I think we can all agree that diversity is a thing to be celebrated and desired. I have heard many a sermon about it and read numerous blogs over it. I have talked to friends who have traveled the world and experienced the beauty of it firsthand. Of course, we love diversity. At least, we love certain kinds of diversity. We love talking about and celebrating racial diversity and cultural diversity in the church. I love it too. Christianity is a global brotherhood, and I think often we like to think that Jesus was a white dude with a well trimmed beard and a tame message of love and happiness.
All that aside, that's not what I wanted to address. The diversity I want to talk about is theological diversity. It's what drives Christians nuts about each other. We fight and bicker about all sorts of little things, and turn them into unnecessarily large issues. Many people hold strongly onto a set of extra-gospel beliefs, grasping them as tightly as they can, and are instantly offended when challenged on them. It's all one giant argumentative mess.
God is infinitely vast. I think we all know this in our heads, but fail to apply it thoroughly. If God is infinite, then can we reasonably say that one group of people has all the answers? Denominational differences are a beautiful thing. Theological debate (debate, not argument) is a beautiful beneficial thing, a thing that should be embraced rather than avoided.
Iron sharpens iron. We all get that, but do we GET it? Iron sharpens iron, churches sharpen churches, but instead of living that out and learning from others with theological differences, we bunker ourselves within our own sets of values and theologies and declare war (or a cold shoulder) against those who differ.
In Acts 15 we see an example of debate done well. In the first part of Acts 15 we see that some men are telling the believers in Jerusalem that they must be circumcised according to the custom of Moses to be saved. So Paul and Barnabas headed up to Jerusalem and explained to the elders and apostles that God was indeed saving uncircumcised Gentiles. The apostles then calmly considered all arguments, and weighed them against God's word, and that's just how anyone should treat theological debate.
In Acts 15 we see an example of debate done well. In the first part of Acts 15 we see that some men are telling the believers in Jerusalem that they must be circumcised according to the custom of Moses to be saved. So Paul and Barnabas headed up to Jerusalem and explained to the elders and apostles that God was indeed saving uncircumcised Gentiles. The apostles then calmly considered all arguments, and weighed them against God's word, and that's just how anyone should treat theological debate.
Get your hands dirty. Argue with your friends. Make some friends outside of your church, outside of your denomination. Discuss your beliefs, research them, read a few books, and for goodness sake, read your Bible. Think through your theology. Is it informed by the Bible, or is it a result of upbringing, culture, or personal experience? I'm not saying those things are bad or always wrong, but theology that is not also informed by the Bible is bad theology. Flesh out your beliefs and go for it! Debate is a wonderful way to learn and to reveal holes in your own theology.
When you hold onto an extra-gospel theology so tightly, that to discover you were wrong would destroy your faith, you've got a problem. Doubt, uncertainty, and a shifting in your theological beliefs isn't a sign of sin or theological weakness, it's a sign of further sanctification. It's theological stagnation that is dangerous.
When you hold onto an extra-gospel theology so tightly, that to discover you were wrong would destroy your faith, you've got a problem. Doubt, uncertainty, and a shifting in your theological beliefs isn't a sign of sin or theological weakness, it's a sign of further sanctification. It's theological stagnation that is dangerous.
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