| Editorial: Mike Bain |
| This scenario could have played out in many small community meetings in any town in New Zealand, where two neighbours who had once shared a fence and a cup of sugar left the room without speaking after a disagreement about a local or national issue. |
| Over the past year I have often lamented the division we see in New Zealand. If I am honest, that division has been present from the first day people arrived on our shores. Division is nothing new to humanity. In the post‑Flood account in Genesis — in what scholars call the Table of Nations — we read that “the earth was divided.” |
| Some readers take that phrase in a geological sense, imagining continents splitting. Most commentators, however, favour a social, political, or geographical reading. That interpretation fits the context, especially since the Babel account follows in the next chapter. When peoples are divided by boundaries, they naturally develop distinct languages, cultures, and beliefs. |
 New Zealand was divided over Covid vaccinations and a large number protested on the grounds of Parliament. |
| Although we differ from our neighbours, we often learn from one another, adopting and sharing valuable ideas. Yet even within households across New Zealand we are experiencing upheaval and division greater than any single political or sporting controversy. Pick any subject and listen: everyone in the room will likely have a different opinion. It would be difficult to find two people who agree completely. |
| Division in New Zealand widened during the Covid lockdowns. We were encouraged to fortify ourselves, to keep a distance, and to distrust others; we cocooned and, over time, many of us lost sight of who or what we were hiding from. That mistrust has damaged our culture and deepened the rifts between people. |
| Division within the church Because this is a Christian publication, it is fitting to ask why division within Christianity itself is widening. Division has always existed, inherited from our forebears, but why in the 21st century has it become so large that we struggle to agree on the nature of God? The answer is not complicated. A reading of 2 Timothy 3:1–5 helps to explain the spirit of the age; verse 6 onward warns about those who “worm their way into homes” and exploit the gullible. These dynamics are still at work today, and sadly we sometimes invite them in. |
| One lesson of the Covid era was that for some churches meeting together was no longer essential. It became easy to flick on a screen and choose a sermon that served only personal preference. That habit continues, and it will persist until we awaken to the truth that division runs deep. Division is not merely a social phenomenon; it is spiritual. From the biblical perspective, division between God and humanity began with Satan’s work, and the same adversary continues to drive separation among people. |
| We need to take action, practical steps towards healing the divisions, we need for example to rebuild our local relationships by prioritizing small, in‑person gatherings where listening is the primary aim. |
| Steps like intentional hospitality: this is where we invite neighbours and church members with differing views for shared meals and conversations. |
| Not only can we teach, we can cultivate and model how to disagree without dehumanizing the other. |
| Making sure we have strong church accountability by encouraging congregations to value communal discernment over celebrity preachers or curated online sermons. |
| Above all we must learn and teach discernment by equipping people to recognize manipulative voices and to test teachings against Scripture and community wisdom. |
| Division has deep roots, but it is not inevitable. Small, consistent acts of hospitality, listening, and mutual accountability can begin to heal the fractures in our homes, churches, and communities. May we be people who choose presence over isolation, conversation over echo chambers, and reconciliation over easy certainties. |
