Do some persons of Christian faith make wrong statements about nature, science focus, and practical education? They surely do. They may even make extraordinary statements about faith that embarrass persons of more careful (biblically interpreted) faith. The only comfort one may find in this is that some persons of non-faith make similar statements about their own beliefs, perhaps adding in misunderstandings about faith-based contexts. Errors and prejudices appear to belong to all persons, with greater or lesser emphases on this or that factor in the mix. We ought to use proper means to lessen the distortions, but as a child follows dangerous conduct on occasion, rightly addressed by parents, who achieve uneven results in their efforts – so will societies gain uneven results in community building. Resistance is a factor related to our lives. Right or wrong, every person lives in some tension with other factors or persons, known or unknown, who see and interpret matters, motives, beliefs and actions differently. The differences, if held in appropriate respect for every human being and in a spirit of a search for truth, are often a part of learning and adjusting processes. The context of social life ought to be factored with this inevitable pattern of interpersonal management that is often perceived as negative. Believing in freedom of speech, believed to be normal and right for every person, one is appalled at the treatment of persons who have said this or that statement they felt to be true, right or wrong in fact, and have died for what they said. The Apostle Paul was repeatedly and intensely mistreated for what he said. Jesus went to the Cross for the words that he said. If the Apostles and Jesus had believed as they did, and kept silent, they would have lived out their lives in the fashion of their time period. Jesus had his own reasons for accepting such treatment, reasons quite different than those of the power brokers who condemned him. It seems bizarre beyond words that the most respected person who ever lived, Jesus Christ, was condemned to death because of his words. John the Baptist was afforded similar treatment for the same reason. He offended a lady with the words of his accusations. History records many such events, carried through in grisly fashions.
Sometimes persons of faith make statements trying to clarify the meaning of the faith they hold and the pattern of its expression, only to end up complicating the issues further. They may twist the faith they mean to honor and clarify. Many witnesses are uninformed about rules of logic and evidence with appropriate conclusions. They may have superstition, hearsay, guesswork, private invention in their affirmations and rebuttals. They may believe they are saying what God would have them say. They are human beings trying through flawed human ways to say or do something they feel relates to God and their experiences that may be comforting to them and persuasive to others. They may gain just the opposite of their wishes. I feel both sorry and embarrassed for them. I often pass over reports of some things they do, especially for those who practice oddities like snake-handling. The melodramatic acts are in direct violation of the principles of humility that should characterize those who are God’s children. They don’t know how to interpret language as parable. Their conduct is not argument against a faith, but the ignorance of the race in advancing cherished beliefs. Unhappily for us there are those who interpret individuality as expressive of biblical faith. For consistent onlookers to find fault, that fault must be launched against just about everything. We keep medicine, education, business, even when there are evil practitioners of the contexts they presume to represent. We can be sure that God sees and registers some of the nonsense, errors, distortions advanced in his name. He has a sifting process (biblical) for all this so that truth will win over error. When human beings permit distortions to weigh too heavily against truth patterns, the redemptive context is diluted and we are the losers of some meaningful words from God.
We can manage well enough by following the model of Jesus. Offer the gospel straightforwardly without great melodrama. Pray for effective review/acceptance by listeners. If rejected, move on to others. The most dramatic thing to do is to follow some cultural gesture like shaking off the dust of sandals. Our purpose is to live and witness Jesus Christ in love and peace for personal witness, order and rest. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020