We need to keep our eyes, hearts and minds on Christ and not on the egg shells some folks have us tip toeing around on.

Shiny Happy Christians – a myth.

I still wonder if there are similarities between say, your offense at Joel Osteen even being considered a minister of the gospel (quite justified in my opinion) and the like of Mr. Hays offense at you (which I think makes the subtitle of his site, “serious trinitarian theology” a joke). i.e. You both got criticised in a public forum. I fear though, that from the TR end there is a lack of wisdom in who get made pariahs. Or how they categorise things.

What I am thinking (and what I think you are saying) is probably well expressed on the back of Douglas Wilson’s book A Serrated edge:

In every controversy, godliness and wisdom (or the lack of them) are to be determined by careful appeal to the Scriptures and not to the fact of someone having taken offense. Perhaps they ought to have taken offense, and perhaps someone ought to have endeavored to give it.

To relate that to what I am saying (sorry it has taken so long) is: you made a small effort at trying to correct people before they mistake Mr. Osteen’s words for the gospel. Offensive to some and rightly so. Mr. Hays (and others?) is trying to either offend you directly or put people off you (and wrongly so). The first is scriptural but the latter is not.

I tend to agree with the post that puts it in light of “temptation”. The weaker brother being one who has recently been converted, or has struggled in an area. (He believed in those idols and has sacrificed to them in the past. He can’t eat the meat from that temple without feeling the guilt from his past sins.) Neither Christ or Paul would want us to trample on that brother’s conscience.

Interestly, Christ did not allow Himself to be bound by the conscience of the Pharisees. He healed on the Sabbath, ate with the publicans and harlots, and allowed His disciples to pick the grain on the Sabbath among other things. These were the religious leaders who strained at gnats and swallowed camels.

I heard a speaker once say that we should be tender toward the new believer, never wanting to stumble him in any way. (As even our Lord warned.) However, if the person falls into the “Pharisee” or “professional weaker brother” category, we should do as Christ did and stick our foot in his path to make sure they trip up. (I didn’t say this quite like the brother said it, but I hope you understand my intent.)

There was a sister in our fellowship years ago who had recently been converted and lived a life that almost destroyed her. When she came over to our house my boys knew not to play their Keith Green tapes. (like I said, this was obviously a long time ago) She would have never spoken ill of us, but some of the music reminded her of her past and the boys didn’t want to cause her any pain. However, there was another lady in the fellowship who loved to “tsk, tsk” and I was tempted to ask my boys to crank it up when she was around.

We definitely need humility and the Lord’s help in these areas, but I believe that we can prayerfully look at Christ’s actions to gain some help and guidance.

If you want to understand this, watch as many episodes of the Andy Griffith show as you can, and take notes of Deputy Barney Fife.

What I wonder at though, is Mr. Hays approaching you like you dealt with Joel Osteen many months ago? Is it more his mentality that you are a public insitution gone awry (and the public nature invites commentary), rather than he is the offended brother?

You are very public (gosh, I’m from New Zealand and random people talk to me about this site), but I hate to see the implication all through Mr. Hays writings that you are not fit for portraying the gospel and instead preach something else instead. If anything, that makes me want to swear.

Theres is something screwy in parts of the reformed world, the words iMonk, emergent, etc get conflated into an offese against God, an apostasy. How do you shed that? Oh God, help us all.