The Ethics of Christian Criticism (Part 3)

Toward an Ethic of Positive Christian Criticism

Over the last two days we’ve spent a lot of time debunking the popular approach to Christian criticism based on overhyped rhetoric, ad hominem attacks, and unqualified accusations of heresy. We’ve tried to look at the nature of what constitutes valid Christian belief and how the very serious charge of heresy is supposed to be handled within the church. Today I want to turn the corner from that and look at how we can engage with Christian teachers (preachers, authors, producers, etc) in a way that is positive and constructive – even when we come across ideas that seem somewhat off to us (and sometimes are).

If you haven't already done so I'd encourage you to read the first two parts of this series before diving into this conclusion. You can find part 1 here and part 2 here.

Begin with prayer

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Proverbs 9:10) Whenever we are preparing ourselves to receive any type of teaching, be it from a book we’re reading (including the Bible), a sermon we’re listening to, a video we’re watching or even a conversation we’re about to have we are being irresponsible if we don’t first come to God with humble hearts asking that He would enable and empower us to learn and discern. We know that all wisdom comes from God and that if we ask for it, he will grant it to us (James 1:5-8) so that we can better understand truth. In 1 John we are instructed to test the spirits (1 John 4:1-3) so as to know what is of God and what is not – and the only way we can hope to do that is through a vital connection to God through prayer. No serious study of the Bible or theology should ever happen in the life of the believer apart from a pattern and rhythm of prayer.

And once you have prayed, continue to pray. Pray as you read/listen/watch. Pause and pray about something you just learned. Pray when you do for discernment, pray for conviction, pray for a will to act upon what you learn that comes from God – even if (especially if!) if is uncomfortable or unfamiliar. Keep an open dialogue with God as you learn and make room in your heart for the Holy Spirit to do is special work of illumination so that you can understand things that apart from him, you will not comprehend.

Read Primary Sources

If you come across something somewhere on the internet (or in print, or in a sermon or wherever) that says, for example, “John Wesley believed and taught that Christ would return riding on a llama.” And that seems odd to you (either the idea itself, or that John Wesley would have said that) check it out. Look in the footnotes as to where Wesley allegedly said that and read the source for yourself. Was that what he actually said? If he did, was the author quoting him in context? If yes on both accounts, you need to ask is it really that odd? Have other Christian thinkers come to the same conclusion? How did they arrive there? What is the biblical evidence that they are citing? If you are going to set yourself up to be the arbiter of truth and orthodoxy you need to make doubly sure that you are understanding what you are accusing someone of, and whether they actually said what you are claiming they have said.

As far as I am concerned, it is intellectually dishonest slander to criticize someone’s doctrine and belief without taking the time to read it, listen to it, or watch it firsthand. It is akin to writing a book review based on someone else’s book review rather than the book. Your high school English teacher wouldn’t have considered that acceptable, why should it be acceptable in the church?

Ask yourself: What can I learn from this?

You don’t have to agree with something to profit from it spiritually. Sometimes the very thing you find most distasteful about someone’s theology is the very thing you need to wrestle with to come to a better understanding of your theology. Not all divergent ideas are inherently bad. Some of them may only be heterodox – not something you’ll want to incorporate into your theology but something that shines light on an issue or a passage that your orthodox position fails to adequately wrestle with. Many times (I would argue most often) the differences will be in issues of opinion, and God may want you to broaden your horizons to learn why and how other orthodox believers can differ so starkly from you on your interpretations of the same passages. Perhaps you need to learn a deeper appreciation for the points of view of others. We must not be so arrogant as to think we have nothing left to learn, or that our particular theological tradition represents the pinnacle of theological expressions in the whole history of Christendom.

Evaluate: Why does this idea bother me?

Eventually however if you read/listen to/watch anyone carefully enough you will find something they say that will bother you. At this point it’s important to search yourself, and search the Scriptures to find out why something bothers you. Don’t always assume that because an idea makes you uncomfortable that it’s because it’s wrong. Sometimes it makes you uncomfortable because it reveals that you have been wrong. The process of being molded and shaped by God is often a painful process; it doesn’t always come in cheery epiphanies, sometimes it comes with agonizing realizations and embarrassing admissions of sin and neglect. Make room in your study to be bothered. Make room in your learning to be pushed outside of your comfort zone. God wants you to grow, and growth is not always a painless process.

Now sometimes something will bother you because it’s wrong. And at this point (and only at this point) you can start to begin articulating the faults, errors and shortcomings of this teacher’s work.

Take notes

The worst thing you can do when critically engaging someone over their work is to get their point wrong, or misunderstand their argument. Take lots of notes and make sure you can explain their position as well as they can. One of the things I was taught at seminary was to work on presenting their argument so well that they would not object to it – can you get inside their head and understand where they are coming from (even if they are wrong). Make sure you can trace not only their conclusion, but the process they lay out to get to their conclusion. This will help you make a more intelligible and compelling argument against their position later.

Debate the idea not the person

As a Christian you should not be out to condemn anyone – not alone, and especially not someone you do not know. Chances are if you were to meet this person face to face you might actually like them very much – after all as brethren in the Lord you have much in common, not the least of which in this endeavour is a zeal for the truth. Stick to taking on the content of their work rather than the person behind it; not only is this a morally superior approach to the activity, but it will also serve to gain you credibility among the people you hope to teach/advise/warn about this person.

Another approach you should not take for granted is directly contacting the person. You would be surprised how often in Christian circles you can get an actual response from the author in question. Certainly there are people who with their level of celebrity have decided not to take calls or answer emails about their work, but I would encourage you to try anyways. Contact the church they lead or the publisher who they work under and see if you can get a phone number or an email address. You may not get a response, but I’ve tried this on occasion before and been delighted to receive a response! They may be able to clarify things that you have misunderstood, or even confirm your concerns if you have reservations about their teachings. Don’t discount this approach.

When that is all done put together your response. Whether it is something you are going to present orally, or in writing or on the internet and make sure that whatever you produce is once again focused on the ideas and not the person. And then lastly,

Don’t forget to justify your position

It would be grossly unfair to dismiss someone who has done a ton of research and thought and work to produce something that you are now going to critique, and to do so without putting in a commensurate level of effort to engage them. Making statements that someone is wrong, just because, are both unhelpful and unchristian. If you don’t like what they said about a certain doctrine make sure you correct their error by communicating with your audience what a proper understanding is. If you think that they have misread or misinterpreted scripture then point out where they went wrong and demonstrate how and why people should read the Bible as you do. As someone who produces Christian teaching and theology for public consumption on a regular basis I can tell you that it is flat-out insulting when someone insists that you are wrong about what you said but have not engaged in the thought or research to state why that is the case. I welcome debate and challenges that come from people who want to engage with the actual work I have undertaken to come to my understanding, but have little time or respect for people who want to throw stones from a distance because they simply don’t like my conclusions – even though they don’t know why they don’t like them.

So there you go. I welcome your interaction and feedback on my Ethics of Christian Criticism. Take the time to read all three parts and see if you agree, but before you criticize – make sure you’ve done the work to do it right.

Thanks for journeying with me these last few days,

Chris