Forbearance: A Theological Ethic for a Disagreeable Church

James Calvin Davis, in his work Forbearance: A Theological Ethic for a Disagreeable Church, creates a theological ethic for handling disagreements in the church that is grounded in the biblical concept of forbearance. Drawing from Paul's writing in Ephesians and Colossians where he encourages his audience to "bear with each other" in spite of their differences, Davis extrapolates the theological practice of maintaining unity while at the same time taking seriously those matters on which they disagree. Davis argues that the biblical concept of forbearance provides Christians with a constructive and dignified way of handling conflict in the church, while at the same time providing a strong witness to the fractured world around. By practicing the biblical concept of forbearance, the oneness in Christ that should be evident in the life of the church is shown to a divisive and broken world.