Think Christian has an interesting post about Reuben Armstrong’s book Snakes in the Pulpit. They question not the subject of the book, but whether the tone is one that is in line with Scripture:
However, the apparent tone (calling these preachers “snakes”), does seem a bit venomous and not in keeping with Paul’s admonition in confronting sin:
“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.”
And then they cover the results of using this type of tone:
Will this book cause more harm than good? Already the blogsphere is slithering with comments such as:
“Preachers are nothing but self-aggrandizing charlatans and pimps.” [Hooper]
“i don’t trust NO ONE with the salvation of my spirit but me: not Jesus and FO SHO NOT one of these fake pastors, of which 95% of these pastors are.” [PrivateEyes]
“why isn’t he giving the book for free… i believe dude is about money too.” [SleepyAngel30]
I think they make some excellent points. Once again, it is fine to disagree, but when speaking with others, believers especially, we should do so in a way that is in line with Scripture and brings honor and glory to God.
B”H
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Tom Albrecht // Aug 31, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Bryan,
I know neither the book nor the specific intent of the author. (“Tone” is another matter and somewhat subjective.)
I’m wondering, thought, if the Scripture distinguishes between how we are to address the personal sins of a (potentially) weaker brother in the Lord, and the very public teaching of error in the pulpit.
After all, did Jesus not quite publicly refer to the contemporary leaders of Israel as a “brood of vipers” because of they hypocrisy and false teachings? Even Paul publically opposed the hypocrisy of his brother Peter “to his face” when he stopped eating and living like a gentile when the Judaizers from Jerusalem appeared in Galatia. Paul also referred to such false teachers among the flock as “wolves”.
What makes modern preachers exempt from such treatment if what they are preaching is not solidly founded on the Word of God? Is it possible to be too nice and thus we end up dishonoring the holy God we serve?
The world will always find fault with the gospel, but woe to preachers who dishonor Christ’s name by their false preaching.
2 Chad // Sep 2, 2007 at 10:57 am
Tom, I’m in agreement that preaching (or teaching) that is not solidly founded on the Word of God should not be exempt from such treatment.
As far as being “too nice,” I do think that we need to demonstrate as much grace as possible when addressing such errors. This would probably start with asking someone we believe to be teaching error to clarify what it is they mean, showing Scriptural support for the teaching, before going on the attack. I can think of one such situation where a friend of mine contacted a pastor he believed to be in serious error, and discovered that the pastor was simply terrible at communicating his meaning.
Only after it’s clear the the Scriptural foundation is lacking would it seem to me to be acceptable to come into public opposition against a particular teaching.
I would add that it seems many in the Body need to learn how to discern the difference between a doctrinal disagreement and a false teaching.
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