Doctrinal Authority

2 Timothy 3

Paul's Charge to Timothy

10You, however, know all about my teaching, my

way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love,

endurance, 11persecutions, sufferings—what kinds

of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and

Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord

rescued me from all of them. 12In fact, everyone

who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus

will be persecuted, 13while evil men and

impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving

and being deceived. 14But as for you, continue in

what you have learned and have become convinced

of, because you know those from whom you learned

it, 15and how from infancy you have known the

holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise

for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for

teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in

righteousness, 17so that the man of G-d may be

thoroughly equipped for every good work.


Yesterday, I was reading a comment thread on one

of the blogs that I frequent on the topic of a

particular christian businessman, who was failing

at his business. So there was the usual

commentary about christianity, and of all things,

the theory of evolution. Why does evolution keep

rising to the surface whenver there is an

internet discussion of christianity? It begs the

question, Is evolution really akin to a religious

doctrine, such that it intuitively works its way

into almost every discussion of christianity?

But the always baffling aspect of these threads

that veer into the subject of christianity is

that most people don't seem to understand what

christianity is. They throw out the same old

stale strawman objections that I learned many

years back, from reading Skeptic magazine. It's

amazing to me that anyone would use these attacks

because they are so totally misguided.

Nevertheless, there they are.


It comes down to a simple point. It's crucial to

recognize that the sole authority on christian

doctrine is scripture, not what someone says

about christians and christianity. And the

challenge has always been to take an orthodox

view toward christian theology, rather than to

overlay a set of cultural preconceptions that

distort the message of scripture. In technical

terms, that means that it's necessary to apply

exegesis rather than eisegesis. It's really that

simple. But the orthodox approach has never been

all that popular. It has to do with what lies in

the heart of man, that there is a preference for

mythology over orthodoxy. Oh, those gnarly

fundamentalists are just a sad bunch of party

poopers. But in simple terms, the only approach

to scripture that makes any sense at all, is an

orthodox exegetical approach. Yeah, it's really

that simple.


That's not to say that I, or anyone else has all

the answers. It's a convenient dodge to make the

accusation that christian orthodoxy has all the

answers. That implies that there are only easy

answers. Wish it was so easy. It's simple, but

it's never easy. The point is not whether I, or

anyone else has all the answers. The point is

that scripture is complete in the sense that it

provides all of the important answers.


The only starting point is scripture. After

that, time is well spent to study the writings of

other orthodox christians. John Calvin is one

who comes to mind, as well as Martin Luther.

http://www.godrules.net/library/calvin/calvin.htm

I've spent more time on Calvin that Luther. Then

there are contemporary orthodox theologians, like

Martin (departed), Sproul, Zacharias and Geisler,

who are well known because of there regular radio

broadcasts or their published work.


Just to illustrate my point, When was the last

time you heard anyone quote Calvin or talk about

his theology either in person, in the media or in

an internet discussion of christianity? People

can say any kind of nonsense about what they

believe, and call themselves christians, but if

they do not agree with those teachings that frame

the context of christian orthodoxy, whatever they

are talking about is NOT christianity. It's

apparent that at the root of the problem lies the

fact that many who propose to speak on behalf of

the christian faith just are not acquainted with

the orthodox doctrines of that faith, and it

becomes difficult or impossible to have a

rational discussion of christianity, because in

the end, you are comparing apples with ponys.

And if the discussion begins with the assumption

that apples ARE ponys, how far is that going to

take you? Check out Calvin and you will begin to

see that there is a big difference between apples

and ponys.


The modern mood is locked into the mindset that

prefers to compare apples to ponys in all aspects

of life and world view. Or another way to put it

is that there is no free lunch, either in

economics, social theory or scientific theory. Is it any

wonder that we continue to experience the

collision of myth and reality across the cultural

context. It is pervasive, just look out your

window. And in the end, reality always trumps

myth. An apple is not a pony, unless you are

under the influence of mind altering chemical

compounds.( It might help explain the prevalence

of chemical dependency.)


So at the end of the day, I can only come to the

conclusion that the real objection to

christianity has nothing to do with the

rationality of orthodox christian doctrine, but

rather with the sinful condition of the human

heart that prefers darkness rather than light.

And the discussion can go no deeper than the

exhange of emotional slogans. In that case, all

I can say is that Jesus loves you.


John 3:16 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

16"For G-d so loved the world that he gave his

one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him

shall not perish but have eternal life.