Discussing Hot Topics for the Church
by WCBWe are discussing hot topics for the church in one of the Sunday morning classes. Homosexuals in the church, Christian views on sex, masturbation, cohabitation, pre-, extra-, cyber-sex, war, preemptive strikes, pacifism, so far. Yeah, and it gets a bit heated, too. But, not always because of the topic at hand.
I generally begin my class with a list of “Things I think I think.” I didn’t do it last week, but should have. That point is beyond the scope of this post.
Here again are the things I think I think for newcomers to the class and for those who might like to discuss them without taking up class time.
1. There are answers to any and all problems. I believe Jesus is the answer, not mostly the answer. I believe the Bible has answers, not most of them.
2. No proof texting is allowed. I don’t allow participants to pull out obscure and sometimes not so obscure verses to try and support their view unless -
a. They can tell me who the verse was written to
b. They can tell me the intent/meaning of the original language of that verse
c. The verse they quote can be understood by itself. That is - what did the first readers of that verse understand the verse to mean when it was being written to them?
d. The teaching of the verse they quote can be confirmed elsewhere in the Bible. This point is not contradictory to the previous one. It is my opinion that if the Bible says something only once it is most likely intended for that audience only. Braided hair, covered heads and such come to mind. Whereas, the truths of the Bible, love your enemy, the plan of salvation and so on can be found throughout Scripture.
e. They can tell me the historical context of the verse
This does not mean we cannot discuss Bible verses in the class, as some have contended, it means if we are going to use the Bible, then we need to know our Bibles. A non-Christian does not care what the Bible says unless they can see the relevance of it to their lives.
3. Grey areas lead to confusion and allow for mistakes, excuses for our shortcomings. “Sorry, God. I didn’t know what you wanted me to do in this case.” I don’t buy this. Yeah. I see things in black and white. Grey is just a different shade of black. White is the absence of compromise.
4. There are degrees of right and wrong - stealing $1000 is worse than stealing $100. But stealing is clearly wrong. It’s black and white.
5. We should avoid moral relativism - what’s right for you is not for me.
6. There are generally different responses to issues depending on our faith and love. What would our response be if we had a perfect faith/trust in God? What if we had a perfect love in the face of whatever situation? The answer to that question is the right answer.
7. What is right should be obviously clear, even we don’t like it? When we must rationalize and justify our actions one way or another, warning lights go off. That is, if we are trying to explain ourselves or our stance with many words, then something is likely amiss.
These are things I think I think…and they help me when I go into the Bible looking for answers….and more often than not, I find the answer.
What do you think you think?
Tags: , church, hot topics