John Frame on Theological Controversialists
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 6:00AM Writing like this is why I appreciate John Frame so much.
The reputation of a person is a delicate thing, not easily restored after it is compromised...
Christians have often attacked one another with a total neglect of biblical standards of evidence. One might think that theologians, at least, would be careful to judge disputes fairly, gently, and cautiously, but in any judgment they are the worst offenders. In theological controversy, writers often delight in distorting the words of one another, reading them in the worst possible (or worse than possible) sense. Many writers invoke the rhetoric of anathema and condemnation, without any adequate argument, and without any meaningful attempt to seek peace...
Many theological controversialists today set themselves up as Internet gurus, declaring brothers and sisters to be excommunicate on their say-so alone...It never occurs to them that they have a responsibility to protect the reputations of fellow Christians, even those with whom they disagree....
It is time for Christians to recognize that this behavior is sin. It is gossip, often slander, and Christians should not support it. The church needs to wake up to the problem. Theology, especially on the Internet, needs to become accountable to the body of Christ. We need to demonstrate to the world that we adhere to God's standards of evidence, and that we deal with sin in a way that is principled, but also gentle and winsome. (The Doctrine of the Christian Life, pp.842-843)
Amen.
Reader Comments (4)
Good quote. Our Associate Pastor wrote an excellent devotional on a similar theme, so I shamelessly promote it here. It is very good.http://thistletownbaptist.org/2009/07/22/paul-said-thered-be-days-like-this/
Wow - I just found this over at Justin Taylor's blog, quoting Carson:Nevertheless there is something wrong-headed about making polemical theology the focus of one’s theological identity. This can be done in many ways. There are well-known scholars whose every publication has an undertone of “everyone-has-got-this-wrong-before-me-but-here-is-the-true-synthesis.” Some become far better known for what they are against than for the overflow of their worship or for their generosity to the needy or even for their affirmation of historically confessed truth. Still other Christians develop websites and ministries whose sole aim is to confute error. God knows there is plenty of error to confute. To make the refutation of error into a specialized “ministry,” however, is likely to diminish the joyful affirmation of truth and make every affirmation of truth sound angry, supercilious, self-righteous—in a word, polemical. In short, while polemical theology is just about unavoidable in theory and should not, as a matter of faithfulness, be skirted, one worries about those who make it their specialism.You and D.A. Carson, Darryl are referring to the same thing - no one could ever call you "wrong headed" !!
I had professor Frame and he really lived this out. A fine lad indeed.
Ken:Thanks - but I can and will surely be called "wrong headed!" from time to time. ;)