Should All Opinions Be Respected?

In our current societal discourse in many facets, e.g. political, theological, cultural, etc., the church should be an agent of unity rather than disunity. Often, the opposite is true; yet, God calls us to primarily exemplify the unity of Christ among each other but also to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31). Jesus’ command here is in the greater context of giving us what to what he refers as the two greatest commandments. The Greek word for neighbor here, plesion, simply means someone who is near and does not suggest a specific group of people such as other Christians, i.e. Jesus implies that everyone is our neighbor. Our love for others is derived from the greatest commandment: to love God above all else with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), for when we love God above all else, our love for others increases because we begin to view others in the same light as God himself. How then are we to handle dissonant discussions of vital material among all people in our society? The church is given the responsibility to love everyone so we are not exempt from that command in any situation including tense dialogue. The question at work here is this: should all opinions be respected? I shall argue that all opinions should be respected in scope but limited in application, i.e. everyone is to be loved, heard, and even understood while absolute agreement is not necessary. Before continuing, it should be noted that everyone is different and, thus, possesses different opinions, which is okay and good. Without diversity, we would not need to have important discussions as we so often do. We should enter our dialogue with other believers and even non-believers realizing this fact. To properly engage in tense dialogue as Christians, I have three imperatives to bear in mind.