A Dark And Quiet Room

I don’t feel well. I woke up Sunday with a head cold and a sore throat. And now I’m dragging. Sick enough to be drained, but not really sick enough to close up shop. I really wanted to work on A Flower for Mara, but I didn’t have the mental acuity for it.

Instead, I’m listening to the rain.

It was 60 degrees here today. Crazy, huh? Felt like a breath of spring. Tomorrow it will be gone, but for now, I’ll listen to the spring rain in January.

(This is really addressed mostly to the Reformed Christians out there. The rest of you are welcome to come along for the ride. Be sure to check out the Youtube clip!)

Too often, we approach theological debate like BattleBots:

IN THIS CORNER, WITH A COMBINED EVANGELICAL POPULARITY IN EXCESS OF A LOT, ARMED WITH SIMPLE APPEALS TO THAT “OLD FASHIONED GOSPEL”, BELIEVERS’ BAPTISM!

[wild cheering and hooting]

AND IN THIS CORNER, WITH AN AGE OF LEAST 500 YEARS, WEIGHED DOWN WITH SCRIPTURE VERSES AND LOGIC, WITH A STRIPPED-DOWN COMPASSION CHASSIS, INFANT BAPTISM!

[the audience erupts in golf claps]

FIGHT!!!!!!

And then the two systems go at it, ripping chunks off each other, spraying bits of tradition and logic everywhere.

Admit it. You know that this is true. In fact, you’ve done this before. “Ooh, now he’s going to bring up the bit about free will, and then I’ll clobber him with Romans 9! FLAWLESS VICTORY!”

I used to be like this. (Truth be told, I’m probably still like this from time to time.) But, over time, God has shown me how very wrong this attitude is. First, you have lost sight of the fact that you are talking to another human being; indeed, a brother in Christ. Second, you have lost sight of the purpose of theology.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes:

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. (1 Corinthians 8:1-3)

Paul is about to deal with a theological controversy. Indeed, he is about to take sides in the debate. But, before dealing with the theological issue, he addresses the underlying heart issues. Knowledge makes you proud. You start thinking that you know what’s up. You begin to believe that your wisdom and superior intellect have brought you to the place of understanding. Paul disagrees. Knowledge is not the most important thing.

Love is the most important thing.

I’m not that old, but I’ve been around long enough to see people hurt through poor theology. Bad beliefs lead to bad living, and they suffer. So, I want to teach a young woman that when the Bible says that God is our Father, it doesn’t mean that God has a hair-trigger temper that is ready to go off at any minute. You know, kinda like her father. This sort of theology is about love.

This can extend to debates about things like baptism. Yes, I believe the Bible teaches that the children of believers are to be full participants in the sacraments of the Church, including baptism and communion. I also believe that it’s possible that poor belief in these areas leads to poor living, resulting in suffering for my brethren.

But that’s now how these things are usually done. Instead, we haul out the BattleBot called “paedobaptism”, load it up with high-octane Calvinism, strap on the Westminster Confession, and wade in.

So, how are you conducting yourself with your theology? Is good doctrine a way that you minister to your brothers, as you yourself are ministered to? Or are you too busy tinkering with your theological BattleBot to care?

Dirty Secrets gets a mention on the latest Voice of the Revolution. Brennan Taylor of Indie Press Revolution briefly reports on his play experience, starting at 35:41.

Recently, I discovered that Bryan used to commission blog posts from me. He didn’t tell me this, you understand. Rather, he’d just point me at something that he knew would rile me up, figuring that he’d get a blog post out of me. Then he’d link to it.

Now, others are getting in on the act. Joshua emailed me, asking for a blog post. (It’s in the works, Joshua. Honest!) So, I figure, why should everyone else get left out?

Want to commission a blog post from me? Leave a comment on this post, saying what you’d like me to write about. I guarantee nothing; however, maybe I’ll like your idea and write about it.

My copy of American IV showed up! I am now listening to Johnny Cash, singing about love and life and death. It’s amazing how even a sappy love song can be transformed by an aged man singing it. Gives more weight to it somehow. When some young person is singing about love, there’s this feeling like “You don’t know what you’re talking about”. But when a 70-year old man sings about love, you figure that maybe he’s seen enough life for it to count.

Plus, there’s the song “Hung my Head”, which is a cover of a Sting song. I might need to check out Sting now. Someone said that Sting is rock music for thinking people. Maybe I need to find out if he’s right.

Discovery can be fun.