“Who am I to judge…?” Part IV: So Many Questions, So Little Time.
September 15, 2009 | Posted by Steve If you have been following along at home, I said way back in Part II of this series that the, “Who am I to judge…?” question dropped a barge-load of heavy duty questions at my spiritual dock.
That one question forced me to step back and rethink my attitude toward the “Amazing Oz” of post-modern Christian thought (aka: Brian D. McLaren). I had to step back and reconsider all of McLaren’s choices in a fresh context. Instead of presupposing the outcome, I wanted to reconsider my own life and the alleged narrowness of my perspective with fresh eyes.
(Yeah, I know. Sounds a tad disingenuous coming from the guy who wrote everything else in this series.)
So what are some of the hard questions that littered my intellectual landscape after considering that, “Who am I to judge…” question? Take a gander. See if you can answer them for yourself without blowing a mental circuit breaker along the way.
- Where exactly is the line between the notion of ”judgment” and “discernment?” The Bible calls us to be discerning so we can detect false teachers. At the same time we are also warned to not be judgmental of other believers. So where is the boundary? How do we know when we are crossing the line between being judiciously discerning about bad theology into being condescendingly judgmental about the individuals coming up with bad theology?
- How do we equip ourselves for true “discernment” without getting spiritually arrogant in the process? Are there some books or authors on the subject that are better guides than others? Are there some passages of the scripture that have greater value for equipping a person for Godly discernment than other passages that could be taken in the wrong context? Not everyone out there who claims to be a Christian, or everyone who appears loving and peaceful, is truly acting in God’s will. We all know that even the most well intentioned people can turn into raving wackos if nobody holds them accountable. So how can we learn how to be Biblically discerning and avoid following someone down a “broad” path without turning into a condescending jerk in the process?
- What about the notion of Christian “accountability?” If we detect a brother or sister is not living within a holistic Biblical framework (ie: accepting and living as if every passage in the Bible as God-breathed even when our culture may say that same passage is irrelevant or antiquated), when are we supposed to, or allowed to, raise concern? Does accountability one to another in Christ reach just within just our own church, or to leaders in the global church, like McLaren?
- This next one is a little tough to explain, so hang in there with me for a second. Person “A” thinks they are doing something ground-breaking and wonderful and says “The Holy Spirit” inspired them. Person “B,” also claiming inspiration from “The Holy Spirit,” thinks person “A” has gone completely nutsy koo-koo. So how do we know who is right? When do we err on the side of the “progressive” (Person “A”, for example) and when do we err on the side of “cautious” (Person “B”) when it comes to theology? What are the implications of each choice?
- What is “love,” anyway? One person thinks they are being “loving” by accepting people of other religions (Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, etc.) as “Christ Followers” without needing to accept Jesus as “the” Son of God. Another thinks that “love” is defined by giving a needy person a helping hand. Yet another thinks that “love” is defined by telling people when their breath stinks. Or is “love” just a nice, warm puppy or kitty cat? Is it something concrete or something intangible? Who gets to define it? How do we know it? Does it hibernate for the winter or go skiing at Aspen?
- I know Jesus clearly ate with and spoke with people of other faiths. My friend, for example, used the story of Jesus encountering the Samaritan woman as a case in point. Is there any evidence, though, that Jesus observed the religious rituals of other faiths? Or, when Jesus met with people of other faiths did he expect something out of them after giving something of Himself?
- Would Jesus observe Ramadan? Ramadan is celebrated by a religion that denies the deity of Jesus. Would Jesus celebrate a ritual in a way that lends tacit approval to a religion which denies His own deity? Or, let’s ask this on a more practical level. Is there any evidence that Jesus observed Samaritan or other non-Jewish rituals (pagan, perhaps) in order to become closer to those people? Or did he encounter them as a Jew and speak to them as the Messiah?
- What is the real nature of “love” when dealing with other faiths, especially those which don’t acknowledge the divinity of Jesus? How do we show “love” to people of other faiths while also communicating the message of salvation in Jesus at the same time?
- How are we supposed to reconcile Matthew 5:9 with 5:10,11? If we pursue the truth of the complete Gospel – that we must urge people to repent of sin and accept salvation in Jesus even as we then seek to serve others in the name of Christ – will we always be perceived as peacemakers? Or will we be reviled by those for whom a notion of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sin is beyond comprehension? What is the evidence that we are doing God’s will either way?
- What measuring stick should we use to identify true or false teachers? How can we ever know for sure that a teacher is true or false? One person quotes one verse of scripture one way, another quotes a different one to backup his or her angle. How can we ever know what is true and what is a lie? Is one man’s “truth” just as valid as another mans “truth” or is there some more pervasive standard to which we as Christians are called? (Hint: I already know the answer to this one. I’m just playing with your mind.)
At the end of the day it is questions like these that explain why I don’t know exactly what to do with McLaren. I know he means well in his quest to build a new theology based on love and inclusiveness. When I read his stuff, though, McLaren just doesn’t wrestle very diligently with hard issues like the ones I face. It’s enough to make a guy wonder whether McLaren’s larger agenda and personal mission is really all its cracked up to be.
NEXT – “Who am I to judge…?” – Conclusion
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