Thanksgiving week. A time when there’s so much to be gracious for.
America 2021. A time when there’s so much to fight about.
As Christians trying to navigate a world where there’s a new controversy or tragedy every three days, how can we apply the principles of God’s Word to the times we don’t see eye to eye on something?
- Don’t run away from inconvenient truth.
As humans, we’re prone to a little something called confirmation bias. MindTools defines confirmation bias as what happens “…when you look for information that supports your existing beliefs, and reject data that go against what you believe. ”
When we do encounter information that challenges what we want to believe, we either try to deny it or discredit it. One way we try to discredit it is through straw man arguments. A straw man argument has occured when, to quote YourLogicalFallacyIs,
“You misrepresented someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.
-YourLogicalFallacyIs
By exaggerating, misrepresenting, or just completely fabricating someone’s argument, it’s much easier to present your own position as being reasonable, but this kind of dishonesty serves to undermine honest rational debate.”
It’s important that we actually engage with dissenting views with an open mind, rather than living in what we’ve already assumed someone believes. We can do this by asking questions and seeking clarity before we speak our opinions.
We also have to make sure that we have correct information on facts, events, and beliefs before we comment on them. As Daniel Darling puts it, “Knowing all the facts before expressing an opinion on a news story is one way Christians obey James 1:19.” And what does James 1:19 say?
“My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger…”
James 1:19 (CSB)
You don’t need a political science degree to discuss Critical Race Theory. You don’t have to go to seminary to discuss Calvinism. But you must do enough research to avoid addressing these things without positing caricatures as real opinions.
- 2. Don’t water down complicated issues.
“Sin is the problem. Jesus is the solution.”
That’s a truth that I rejoice in daily. That sounds great in sermons and on bumper stickers. But when the time comes to apply that sentiment to real, daily life, what does it look like?
One recent issue that cast a light on the polarization of issues in American politics was the Texas abortion law. It seemed like there were only two groups for people to fall into: woman-hating destroyers of reproductive rights or Satan-worshiping baby killers.
Tim Keller does a good job explaining this point. Here’s a quote from a September 2020 Facebook post regarding helping the poor:
The Bible binds my conscience to care for the poor, but it does not tell me the best practical way to do it. Any particular strategy (high taxes and government services vs low taxes and private charity) may be good and wise—and may even be somewhat inferred from other things the Bible teaches– but they are not directly commanded and therefore we cannot insist that all Christians, as a matter of conscience, follow one or the other.
Tim Keller
Sin has made things incredibly tough to navigate in our world. Reducing every issue to a black-and-white, us vs. them, good vs. evil dichotomy stifles progress and unnecessarily excludes people. Which leads to my last point:
- 3. Don’t be the Christian who cried wolf.
Joash Thomas offered this wisdom when responding to an article written about him:
Instead of labeling every believer who has a different view on secondary & tertiary doctrines as ‘liberal’, ‘wolf-adjacent’ & ‘deconstructionist leaders’, what if we came alongside them on the basics where we agree, learn from their pain + hurt and grow from the grace in them?
@JoashPThomas on Twitter
I’ve witnessed Bible-believing, doctrinally sound Christians get labeled as “liberals” or “wolves” for some combination of the following things:
- Calling out President Trump for harsh, cruel words.
- Refuting the conspiracy theory that President Biden stole the 2020 Presidential election.
- Encouraging mask-wearing and vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Believing systemic racism exists and that Christians should stand against it.
We need discernment as Christians. There comes a time to boldly call out false teaching as Jesus and Paul did. But when we elevate secondary doctrines to the point that someone must agree with us on all of them or be slammed as “woke”, “liberal”, or a “wolf,” we do harm to the body of Christ and slander fellow believers. We cannot assume that someone’s heart is set against Christ simply because they disagree with us on some political/cultural issue.
I’ll let Paul’s words be a guide as I close this post:
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.
Colossians 4:6 (CSB)
City on a Hill(ing) 