I loved the sense of kindness and thoughtfulness that this article conveys.
As someone whose views would be described as “heretical” by many, who has been “cancelled” by the church leader whom I was involved in appointing, someone who from my point of view has not “backslidden” but transcended and outgrown the strictures of doctrine imposed upon the divine by the institution of the church, who has left all church because I cannot accept the creeds, the canon, the authority of scripture, because they are all man-made (man used intentionally), I am probably just the sort of person most Christians would see as a false teacher.
Indeed, the leader who rebuked my teaching, shaming me in public, did so from a desire to protect, just as in the film Moana, her father doesn’t allow anyone beyond the reef because the open ocean is dangerous - and it is, but spiritual growth lies in the depths, not in the shallows.
So his motivations in cancelling me were just like Paul’s - protecting “the flock” against dangerous false teachers. I’m not the only one he’s cancelled.
And yet, Jesus was exactly such a “dangerous false teacher” in the eyes of the Pharisees and the priests, leading Israel astray, as described in Deuteronomy 13. So much so, that Saul persecuted his followers, until he suddenly realised that it was himself that was wrong and promptly fell off his horse.
Or perhaps the bang on his head of falling from his horse gave him a new perspective - who can say?
Very well written thoughts!
Thank you for reading!
I loved the sense of kindness and thoughtfulness that this article conveys.
As someone whose views would be described as “heretical” by many, who has been “cancelled” by the church leader whom I was involved in appointing, someone who from my point of view has not “backslidden” but transcended and outgrown the strictures of doctrine imposed upon the divine by the institution of the church, who has left all church because I cannot accept the creeds, the canon, the authority of scripture, because they are all man-made (man used intentionally), I am probably just the sort of person most Christians would see as a false teacher.
Indeed, the leader who rebuked my teaching, shaming me in public, did so from a desire to protect, just as in the film Moana, her father doesn’t allow anyone beyond the reef because the open ocean is dangerous - and it is, but spiritual growth lies in the depths, not in the shallows.
So his motivations in cancelling me were just like Paul’s - protecting “the flock” against dangerous false teachers. I’m not the only one he’s cancelled.
And yet, Jesus was exactly such a “dangerous false teacher” in the eyes of the Pharisees and the priests, leading Israel astray, as described in Deuteronomy 13. So much so, that Saul persecuted his followers, until he suddenly realised that it was himself that was wrong and promptly fell off his horse.
Or perhaps the bang on his head of falling from his horse gave him a new perspective - who can say?