Another 20 Things I Don’t Believe
It was a way of addressing the assumptions of many non believingfriends who assumed that because I was a church leader and an evangelical that I must therefore believe XYZ, most of which was definitely untrue and made me cross when it was assumed that I did.
I grew tired of repeating this conversation but was unwilling to abandon the label evangelical, if only because of the strong legacy of the earliest evangelicals who did not believe what many current titleholders propagate.
This conversation will not go away and I have realised that the list of assumed beliefs (both in the church and outside) has not diminished but grown and so I felt it necessary to add another 20 things to my ‘assumption busting list’.
You’ll have to decide for yourself how much of a heretic I am.
21. That children are born sinners and condemned to eternal hell if they die before turning to Christ. This belief is a particularly odious doctrine introduced by Augustine and propagated in certain wings of the church.
22. (Similar but differing to prior statement) That God decided before we were born whether we were destined for heaven or destined for hell.
23. That only professionally appointed people are qualified to administer certain prayers or sacraments.
24. That there are ever enough churches. (Definition: Families on mission, of any size)
25. That competence should ever cover for lack of character.
27. That disciples are made accidentally.
28. That spiritual maturity can be achieved without emotional maturity
29. That rest is found simply in the absence of work
30. That only a favourite few get to hear Gods voice
31. That God speaks infrequently.
32. That God doesn’t have friends.
33. That forgiveness should always lead to restored trust.
34. That our role is our calling, (they may or may not overlap on occasion).
35. That God ever removes our calling. (We can reject it)
36. That God has a blueprint for our life (a calling is not a blueprint)
37. That there is a perfect church (if you find one - don’t join it or it will no longer be perfect 😜)
38. That perfection (maturity) is unobtainable.
39. Retirement (more specifically the cultural expectation of removing oneself from the workforce at a particular age)
40. That we are as good or as bad as our theology. (Bad people can have good theology and good people can hold bad theology)
I’d love to hear your thought on these, or what your list looks like.
Comments