; another is a clear danger for any pastor that speaks out too loudly. On the other side, the organizations have powerful agents working with them and cancel culture is real, along with death threats and lawsuits. It’s safe to teach topical subjects that have nothing to do with the culture and continue to give to projects like the food bank and Gospel missions feeling that is adequate for the community.
Most churches are building their visions for what they believe is the best for their community, living, working, and operating in their safe bubbles while the spirit of the age continues to gain ground. This quote is from Matt Walsh, “The church in the West has tried to dress up complacency and cowardice in words like “tolerance” and “acceptance.” But tolerance and acceptance are not true virtues, they can often lead to evil, and “ignore it and it will go away” never works.”
The “ignore, and it will go away” mentality worsens the problem. The problem increases and grows to a point where it can become impossible to fix if not addressed early. This is with anything-finances, relationships, health, work, etc.
In Factions Part 3, we’ll continue to look at some of these premises and see if anything can be done to move out of our bubbles and factions and work together for the sake of the Kingdom of God and the Republic.
I don't know about Oz being an Islamist- and the Rino's blew it but look what we have in its place. Couldn't Oz have been a better senator till the Conservatives rise up?
Isn't Mehmet Oz islamist? So how would it be evil for Christian Republicans to refuse to vote for a candidate following a satanic creed that's intrinsically evil with the publicly stated objective to globally destroy both the Church and freedom? Wasn't the wicked breech of trust Pennsylvania RINO's who insisted on nominating Oz due to his money ?