"Thinking Eternally, Acting Locally." - Neal August
I read this paper. Allow me to be tangentially within my academic freedom. How is it that such people who have the most remedial understanding of Scripture be given the authority to force other people to adopt their milky views? Their opinions and traditions are not the answer. What is the answer? Again, the answer is Jesus and Scripture.
All of their evidence for their abstaining position is based upon tradition. Now if they themselves desire to abstain that is completely their decision and no one at all should criticize them for it.
However, if they themselves say that a believer should not drink or have the effrontery to make rules and regulations that prohibit other believers from properly enjoying God’s gift of, then those prohibitionists should be criticized for the sake of the Gospel.
1) Both Jesus and the Scriptures which testify of Him are completely and unequivocally clear that alcohol consumption is approved by God.
2) Those who seek to force others to abstain from alcohol consumption are:
a. Proclaiming a teaching contrary to both God and Scripture.
b. Promoting the traditions of man above the teachings of God.
c. Allowing culture and society to dictate how they practice the teachings of Scripture and live out the example of Christ.
d. Allowing personal preference and personal experience to dictate how they practice the teachings of Scripture and live out the example of Christ.
In this article the authors admit that the Bible may be subject to varied interpretations concerning alcohol consumption, yet, despite such admitted confusion, they then argue that their view of alcohol prohibition should be adopted by all. Why? They prefer to cite the short span of Southern Baptist tradition while ignoring both Scripture and the other 1900 previous years of Church tradition.
They are supposed to be orthodox Christians of the conservative evangelical style. We are continually given the drum-beat of Scripture! Scripture! Scripture! Every sermon, article and conference that comes along is framed and based upon what the Scripture teaches and why we must follow Scriptural teaching whether or not we agree or like it.
Please tell me: Why is it these same people who fire, excommunicate and criticize anyone who does not agree with their view of inerrancy and Biblical authority are now telling everyone to ignore the Bible on the issue of alcohol? And their arguments are not simply about persuading people to adopt their unscriptural view. No, their arguments are about making regulations and laws to force other people to adopt their unscriptural view.
YOU AND YOUR TRADITIONS ARE NOT ABOVE SCRIPTURE OR JESUS CHRIST.
Let me ask you: How did the Roman Catholic Church respond when Martin Luther argued that their theology of indulgences did not correspond with the teachings of Scripture?
1) The Bible may be subject to varied interpretations concerning indulgences.
2) It is traditional.
3) Who are you to tell the Pope, the RCC and other theologians and scholars much better than yourself what is acceptable to the faith?
How did Luther respond? He ignored them.
What is my advice to other believers? Ignore them.
What will I do? I shall ignore them.
When the baskets are forcing people to not drink, to not have piercings, to not pray to God in tongues, and to just generally not follow the teachings of Scripture, I tell all to ignore the baskets.
They are wrong. They are not correct. They are teaching and acting contrary to Scripture. They have no authority to teach and act in this manner.
I am a believing soul quite competent to read and apply the clear teachings of Scripture. I have always done what I what I want and always shall. What is my justification?
YOU AND YOUR TRADITIONS ARE NOT ABOVE SCRIPTURE OR JESUS CHRIST.
2 comments:
I was beginning to wonder if you were going to respond to this article. I think you should write a rebuttal article defending your view from a Biblical perspective and refuting this argument (as if you haven't already).
Well, at this point, much of what occurs at the seminary is of little interest to me. Therefore, I rarely check my seminary email and so I didn't read the article until yesterday.
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