Comments on: Sometimes Being Right is Wrong

By: Zoe

Zoe — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:30:43 +0000

Who knows, maybe John (Reformedispy) MacArthur is right and the greatest Greek scholars (Google “Famous Rapture Watchers”), who uniformly said that Rev. 3:10 means PRESERVATION THROUGH, were wrong. But John has a conflict. On the one hand, since he knows that all Christian theology and organized churches before 1830 believed the church would be on earth during the tribulation, he would like to be seen as one who stands with the great Reformers. On the other hand, if you have a warehouse of unsold pretrib rapture material, and if you want to have “security” for your retirement years and hope that the big California quake won’t louse up your plans, you have a decided conflict of interest – right, John? Maybe the Lord will have to help strip off the layers of his seared conscience which have grown for years in order to please his parents and his supporters – who knows? One thing is for sure: pretrib is truly a house of cards and is so fragile that if a person removes just one card from the TOP of the pile, the whole thing can collapse. Which is why pretrib teachers don’t dare to even suggest they could be wrong on even one little subpoint! Don’t you feel sorry for the straitjacket they are in? While you’re mulling all this over, Google “Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty” for a rare behind-the-scenes look at the same 179-year-old fantasy.

By: Linkie Goodness #4 « Should Know Better By Now

Linkie Goodness #4 « Should Know Better By Now — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:57:05 +0000

[...] Sometimes being right is wrong [...]

By: George

George — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:43:30 +0000

Col 4:6 GW
(6) – Everything you say should be kind and well thought out so that you know how to answer everyone.

I believe in making a stand when I am right…withing the context of the verse above. If we communicate a truth and it is not about our self importance we can be right, communicate assertively and be effective all at once.
Mat 15:7 GW
(7) – You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
Jesus in this case was not “very nice”, but because he was about His Father’s business and not his own He communicated His Christian perspective effectively. The error in Christian circles comes when we want to be doctrinally right to promote “our” business.

By: AnneG

AnneG — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:23:09 +0000

Sorry, but, according to the Augustinian scholars, St Augustine never wrote that. It was written by Rupertinius Meldenius and quoted in the 19th century by some German scholars. But, Augustine did say:

“There is nothing more serious than the sacrilege of schism because there is no just cause for severing the unity of the Church.” -St. Augustine
BTW my Church is not invisible. It is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
AnneG in NC

By: Matthew Johnston

Matthew Johnston — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:22:21 +0000

I would agree with your last sentence in particularâ€¦â€¦â€¦

By: Matthew Johnston

Matthew Johnston — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:52:00 +0000

I would agree with your last sentence in particular………

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:41:36 +0000

I think the observations throughout the thread spell out clearly:

-We have to be firm but kind in our discussion.

-Those who are concerned about doctrinal purity in an age of compromise do not particularly like to be characterized as “just interested in being right,” as opposed to more ecumenical folk who “actually love and care about people and the mission of the church.” The farmer doesn’t simply focus on getting a good harvest without caring whether or not his seed is good, and all that. Let’s not keep pitting doctrine and mission against each other.

-It’s not as simple as saying “As long as we agree on the essentials…” when Christians can’t agree on what the “essentials” are. Many hold that it’s unhelpful to even attempt to divide doctrine into “essentials” and “non-essentials,” as though the teaching of the Church was all about the bare minimum you have to get right in order to be in the club. Because It’s not about gauging how much you’re getting right, anyway. Christian doctrine isn’t like a tiny, pure core around which layers of denominational distinctives are added by various churches. A church’s doctrine is woven out of whole cloth, and all parts touch on each other and on the Gospel. That’s why things are messy.

By: GNW_Paul

GNW_Paul — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:40:32 +0000

I am currently “doing” at my Parish, but generally I occupy the pew. But I don’t see that as a problem at all since I have other areas of my life where I try to live the Gospel fully. And I totally respect others, and assume that whether I am aware of it or not, they also find ways and places to serve and evangelize outside of the immediate Parish structure.

By: Headless Unicorn Guy

Headless Unicorn Guy — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:09:32 +0000

I think it’s another Mythic Decline Narrative. Everything Was Better In My Day (and My Father’s Day), etc.

And to may Evangelicals, the “NT and Early Church” exists in a Mythic History with no connection to the present, at the very beginning of the Decline Narrative, so It Has To Be Perfect.

And then, as with any Correctness of Doctrine, it can turn into another game of one-upmanship. “ME SHEEP, YOU GOAT!”

By: Eclectic Christian - Michael Bell

Eclectic Christian - Michael Bell — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:56:54 +0000

I am with you on this one Savannah, though I would add the Nicean creed to that list. Check out this post on using the creeds in my own blog on how a Baptist defines heresy.