message boards

When it comes to engaging in debate or focused discussion with another person over the internet over controversial teaching, or anything of the like, here are a few suggestions:

1. Be as gentle as possible. It should be an encouragement to us that the most scandalous church in the first century still were called Christians by the Apostle Paul. He was both gentle and firm with them, and so should we be with those we love yet desire correction for. Gentleness should characterize us with other people’s faults – because at the end of the day, you’re left accounting for your own sins before God, and pleading the cross for yourself primarily.
2. Listen to where they are coming from. Often we can get so caught up into what we believe others think, that we never give ear to what they are actually saying. Then, when we address them, we’re not even addressing them, but the caricature of what we believe they are asserting. In logic, this is called the Straw man Fallacy, and it always shows the arguer to be a fool. I don’t suggest it!
3. If the discussion is about a particular teacher, listen and study those who enjoy and support that teacher. In some ways, it’s being kind to those you disagree with to listen to those who support their teacher. It also helps you get the “real” view of the person – for good or bad – that person has folks who love them just as you do, so it’s good to see what sort of community they’re coming from. Paul did this in Acts 17, and so should we with every teacher we engage.
4. Seek to pull up every good and commendable thing about that person that you can.
5. At the end of the day, the Scriptures rule, and so we should wield them gently and confidently, so as to let the Bible do the work, not us. This may be anything from spending some time expositing the Scriptures carefully in the Greek, to pointing out Scriptures and asking pointed questions. (For example: How can you read 2 Kings 25-28 and still be an Arminian? Your belief about the will and God’s sovereignty do not jive with this text’s clear teaching that God predestined for Sennacherib’s actions and fall.) This could be softened by presenting a Scripture and saying that one doesn’t understand how their view lines up with it – followed by a request for clarification on their part.

Anyhow, these are my thoughts on how to create constructive, helpful, edifying, and hopefully sanctifying conversation between those who may be coming from a completely different world than yourself. Much like Tarzan, the lines of communication can simply come from an open acknowledgment, accompanied by a desire for understanding: Me Tarzan, You Jane.

Subtitled: Me Tarzan, You Jane
(Tipping my hat hear to a sermon by one of my beloved pastors last year.)

Through various circumstances recently, I’ve given some thought to this question: How do I engage those folks on the internet that I meet through message boards that belong to groups that I believe to have anywhere from mild-error, to blatant blasphemous teaching? That is, how do I engage those folks that I believe belong to groups contrary to the core of the Gospel?

I began to think: What if somebody wanted to serve me, say – correct some error in my thinking – and their first words were, “Your church is deceiving you.” Wow, thanks! Nice to meet you to, and can I take your coat for you and show you to the table? I find such an approach unhelpful to the end aimed at. Considering the other points we’ve covered in PFG 1 & 2, it seems highly presumptuous and more of a venting for pride to take such an approach. God is dealing, on his own mind you – without your help – with every single person on the face of this planet. That means that God has been working on somebody prior to you ever hitting the scene. This is especially true for people who have a Bible.

James tells us the following – take note, all those who consider themselves learned in the doctrines of Scripture:

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth….The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. ~ James 3:13-14,17-18.

Reflect on these for a moment, “the meekness of wisdom” and, “be false to the truth”. There is a wisdom that comes from a true understanding of Scripture that discerns where to apply pressure, and where to approach in meekness and gentleness. I think for message boards it is particularly important to approach all discussions with a desire for peace. It reflects Christ to be peaceable as much as possible with those who are of the household of faith. (Side note: As a general rule, if somebody’s made a confession of faith, I believe them until proven otherwise.) The wisdom that comes from God, that is cultivated in the mind and heart of he who grows in his understanding of Scripture is pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. Good grief! How often is that characterized by those “learned scholars” on message boards? The flip is that if one does not act like this, his wisdom is of the world, and contrary to God! I think just some honest meditation on the verse above, and a sifting of one’s heart through it will reveal a lot, and prompt deeper repentance, and till deeper soil for godliness – especially in the area of message boards.

Picking up where we left off…Holding an incorrect thought on a teaching of scripture is just as sinful as maintaining a sinful habit in life. But the good news is that Jesus Christ died to save sinners, and for those who are in Christ Jesus there is no longer any condemnation. So all those sinful life habits, and sinful doctrinal positions we hold can and will be covered with grace through true faith in Christ.

First, this means that first and foremost, on internet discussion boards, we as Christians need to stop questioning a confessing Christian’s genuine standing in Christ. If someone has confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, and the only means of salvation from the coming wrath of God, then they’re a Christian; Calvinist, or Arminian, Baptist or Adventist, Pentecostal or Presbyterian. There is a lot that goes into calling into question someone’s standing in Christ, and we need to be aware of that. (This does not, of course, mean that we can’t say to someone posting Gnostic messages, “Friend, these opinions indicate that you do not truly understand Christianity/Christian doctrine.”)

Secondly, this means that when engaging doctrinal discussions, we approach the issue in humility, seeking to serve our brother’s growth in Christ more than seeking to convert our brother to affirming how right we are. We are seeking to make disciples of Christ, not of ourselves. Because of this, we should approach the issue of sanctification with a holistic view in mind. Someone’s disagreement or distain for a particular doctrine (for example, the absolute predestination of God in election), is not just their inaccurate understanding of Scripture in a particular area, but also may very well be tied to another area of sin in their lives (to continue the example, maybe a rebellion of not truly submitting to God’s authority).

So in doctrinal disagreements, we must be attentive to seeing what the Lord may be seeking to do in a person’s life. I am so thankful that God has dealt with me in that way. God did not run my face through submitting to the truth of the doctrines of grace – he gradually worked on my heart. A book here – a conversation there – a radio program here – a confession of sin there. God worked those things to teach me practically a doctrine that he also wanted me to learn intellectually. I’m sorry to keep on the doctrines of grace here, but it’s just one of those areas where I am particularly aware of God’s great kindness to me.

It very well may be that God is seeking to help someone you might engage with on the internet to learn obedience in one area of life, say the disciplines of grace, or regular church attendance, or purity of thought and mind, etc. He may be having you be the instrument in his hand for this person’s redemption in that particular area that he is later going to use to help them in the doctrinal disagreement that got you guys talking in the first place. And the actual likely hood is that God is seeking to use that very same engagement to help you grow in godliness, humility, charity, honest love, and learning how to kill that evil oak of pride in your heart.

Just a small note I wanted to add. There are two more reasons for asking more questions of people on line that I meant to include:

1) Some people are more or less informed on an issue, and thus, when it comes to tricky subjects (for example, the two natures of Christ) people can say things a certain way that would not be said if they were more aware of the technical language. For example, I had someone call me on this issue on the issue of baptism. The question was over the relation of baptism in the spectrum of the transfer of the people of God from the OT to the NT. My response, in full brilliance and ingeniousness was, “Well, the new covenant is NEW, therefore, new things, new prescriptions for the administration of the signs of God people.” Then, someone politely interjected, “Jacob, be careful here, because that sounds a lot like Dispensationalism.” Uh… ops! Ya, they were right. The issue wasn’t as cut and dry as my words made it sound, but due to not being as informed on this issue as others were, I said something that I should have worded differently to convey my point. Just to be clear, I’m not a dispensationalist, I’m firmly covenantal in my understanding of Scripture.

2) Not everybody speaks English as their first language. This should go without saying, but we shouldn’t treat every post on the internet as though the person knows English grammar well. My personal opinion is that English is one of the greatest languages to hit the face of the earth, but that’s for another day! (Yes, there is a note of humor in that remark.) Even still, we should seek clarity to help people express their thoughts in English when it’s not their first language. Moreover, we shouldn’t be so strict on the “stander English” rule. From my perspective, as someone who’s spent some time studying language, and the history of the English language, people don’t know what they’re talking about when they hold a firm, and iron clad rule of universal, standard English. But when it comes to the internet we should be patient, ask questions, and help our brothers and sisters express get across what they intend to mean. This may be asking if they mean to call me stupid when they say I’m ignorant of something, or if they simply mean I lack understanding – both are true about me, the second is a little more polite than the first!

One of the main points I was driving at in the last post, and hoping to highlight here, is that asking questions promotes godliness and humility because it smothers our pride in thinking our initial feelings and interpretation are absolutely correct. A presumptive person cannot be a humble person. Asking questions is obedience to Scripture, and God’s means for us to see that in fact, we are the definition of excellence. Hope that helps some more,

~Jacob