Millstones and Methodists

Not for all of them, just for a few--unless they repent.

My four daughters think I should blog about the long and difficult day we had yesterday. About how one of them had to shell out a lot of money for a new phone which she resents having to even own. How one melted down about how she will probably never take another interesting class again in her life (talk about doom). About how the roadworks of Binghamton make it impossible to drive anywhere in a timely manner. And several other things that I forgot. I said I couldn’t do that because it would be too boring. Don’t worry, O Best Beloveds, the school year is almost over.

Also, Matt sent me this because I didn’t have a single moment to scroll and catch up on all the news:

Woke Preacher Clips most helpfully offered a takedown here. I have a few thoughts. The first is that, as an Anglican, I think that stole with the robe and bow tie looks ridiculous. The second is that it’s tragic that that building is so full. It’s a gorgeous space, but all those people should stand up and walk out.

The third is that the authoritative manner of the “clergy person,” because he is so full of lies, is arrogant rather than humble. Preachers ought to speak authoritatively—when they are telling the truth. The strong preacher thundering from the pulpit—when he is telling the truth—is the very picture of meekness and humility. A person who stands up to unfold the scriptures ought to have done all he can to understand the text. It’s possible to read the Bible and know what it says. That’s the job of the preacher. To read, understand, and then explain the text to the people of God. He should speak with confidence, enjoining the congregation to attend and listen so that they might be shaped according to the whole counsel of God’s Word. But when the preacher lies—as this person has done here—it is arrogance. It is self-serving. It is dangerous.

The lies are plentiful—in the details, setting one scripture against another, as if it is not obvious that God chose to unfold and reveal his character and nature over centuries, culminating in the coming of Christ, who showed us the Father. But also in the work of undermining the coherence of something that it is possible to understand, that was given to us for life and not for death. To say that God is not able to speak, that he hasn’t given us a way of knowing him, that it is our job to pick and choose according to our own measures, is a great and terrible lie.

Honestly, Rachel Held Evans did this better in A Year of Biblical Womanhood, which is a terrible, terrible book, but at least well expressed. You take the ordinary and reasonable phenomenon of human speech and pretend that to read something “literally” means turning into Amelia Bedelia (thanks to Jady for pointing this out). When told to “draw the curtains,” Amelia Bedelia gets out her sketchbook instead of walking over and closing the curtains. It’s silly, and children will laugh uproariously. It’s just as silly to do this to the Bible.

The person who leads the Lord’s little ones into sin and death, as this person is doing here, should go back and read the New Testament. The words recorded there, about what those people can look forward to, are most clear. Best to choose to heed them, and not pretend they don’t mean what they say.

Have a nice day!