A WORD CONCERNING TRUTH-SEEKING
UNKNOWN AUTHOR
In light of the exhortation above, please bear with me while I gently correct most of you - you know, while I still have your attention (sic). If I manage to step on your toes, please feel free to thank me later with a “special laying on of hands.”
It is imperative for you to realize that you alone have the responsibility for your becoming a genuine truth-seeker. This is not rhetorical hype. No one else can make you a truth-seeker, yet it is essential that you become one. Truth-seeking is a mindset that requires (a) the asking of questions, as well as (b) the fortitude to go wherever the answers take you. If you honestly and continuously practice these two dynamics, you will learn early on that massive amounts of untruth are being peddled as pure truth, and even as being “the Word of God.” This discovery will occur regardless of the particular subject upon which you focus your attention. You will also learn early on that to the discerning mind - one guided by the Spirit of God - truth will manifest itself; and oftentimes it will do so in unexpected ways and in unforeseen places.
Truth-seeking is almost extinct in modern society in general, and in the Christian community in particular. The mainstream Christian community neither encourages nor facilitates the seeking of truth beyond the accepting of whatever “theology-in-a-box” its various branches emphasize. Of course, theology-in-a-box guarantees its primary result: God-in-a-box.
When virtually all of the Bible teachers and Christian leaders declare implicitly or explicitly that biblical truth has been captured, “creedalized,” and crammed into a tidy package of doctrine, and that the only quests you need to pursue are (a) the learning of the contents of the theology-in-a-box of choice, and (b) the subsequent defense thereof, then the deck of alleged truth is stacked heavily against you.
To be a truth-seeker, the discovery of truth must always remain a dynamic motivation at work within you. That motivation will in turn inspire the asking of questions. It will also generate the critical discerning of what others teach, regardless of their credentials, their reputation, and the existence of pressure within Christianity to conform.
Sadly, many Christians fall back on the ever-popular – and thoroughly compromising – determination not to “major on the minors,” and to keep the “majors” to a minimum. In this way, as long as a Christian adheres to the primary doctrinal points that supposedly all Bible-believing Christians accept, and which are typically enumerated in some ancient Christian creed, then he is safely “orthodox,” which is understood to mean “biblical.”
Remember, truth is not truth simply because the majority says it is. There is no such thing as “safety in numbers” when it comes to truth.
Within the realm of Christian theology, truth-seeking requires a willingness to challenge the teachings of the esteemed heroes of the faith, regardless of whom they might be. The current practice within the culture of Christianity is to place leaders on pedestals, and to give them all the leeway in the world concerning what they declare as truth. Truth-seeking also carries with it the risk of your becoming the target of derision and/or shunning by the very people you know as brothers and sisters in Christ. And rest assured, if you participate in the former in an open manner, then the latter is also likely to occur.
The most serious issue concerning truth-seeking is whether you personally are willing to pay the proverbial price such a commitment will demand. Most people are not willing. As a result, people have forfeited their ability to discover truth, and to discern truth when it is offered by others. It is also why Christians have resorted to letting leaders and teachers tell them what they should believe. At its core, the Christian community is “truth lazy.” And yes, all of the above is applicable to the subject of this article.
UNKNOWN AUTHOR
In light of the exhortation above, please bear with me while I gently correct most of you - you know, while I still have your attention (sic). If I manage to step on your toes, please feel free to thank me later with a “special laying on of hands.”
It is imperative for you to realize that you alone have the responsibility for your becoming a genuine truth-seeker. This is not rhetorical hype. No one else can make you a truth-seeker, yet it is essential that you become one. Truth-seeking is a mindset that requires (a) the asking of questions, as well as (b) the fortitude to go wherever the answers take you. If you honestly and continuously practice these two dynamics, you will learn early on that massive amounts of untruth are being peddled as pure truth, and even as being “the Word of God.” This discovery will occur regardless of the particular subject upon which you focus your attention. You will also learn early on that to the discerning mind - one guided by the Spirit of God - truth will manifest itself; and oftentimes it will do so in unexpected ways and in unforeseen places.
Truth-seeking is almost extinct in modern society in general, and in the Christian community in particular. The mainstream Christian community neither encourages nor facilitates the seeking of truth beyond the accepting of whatever “theology-in-a-box” its various branches emphasize. Of course, theology-in-a-box guarantees its primary result: God-in-a-box.
When virtually all of the Bible teachers and Christian leaders declare implicitly or explicitly that biblical truth has been captured, “creedalized,” and crammed into a tidy package of doctrine, and that the only quests you need to pursue are (a) the learning of the contents of the theology-in-a-box of choice, and (b) the subsequent defense thereof, then the deck of alleged truth is stacked heavily against you.
To be a truth-seeker, the discovery of truth must always remain a dynamic motivation at work within you. That motivation will in turn inspire the asking of questions. It will also generate the critical discerning of what others teach, regardless of their credentials, their reputation, and the existence of pressure within Christianity to conform.
Sadly, many Christians fall back on the ever-popular – and thoroughly compromising – determination not to “major on the minors,” and to keep the “majors” to a minimum. In this way, as long as a Christian adheres to the primary doctrinal points that supposedly all Bible-believing Christians accept, and which are typically enumerated in some ancient Christian creed, then he is safely “orthodox,” which is understood to mean “biblical.”
Remember, truth is not truth simply because the majority says it is. There is no such thing as “safety in numbers” when it comes to truth.
Within the realm of Christian theology, truth-seeking requires a willingness to challenge the teachings of the esteemed heroes of the faith, regardless of whom they might be. The current practice within the culture of Christianity is to place leaders on pedestals, and to give them all the leeway in the world concerning what they declare as truth. Truth-seeking also carries with it the risk of your becoming the target of derision and/or shunning by the very people you know as brothers and sisters in Christ. And rest assured, if you participate in the former in an open manner, then the latter is also likely to occur.
The most serious issue concerning truth-seeking is whether you personally are willing to pay the proverbial price such a commitment will demand. Most people are not willing. As a result, people have forfeited their ability to discover truth, and to discern truth when it is offered by others. It is also why Christians have resorted to letting leaders and teachers tell them what they should believe. At its core, the Christian community is “truth lazy.” And yes, all of the above is applicable to the subject of this article.
lucy