This week during my Bible reading time I went down a few rabbit holes. Some questions arose from the reading I was doing, so I attempted to chase the answers down in some of the resources I've acquired in Logos. Allow me to preface this week's post with this: I won't be sharing the specific rabbit holes I went down, because the point I will attempt to make isn't about the issues themselves. I want more people to read my stuff, but not that way. I don't want to gain more subscribers by offering up my hot takes on theological or political issues. As I have said many times before, I just want us to get better at thinking. I want us to get better at not going with the flow because we're afraid of hard things. In addition, I think I've matured enough over the last few years to know that just because I'm willing to think about something more critically doesn't mean I'm always going to get to the correct conclusion, either, so there would be nothing to gain from choosing a side that I'm not fully convinced of myself.
All of this got me thinking about any number of theological topics and the way we infer things from scripture that are never explicitly stated in scripture. I will also say that while these thoughts were inspired by theological questions, my argument here is not limiteds to the theological. It applies to any number of disciplines. Since I'm not gonna let you in on what exactly inspired this, you can choose your own adventure throughout the duration of this essay. I encourage you to think of some discussion you've had with a friend or something you heard on a podcast or saw on tv. With the opposing viewpoints visualized, think about which side you come down on. I'll speak in biblical terms here, but remember that this applies to most other things, too.
Does the Bible explicitly tell me that one of the two positions I'm studying is right and the other is wrong? No, it does not. (Sure, proponents of each position would argue that yes their position is right and yours is wrong, because human nature.) I certainly can't argue that what I'm leaning towards is essential for salvation or strictly orthodox. Faithful Christians are allowed to disagree on things that aren't essential. But I propose that just because something isn't essential doesn't mean it's not important or that all the views are equal. Nothing happens without consequence. We should understand there is great wisdom in weighing each view not only by asking whether or not the Bible allows it but also by the logical conclusions and fruit that each position produces.
This is of course no groundbreaking insight. It's really just called thinking through what you believe, why you believe it, and how that belief leads you to conduct yourself in the world. Edmund Burke and the early conservatives would probably call it prudence. Take an issue you've been thinking about, grant the premise, and then take the scenario to its logical conclusion. Consider what the alternatives to that position are or might have been. In the example that kicked all this off for me, say I grant the premises of X viewpoint. Fair enough. I can't argue that it's entirely untrue or that anyone holding this viewpoint is a heretic. But what is the fruit of the viewpoint? Viewpoints lead to worldviews and worldviews dictate behaviors. Burke would argue that it is the role of the statesman, not a politician and showman, to lead by showing us these things. In the same way, concerning spiritual matters, this is part of the job of pastors and elders in the church. But what does all of this mean? I know X doctrine is not an essential doctrine and I have liberty on it, but does that cause me to take it at face value without critically thinking about the fruit it has produced? If I buy in, what is required of me to maintain this position and defend it under scrutiny? What kind of mental and interpretive gymnastics do I have to perform to do so? What does all this produce in the real world? Do these conclusions make sense when they are compared with the whole of scripture?
Do the same thing from "the other side." Grant the opposing premise and repeat the process. Take that position to its logical conclusion and consider all the implications. Do you have to perform the same gymnastics routine to make it work? What fruit is produced by this position and how does it compare with the other position? When compared with the whole of scripture, do things make more or less sense now?
All of this started with a few issues I've been thinking about lately. I'm sure you have your own issues to think about. We should perform these types of exercises anytime we make decisions about what we believe, but especially when we are making decisions about things that aren't necessarily essential. In our culture, both church culture and the culture at large, thinking in such a way is the exact opposite of going with the flow. Scripture might not explicitly endorse a position on two opposing issues. There are many questions we simply cannot know the answer to. In most places, God has spoken pretty clearly. But interpreting the scripture often involves inferring certain principles that aren't explicit FROM the principles that ARE explicit and this is how we get a lot of our marching orders as Christians. Sometimes this is good and of course sometimes this is bad. We all have presuppositions that we bring into these types of considerations, most often unknowingly, and we need to be aware of that. All I'm proposing is the idea that just because scripture doesn't slap you in the face with a specific explanation of two issues doesn't mean that all of the logical results of the position you pick are gonna be good. It is possible for an idea, framework, or point of view to be okay or good in the sense that it's not unbiblical but also for that idea, framework, or point of view to be catastrophic in the fruit that it produces in the end. These are things we need to become more aware of as Christians, and we must be guided by the scriptures and history in that endeavor.
Thanks for reading this week's essay, and thanks for the two of you that asked me this week if I had quit writing. No, I'm just still trying to find my voice. But I appreciate the encouragement! Speaking of encouragement, I really want to encourage feedback. Comments are good, but letters to the editor would be even better. I mentioned that one goal of my project here is that we all get better at thinking, and the same goes for me. So, let me know what you think by submitting a letter to the editor. Email me anytime at broxton41@icloud.com. Who knows, with your help, I might be able to start a Letters series.