Friendship overcomes one of the greatest obstacles to truth in ecumenical conversation: unwillingness to understand the beliefs of others in meliorem partem, which should be taken to mean not just accurately, but empathetically, in the manner one would wish to be understood oneself, if one were that other. This, of course, does not eliminate real and substantive disagreement, but will aid in assuring the disagreements are real and substantive. It allows us to maintain the bond of truth-loving men, which we know shall lead us all to the same end, making error detachable for the sake of love. One is happy to see his friend in the right, even to his own disadvantage, and abandonment of error is a small price to pay for the fellowship of those one loves.
The most frustrating respondents we have run upon over the years in Mere Comments (Touchstone’s blog) are people for whom this clearly means nothing. They persist in misconstruing what others have said, sometimes with considerable art, in the attempt to control an argument and humiliate their interlocutors. But friendship kills the triumphalism impulse, awakening desire that the friend should, together with oneself, know and love the truth.
Citation: Hutchens, S.M. From the “Quodlibet” department in “Touchstone” magazine. March/April 2010. Page 5.
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