There are some famous oxymorons. Military intelligence and honest politician come immediately to mind. And perhaps Hyundai sports car. But there is in the minds of many, I’m sorry to say, another: humble apologist.
Over the years I’ve found that many pastors are wary of apologists because these pastors think that if there were an apologist in their churches that he or she would criticize every word out of their mouths. And, sadly, there are some who fashion themselves to be apologists that are, indeed, hyper-critical and adamant that every doctrine that they now hold couldn’t be mistaken.
I remember one fellow who used to call my former radio program, Contend for Truth, almost every week to correct me on some doctrine. Now, he wasn’t challenging me on the essentials of the Christian faith—we both agreed on those—but on every non-essential doctrine that you could name this fellow thought that it was impossible for him to be mistaken.
I asked him one day if he had ever been wrong about a doctrine in the past. He admitted that he had. I then asked him if it was even possible that he could be wrong on any doctrine that he currently held. He said No—he had now been a Christian long enough and had thought these things through enough to where he couldn’t be mistaken. He even argued that Martin Luther probably wasn’t saved because he hadn’t separated himself enough from the Catholic church!
What?
I then asked him if he could name seven Christians in the entire world who even might be wiser than he and he couldn’t even name one!
Hello?
People this arrogant don’t enter our program (because they don’t feel the need for further instruction—thank you very much). But on rare occassions we have had an arrogant student enter (I could count them on one hand). Thankfully, however, one of the benefits of our program is that arrogance doesn’t fly long. It doesn’t fly because, maybe for the first time, they find themselves surrounded by some very smart and much studied fellow students who simply won’t let them get away with it. These few students find themselves nicely but firmly shown that there are some fellow students out there who are at least their equals. They tend to mellow out.
Praise God for that!
All of this is to say, “let’s be humble.”
Sure, we must defend Christian doctrine! Duh! In fact, I think we need to be willing to die over the essentials of the faith. But let us beware fighting tooth and nail over every non-essential doctrine we hold dear. I’m not saying, however, that we shouldn’t discuss non-essential doctrines in a loving and respectful manner—“iron sharpens iron”—I’m just saying that we should do that with humility.
Proverbs 26:12: “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
Amen.
I have hope for the humble apologist…after all, the Hyundai sports car now exists. =)
http://blog.roadandtrack.com/revealed-rhys-millen’s-hyundai-genesis-pm580-pikes-peak-car/
GREAT blog topic!
Thanks Dr. Jones. Of the many things you’ve impressed upon me, this has been the one thing that I always comes to mind of all the things you’ve taught! Looking forward to many more entries.
Great words. I especially liked:
So true. The thoughtfulness of my peers in the program is humbling. Very humbling.
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That’s right, the Hyundai Genesis is rear-wheel drive – that’s a requirement for a sports car so you can power slide it.
Hello Clay
A great reminder. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, …”
You know, my experience at Biola was my first real encounter with Christians who valued the life of the mind. I must admit that it was positively formative experience as I struggled to learn how to be gracious in conversing with Christians with different theological paradigms.
Also, it was through Biola that I first began to look critically at my own system of beliefs. I came to believe that I have wrong beliefs, but that on my own I am virtually powerless to identify what they are—a truly humbling thought that drives me to Christ for light. And it is sobering to consider the degree we actively participate in self-deception. It wasn’t until I realized these facts about myself that I stopped viewing theological deconstruction as a threat.
I don’t remember whether you ever talked about this explicitly, but through your persistent challenging of my sometimes nigh-unto-heretical thinking, I consider this one of the most valuable lessons I learned through you and others at Biola.
Thanks for your ministry
Thank you, Kevin. I always appreciated our friendly discussions.