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In the Middle of the Ride

Posted by Chris Case | October 10, 2007 .

I’m a critical person. It drives some of my friends crazy. I can’t help it. I feel like everything must have some kind of fault or ulterior motive. I may be secretly from Missouri, because I do not ascribe to concepts or ideas until I can weigh the value and truth of them and make my decisions about them. Some people call it discernment, but I think I take it a little far. That is what leads me to this blog. There’s so much of what I like about the Reformed circles of thought and so much of what I like about the Emergent movement, but I am critical of parts of both.

I sat last night at a small group I help coordinate that is a simple theological discussion at local bars here in Atlanta. It is an open forum for discussion from outrageous heresy to the trinity. Even last night we got into a discussion of God’s sovereignty, and myself and one other were the defenders of our position as Reformed individuals. But it was in that discussion that I could clearly see how arrogant and smug that the Reformed camp can be and come across. I humbly admit this, but I long to seek to hold onto my orthodoxy with open hands. At the same time, I do seek sound doctrine and think we are instructed to do so (Titus 1.9).

That being said, I find myself often in a precarious position. Recently, Tim Keller nailed my plight on the head.

One of the worst things that has happened over the years is typified by the book Reforming Fundamentalism, a history of Fuller Seminary. At a certain point in Fuller’s history, they dropped their commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture. Here’s how it actually happened. It happened in the mid-1960s, not because there were two parties, one for and one against inerrancy. There was a group that believed in inerrancy, and there was a group that believed the Bible has errors in it. But then there was a group in the middle that actually believed in inerrancy but hated the attitudes of those who championed it. As a result they were just indifferent. As a result, the group that didn’t believe in inerrancy won.

I believe that is happening now. There are all kinds of people looking at the controversies, and saying, “I actually believe in the doctrine of those guys, but I absolutely their demeanor and tone of voice.” Therefore they’re just sitting out, and as a result the truth loses because of a lack of love.

Darryl Dash has notes from this sermon here. I agree that I may be at this same impasse.

That’s why this site exists

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5 Comments so far
  1. Dan Ra October 11, 2007 11:47 am

    You’re in Atlanta?? I’m in Atlanta. Theological discussions in bars? I do that! We should get together.

  2. Leslie October 11, 2007 12:05 pm

    First, I like the reference to being from Missouri. Clever.

    Second, I am looking forward to reading your blog, reading and thinking.

  3. JonRob October 12, 2007 8:01 pm

    I love the idea of this.. I’m a reformer with a love for the emerging church interested in the ideas and concepts this will produce.

  4. johnMark October 12, 2007 11:53 pm

    Besides both being in Atlanta (May-retta) we seem to share a critical as well as theology. It seems hard enough to find reformed and reformed-minded folks around here, especially, one with a blog.

    Mark

  5. Subversive Influence » Blog Archive » Random Acts of Linkage #30 October 13, 2007 6:36 am

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