Lately, the bloggesphere has been ripe with poison as shots have been fired across the bows of theological orthodoxy. We are filled with hatred for those who challenge our theological positions because the idea that we could be wrong on one issue creates in our minds a giant line of dominoes waiting to fall. So we draw our lines in the sand; we dig our trenches, we arm ourselves with any and every weapon hoping to ward off any attack that threatens that first domino. We care not for collateral damage. And in so doing we have made ourselves to be legalistic jerks shooting first at any and all who dare challenge our established doctrinal values, including those who believe, right or wrong, that they are on our side.
We are quick to pull the trigger on the words "heretic" and "false teacher" regarding periphery issues before asking any further questions. Are we so certain of your own theology that we will never concede we could be wrong? Protect that domino. (To be sure there are heretics and false teachers in our culture today, but I'd wager that most pastors and theologians with whom we agree or disagree are nothing more than fallible human beings who love God and love His people.)
I believe that the Bible is the perfect inerrant Word of God, but not for a second do I think that it contains all mysteries of the universe. There are many who hold to theistic evolution and inerrancy (e.g. Tim Keller). Who would have thought, right? Let's assume for a second that science proved beyond a shadow of doubt that evolution is a fact (science can't prove that, but for the sake of argument...); is your faith strong enough that the rest of those dominoes remain unaffected? Is your faith strong enough to admit, "I don't have to have all the answers"? What if I could craft the perfect argument against Arminian theology? Would you still be a Christ follower? You laugh, but that's the reality that many millennials are facing. We craft a faith that requires absolute tribal allegiance to a set of doctrines and we seek out to silence any opposition. Then our padawans actually read the Bible and realize that it's not so black and white. They begin to question one little issue and soon the dominoes fall. People aren't walking away from their faith because of the first 2 chapters of Genesis. They aren't finding inconsistencies in the Bible, but rather inconsistencies in the hermeneutical principles they've been taught. It sows doubt, because we've taught them what to believe, at all costs, but not how to study.
It's amazing to me what we are willing to overlook in order to keep our sacred doctrines in tact. Reformed folk overlook passages dealing with freewill and the expectation that people can turn to God, while Arminians overlook those passages seeming to indicate that man can't turn to God on his own accord, in order to maintain man's freewill to choose God. Either way we have to explain passages that seem to contradict our doctrine. And we get so angry at people that differ in theology for us because in our minds we feel ourselves to be God's last line of defense. But God doesn't need us to protect Him or His Word. And to think that He does reveals a weak and insignificant god unworthy of worship.
It is easier to to call someone a heretic than to accept that there is great divergence of thought within Christendom. For us, it's safer that way. However, even Paul and Peter argued over sound doctrine. Paul and Barnabas had their disagreements. To assume that the true Church has always been unified around a set of doctrines is to deny church history.
The true Church has been unified around 1 thing, and maybe 1 thing only: the Person of Jesus Christ. The true Church has recognized Jesus to be exactly who He is as revealed through scripture. And believe me, there is enough in the person of Jesus to divide the whole world and wage a thousand wars. So let's not draw lines in the sand over words (2 Timothy 2:14).
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