Okay, here's an ethical/moral question to ponder: how important is doctrine, really?
I mean, I 100% believe that theology is the framework for everything that you do. Ideas have consequences and what you believe about God has big consequences. There is only one correct answer to any doctrinal/theological question, and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to deduct that correct answer.
But as we all know, people come up with different answers to these questions all the time. And unless they are doubting that Christ is the Son of God and that it is only through Him that you can be saved, or perhaps the inerency of the Bible or other equally fundumental principles of the Christian religion, it would be absurd to say that such a person wasn't trully a born again child of God because they interpreted the scriptures differently. So in that since, it almost doesn't matter what you believe about things like the Sabbath or Dispensationalism or whatever the issue is.
However, as our pastor was saying on Sunday, the goal of being a Christian is not just to get to heaven. Our Goal is to become as Christ-like as possible, to conform ourselves to the likeness of our Savior. So you could stand to reason that any incorrect doctrine has some sin mixed in with it, or at the very least will cause us to sin because of the way we live in reaction to that doctrine. Which would make us not conforming to the image of Christ, and thus crippling ourselves in the very purpose which we are here to accomplish.
Taking all of that into consideration, how accepting should we be of Christians with other doctrines? I mean, obviously we should love them and treat them as our equals and not burn down their buildings or anything, but what amount of "incorect" doctrine can we put up with in the organizations that we support with our money and time, or the people that we fellowship with as Christians, or the books that we read?
I guess this is something of a pet peeve of mine, when people allow doctrinal differences to get in the way of unity between the churches and ESPECIALLY ministry work. I hate the mentality that I have to constantly be picking my way through a mine field of people, books, and oporoutnities to find the ones that are Conservative Reformed Baptist Evengelical, and only then can I get involved. Because it seems like there are a lot of great things out there in a wide variety of backgrounds and we could all learn a lot from each other if we could just get past our differences. I mean, that sounds so touchy-feely, but really, we Calvinists could learn a lot from the way Armininists evangalize so energetically, even if we don't want to teach the same doctrine. And we could learn from the carismatics about worship. There's even a lot to learn from the Mormans- I'm just saying, when we box ourselves in to our own little way of thinking, we become prey to all the potential pit falls of that way of thinking. And they ALL have pitfalls.
So I don't know, maybe this is just my feeling side wanting us to all just get along like hippies.
But I would love to know, what issues would make you say, no, I'm not going to read a book by a person who believes that, or no, I'm not going to fellowship with a church that believes that, and what would you be willing to overlook?
Hm... interesting point, Emily.
ReplyDeleteI try to look past doctrinal differences myself and be open minded to those kinds of things.
I don't think Jesus would want the churches to be completely divided, unwilling to listen and learn from each other.
It'd be great if it was the other way around.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of close minded people out there who think that "their way" is the "right" way and the only way.
(You know what I noticed today about our posting habits... you always seem to be coming up with questions and I'm always about coming up with answers to my own questions. I thought that was kind of interesting... makes me want to ask more questions that other people can answer for themselves instead of coming off as kind of a know-it-all. So, sorry about that. more of a note to self than anything. :P)
Anyway getting back to the subject, the only time i won't consider whether someone's beliefs or ways of life are worth adapting is when its obvious that they defy the teachings of Jesus and the Bible.
but really, you can't get too far away from that and still be part of a Christian church.
I think it would be an awesome idea for churches to set times aside to sit down and openly talk about their differences, if only to gain a mutual understanding and sense of goodwill between them.
It would be kind of like Bible study, but for multiple churches.
That shouldn't be too hard to arrange.. I'm sure there are people who would be happy to do it.
That's true; I guess we all just end up answering each others questions anyway :P
ReplyDeleteEven though it sounds like it'd be a really cool idea; I'm not sure everybody would go for it (like you said).
There would be the people who absolutely refuse to believe in anything besides what they grew up with, and there would be the people who have such a busy schedule they just wouldn't be able to make another commitment like that.
Though you know (I just thought of this)... what if just a few people from different churches got together, and then came back and talked about what they learned to their own churches?
Hm..
Again, it sounds really good on paper. I'm not sure how many people would be willing to do that but its definitely worth a try in my opinion. :)
Okay, this is something that I keep thinking about. In a lot of ways i think that doctrinal issues shouldn't be as major as we make them out to be. Like if someone doesn't agree with some small part of a church's doctrine, they shouldn't just pack up and move, you know? I mean, often its more than that that makes a person leave. But still.
ReplyDeleteThe tangent on this is how to decide on which church to go to. I mean, the bible says that we should be involved in a church, but it doesn't say which one, or what denomination, etc. So do we just have to look around until we find the church thats CLOSEST to what we believe? or do you just settle down and accept everything that church tells you? And is every church just a representation of the elders' beliefs?
This is WAY to confusing, really.
Yeah, that seems like a good way to do it. But Paul talks about how the believers need meat, not just milk like newborns. I've always thought of the doctrinal stuff as more meaty issues, and that paul says mature believers need to learn and think about.
ReplyDeleteExcelent point, sis. :-)
ReplyDeleteyeah, this is a really really hard one, and has been coming up in my life a LOT in my life, lately.
ReplyDeleteWhat Paul said is a REALLY good reason why we ought to study theology and doctrine. (what passage is that from?)
I think that often the best you can do is find a church closest to what you believe, but I think that it's possible to find a church you agree with, or at least agree with nearly everything. At least everything important.
In answer to your question, Emily, what I am willing to read in books, versus church I'm willing to attend is pretty big . . . not surprisingly. Since a church is where we learn from and grow in Christ, and while books affect us it's not really the same thing.
RANDOM TANGENT: It is much easier for me to love complete pagans than it is for me to love the Christians in my life who have minor inconsistancies in their walk with God or who just plain annoy me with their habits or manarisms or whatever. Am I the only one?
ReplyDeleteWell that's good to know.
ReplyDelete