
Those of us who count ourselves as belonging to an older age-bracket will have grown up without any familiarity with the word ‘binary’. At some point we may have had exposure to the word in a mathematics/computer setting. Not having to deal with these disciplines on a day-to-day basis, most of us lost familiarity with the word until it reappeared in a quite new context some twenty years ago. The current common use of the word is found in the discussion of gender identity. Should we take the either/or, or binary standpoint that is held by many people claiming that gender is clearly to be identified as male and female? Should we alternatively accept that gender is a far more fluid concept that we were traditionally taught to believe, and that our gender/sex exists along a continuum? The debate is not one I want to have today but clearly, were it to be explored at depth, it would draw on a number of academic disciplines – cultural studies, theology, philosophy and psychology. The debate to be had on this sensitive topic cannot ever, surely, be closed down by simply quoting two or three verses from Scripture.
For me, the interesting part of this debate is not about where any of us stand on the transgender issue. Much more interesting is the fact that many people chose to think in binary terms in the first place. Binary thinking in a philosophical context embodies the idea that everything exists as either true or false. It is the world where if A is true then B must be false. Whether it is to do with the education I have received or for some other reason, I know that this way of thinking as a way of resolving many problems is not the least bit appealing for me. Obviously there are examples of contrasts or opposites where two statements cannot be true at the same time. If Bill is absent from a meeting, he cannot be present at the same time. But there are many other examples in ordinary discussion where we find that, between two extreme opposites, there are intermediate stages or grey areas. Human beings are very good at seeing two sides of a discussion and being unable to occupy one consistent position on either. Absolute consistent thinking about all kinds of topics may be less common than we think.
In literature there is a character created by Anthony Trollope called Mr Arabin. He ends up in one of the Barchester novels as the Dean of Barchester. Set against Mr Arabin at one stage is the notorious character called Mr Slope. Mr Slope, the chaplain of the Bishop of Barchester, is a highly ambitious cleric and uses his strong theological opinions to persuade Mrs Proudie, the Bishop’s wife, of his piety and seriousness in his efforts to become Dean. Mr Arabin finds it difficult to have such strong theological convictions and he refuses to play at church politics. The author means the reader to side with Mr Arabin in his steadfast determination to be free of ambition, rancour and defined opinions. He is the classic non-binary Victorian churchman. Trollope seems to prefer this to the partisan churchmanship wrangles of his day. These were not unlike our own.
In psychological discussion it is noted that some people find ambivalence or uncertainty about people or ideas quite hard to deal with. The following account of how people deal with this is found in an article in the Wall Street Journal from early 2021 by a psychologist, Andrew Hartz. According to his account, this ambivalence is a state of mind creating anxiety and this needs urgently to be resolved. One way of resolving the tension created by such internal anxiety is to react with a psychological defence mechanism called ‘splitting’. This, in the short term, resolves the contradictions of the ambivalence by retreating into a binary or simpler way of thinking. The other person is treated or projected upon as though they are perfect and all flaws are ignored. Alternatively, they are regarded as completely evil with no trace of goodness at all. The origins of this way of thinking seem to go back (according to Melanie Klein) to the world of the infant where the mother is experienced as all good or all bad (good breast and bad breast). The healthy response to the mother moves towards to successfully holding these two extremes as reconciled opposites. That stage, recognising good and evil in the same person, requires a certain level of psychological maturity. Up to that point the safe place is to be in one of the extremes which is easier to understand and make sense of. The process of splitting creates its own set of problems. If everyone exists only as a good friend or an enemy, such things as dialogue with opposing opinions and empathy for others are harder to find. In our imaginations other people are sometimes made into an ‘enemy’, possessing hostile intentions towards us. This projected role may or may not exist in realty. When we come to things like race, sexual identity and politics we find many examples of splitting and projection going on. It is quite hard to occupy a middle place in these discussions. The extent of binary thinking (and feeling) in these worlds of debate and discussion means that some people, including myself, hesitate to enter into any of them.
Binary thinking is, sadly, rife in church circles. I am aware of those who read this blog but differ profoundly with my approach to the Bible. Many Christians live in a binary world where there is a simple choice between ‘believing’ the Bible or lapsing into atheism. Having studied the Bible over a lifetime, I happen to believe that such an approach to scripture does serious damage to the test and also dishonours the intelligence of people who might otherwise be attracted to the Christian church. When such people approach the Church for a new understanding of life and profound insights into its meaning and purpose, they find themselves facing stumbling blocks and what are felt to be insults to their intelligence. Are they really required to read the stories of Genesis as historical accounts or maintain a single doctrine of the atonement when the words of the Bible give us several models? Should we not celebrate the way the Bible introduces us to rich varieties of symbol and meaning rather than a single ‘correct’ way of interpreting it?
Apart from religious debates, the world of binary strongly impacts the world of politics. I used to think that everyone believed in the values of democracy. This was before the world of extreme right-wing ideology started to impact the politics of democratic nations. According to some pollical commentators, some ordinary people have been persuaded that their political hero (Trump, Putin or Orban) is so admired and trusted that they do not want untidy institutions such as an opposition to waste time challenging their vision. The political leader is so venerated that they have acquired an almost divine status, rendering an opposition completely unnecessary and redundant. The same right-wing adulatory thinking about leaders also sweeps through many churches. I still remember an earnest Baptist telling me that a biblical discussion group was a contradiction in terms. How was it possible to ‘discuss’ the Bible when God’s will was so clearly set out for all to read? Needless to say, the local leader had been firmly projected upon. He was ready to take on the mantel and responsibility for revealing God’s inerrant Word and in the process be treated as infallible himself.
Clergy of my generation were not trained to occupy a place in a binary defined theological universe. When we see the temperature of the CofE turn more and more in the conservative binary direction, some of us wonder whether we would now commit so readily to an institution which appears, in many places, keen to exclude the non-binary vision. The LGBT debates are only one example where we are presented as involved in some kind of betrayal rather than simply as people who do not agree with the binary arguments about sexual/gender identity. Binary Christianity in this matter knows only one version of truth. Those who do not agree with this binary vision are deemed by some to be worthy of expulsion from the institution.
The recent Lambeth Conference has not yet expelled the so-called liberal wing of Anglicanism. It has, however, become increasingly clear that, in large swathes of the Communion, tolerant attitudes on sexual identity issues and liberal views on Scripture are becoming less and less acceptable. To repeat what I have said on occasions before, the problem is not what I think about the theology of conservative traditions, but it is the problem of their refusing to accept that my theological vision has a right to exist. I feel now that I am a member of a minority political party which for the time being is allowed to exist. In time it may be destroyed or exiled when the binary version of Christianity in charge has the power to get its own way. Something similar is being attempted in American politics. The party of Trump wishes for dominance in the country just as conservative binary Christians seek to exclude liberal views in the churches. Binary Christianity and politics clearly have an appeal to many people. To return to an earlier part of this blog, it may be simply because ambivalence is a hard reality to live with. Certainty is always more popular than uncertainty and security more appealing than risk. Some of us believe that the adventure of ambivalence and uncertainty is a better option than the straitjacket of authoritarianism. This is what we might describe as the modes of thought belonging to the extreme right-wing which has taken up residence in many Christian churches.