Skip to main content

Packaging Beliefs

Something I've noticed is that people will often assume what you believe about many things based solely upon what you believe about one thing. This is true about politics, entertainment, religion, and pretty much everything else. For example, I really enjoy Star Trek and therefore I've had family members and friends just assume I like other shows just because I like this one franchise.

That's an example where it really doesn't matter, but this sort of thing happens a lot. If you indicate you agree with Democrats or Republicans on one, singular issue many people automatically jump the conclusion that you must buy into their whole platform. Instead of being willing to examine each and every issue separately we instead package our beliefs into bundles. We assume that if you agree with A then you must also agree with B and C while disagreeing with Y and Z.

The same is true for matters of faith and theology. Part of what it means to be a Christian is the content of our beliefs. These inform and shape our actions and are likewise molded by devoting our entire lives to the service of Christ. While Christianity is certainly far more than just a set of beliefs, there is no denying that this plays an important role.

The thing is we get into this habit of packaging beliefs together within the church. The very fact that there are labels out there of "progressive Christians" or "conservative Christians" or whatever indicates this. If I were to say that I believed in the authority of Scripture many people would immediately assume my beliefs on a host of separate issues.

We do this all the time. We treat all the issues we face as going into one camp or another instead of realizing that all these questions and issues are all unique have their own sets of answers. For example, just because you believe women should be allowed to participate in the public worship assembly does not mean you believe gay marriage is biblical (yes, this is a pretty common case of packaging I see a lot). Just because a person believes in the inerrancy of Scripture does not mean they are a young earth creationist. The examples go on and on.

We must learn to respect one another enough to recognize that we don't just buy into the packages of beliefs bundled together by others. We are all capable of working through issues and questions individually, though whether we choose to do so and put in the work is another question. We also need to understand that right belief isn't the sum total of the Christian life. Jesus has made a claim on my entire existence, and while what I believe is a part of that having the right belief without obedience in my life is worthless.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving, the day that we are supposed to celebrate all the things we are thankful for. It is a time of family reunions, football, and turkey eating. I sincerely pray that each and every one of you has a good day today. I'll admit that being thankful has not been easy for me this year. As pretty much all of you know, my mother passed away December of last year. Though she had been in the hospital for months, we were not expecting it. In fact I was sure she would be finally able to come home within a matter of weeks. Instead she peacefully passed on into the arms of Jesus, whom she loved more dearly than anyone else. As you can imagine, the entire family was heart broken. After what can easily be described as the worst Christmas ever, I returned to home to Illinois. It was here that I finally broke down. I spent the next months doing everything except being thankful. I cursed God, wept, screamed, begged to have her back, and was generally not the nicest person to be...
3 comments
Read more

Proverbs, Wisdom

Wisdom is an essential part of living a godly life. The ability to make good judgments and identify potentially sinful situations are skills all Christians should have. The Bible repeatedly emphasizes that it is the duty of parents and older Christians to pass on these skills and train younger generations in wisdom. The book of Proverbs is a book all about wisdom. The various authors of the book are trying to pass on the things they have learned to a younger generation. They want all that come after them to know that true wisdom comes from God. Background Like the book of Psalms, the book of Proverbs is a collection of various sayings and proverbs from many different people. The primary author we associate the book with is King Solomon, who wrote the most out of any single author, but he is just one of several writers. It is a very interesting book in this regard. The book of Proverbs can be tricky because it isn't always consistent in how the text flows together. Some...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ordinary Means

The Bible is a book. Think about that for a minute. One of the primary ways God chose to communicate to humanity was through a book. Think about just how many books there are in the world. We have entire stores dedicated to selling books and government departments whose sole job is preserving books. Almost every culture on the planet, in some form or another, has used books.  I think we often forget just how ordinary something like the Bible is. Is it inspired by God? Yes. Is it authoritative? Yes. Is it also a book? Yes. It amazes me more and more the more I think about it that God chose to communicate to us not by some miraculous arrangement of the stars or a telepathic message but rather through a book.  Just like any other book, the Bible was written by ordinary people in their specific cultures, languages, circumstances, genres, styles, and purposes. God chose this ordinary, mundane thing to communicate eternal truth of the most fantastic sort. God took the ordinary and t...
Post a Comment
Read more