Open Your Mind.
I know it’s been a while since my last post. But I promised myself that I wouldn’t put up anything that I didn’t feel came from the right place. There is most certainly more to come. I’ve been working on a larger entry and will post it as soon as I’m sure it’s on point. For now, though, please take some time to read this. For the past week or so, a lot of my thought life has directed towards this topic. Feel free to comment with your own thoughts.
There is a lot of controversy, especially in the Christian world, over whether or not we should regard the Scriptures (the Bible) as totally inerrant. I have my own angle on the issue. I would begin with the premise that, even if the Scriptures were inerrant, we, as humans, would have to be perfect in order to be able to read and interpret them without any error. I am not suggesting that there is no correct interpretation of Scripture, or that there is no personal and/or divine revelation, but simply that no single person is going to get it all right (and probably no single group or denomination). As long as there are people involved, there will be a certain measure of error. Christians in America need to start opening their minds to what others think about the Scriptures and what truths they suggest. It’s repulsive to me that people are kicked out of their churches because of differing Scriptural beliefs and interpretations. There is a difference between heresy and simple doctrinal and belief differences.
James 3:17 says “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (ESV). If the “wisdom from above”, is quote “open to reason”, maybe we (by we I mean Christians) should be as well. Stop being afraid of having your beliefs defeated. That goes for everyone, atheists, agnostics, deists, and Christians alike. If you truly believed what you say you believe, and if you actually desire the truth, then you wouldn’t be afraid to have those beliefs challenged. Learn to have some humility and you might actually find some real truth. The search for and the discovery of real truth is what gives me passion to live. After all, “The truth will set you free” - John 8:32.
Side-note: By the way, I do believe that the Scriptures are inerrant, divine, and inspired by God. I think they testify that for themselves. I am only pointing out that wherever there is human influence (for instance, in interpretation), there will unavoidably be error as well. I have been frustrated to see so much closed-mindedness in the Christian church in America. Just because you believe in something doesn’t mean you are closed-minded. And, on the other hand, some of the most closed-minded people are the ones telling everyone else to keep an open mind. Hypocrisy runs rampant all over America. However many are blind to it. The church should be one place where people can go to escape from this hypocrisy. Frustratingly, by my own experience, this has not been the case as of late. The church in America is slowly destroying itself from the inside out.
