I've excerpted and posted the first few paragraphs below as a little nudge to help you get started. I encourage you to click the link and continue to read the whole thing. It's pretty short and won't take a lot of your time. I think Scot's insights are right on target. What do you think? As always, your comments, questions, and perspectives are appreciated.
ZEALOTRY TODAY
by Scot McKnight [Posted February 6, 2013]
I hope to generate conversation, some consternation, and (at the end of the day) some light. Here’s my big point: Some evangelicals have been tossing sharp barbs for a long time at “liberals” or “mainliners” for disregarding the Bible. (It would not be hard to give good examples.) Most evangelicals criticize liberals on the basis of a robust commitment to the Bible — and in so criticizing they believe it is they who are being faithful to the Bible.
Where are you experiencing “zealotry” today?
Evangelicals tacitly assume or overtly claim that they believe the whole Bible; they practice the Bible much better; and their theology is based on the Bible and the Bible alone. The contention is simple: liberals deny the Bible; we (evangelicals) don’t; we (evangelicals) are faithful and liberals are unfaithful. Let me suggest that evangelicals, too, do plenty of Bible-denying but they deny in a different way. They question the sufficiency of Scripture at times.
I call this problem Zealotry. Here’s what I mean: Zealotry is conscious zeal to be radically committed, so radically committed that one goes beyond the Bible to defend things that are not in the Bible. Which is the mirror image of the accusation made by many evangelicals against liberals. The “beyond the Bible” stuff is not in the Bible and it means evangelicals get themselves committed to things that are not in the Bible.
What’s the difference, I ask?
Trotting alongside zeal is a friend named immunity: Zealots think their zeal makes them immune to criticism because they are so zealous for God; their zeal never to get close to breaking any commandment makes them better than others. In other words, zeal shows just how deeply committed a person is to God and is therefore immune to criticism. What, they reason to themselves, is wrong with doing more than the Bible? Does not God recognize our zeal?
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Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. McKnight, author of more than thirty books, is the Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL.
I agree that McKnight is on target. We had a great discipleship group discussion last night on Christian wisdom, which I think runs right along the same line of this post. We were able to very clearly see that "conventional wisdom" never carries the day. One example was the claim of conventional wisdom being that one needs to work 16 hour days to work up a corporate ladder. Obviously this claim can be easily disproved. But we were able to step further into looking at Christian wisdom, and inquiring whether all too often Christians find themselves -- even in our local church settings -- falling into the traps of conventional wisdom. We may even call it "conventional Christian wisdom". By confusing zealous opinions on how we think and act as "Christians" with true Christian wisdom (which is only found in directly following Jesus' teachings, actions, and example) we are developing our own conventions of wisdom...not God's.
ReplyDeleteA simple example was offered by one group member: In his home town there was a man known as the "town drunk", who sat on the church steps disheveled and hung-over every Sunday morning (the church being the place where the police wouldn't necessarily move him along). Parishioners would pass him by regularly. One Sunday morning the pastor, knowing full well the man was sitting outside the church, stopped mid-sermon, walked outside, helped the drunk off the stairs and walked him down the aisle of the sanctuary to sit him in the front pew. From that day forward, the man turned from addiction and followed Christ.
Another quick anecdote shared in our group was about a pastor who's congregation was surprised by a motorcycle gang in attendance one Sunday morning. After the service, some parishoners complained that their presence was a distraction. The pastor told the gang that they were welcome to come again, but they had to clean up a bit. The gang decided never to come back to that church. The pastor later realized how un-Christlike her congregation's conditional acceptance was.
Fences. Immunity. Zealotry. All in the name of purported "wisdom". Only when we frame up our actions in Jesus, and decide very honestly if our actions, words, and opinions are driven by a yearning to follow Jesus, and act in a way that comports "WWJD" discernment, can we break away from conventional wisdom, and truly act wise in the eyes of God.
Particularly illuminating for us in the study was Isaiah 29:13-14, which Paul quoted when he admonished the church in Corinth on Christian wisdom (1 Cor 1:18-19)