Think Wink.

I posted earlier about how in Christian Doctrine I class, we diverted from our topic just so we could go down a major rabbit trail known as Calvinism verses Arminianism. We spent an hour discussing this topic when our lecture was to be on the necessity and sufficeincy of the Scriptures. Well, when we came to the lecture two weeks ago on the attributes of God, our prof was at a meeting for Baptist seminaries to figure out where they are and where they need to go. Another prof stepped up and was a sub for our class. While more appropriate for the discussion of God’s attributes was this debate on election, it was still not necessary. Yet the prof felt it was absolutely needed that he try to strike down Calvinism. Again, it didn’t work however his use of the Scripture instead of philosophy was greatly receive by myself and my Reformed adelphous in the class.

That kind of debate is very annoying to me because it detracts and distracts. We were there to learn about the Scriptures of God and then God’s attributes. We were not there to discuss Reformed soteriology. I find that too many people think that we need to argue over nonrelated subjects for the sake of arguing. I love to debate Calvinism, I love to debate Dispensationalism. However, there is a time when we don’t need to debate it. Thursday in my Prophetis Literature class, one student was wanting to tie things to the great tribulation (notice how its not capitalized). The professor refused to go down that path. Another person asked about the plagues of Egypt and their purpose. But again the prof refused to go down that path. We weren’t talking about the Exodus, we were talking about Jeremiah and the sins of Judah.

Monday in Doctrine, we are discussing God’s providence. In the text, the author gives his views of providence from a Calvinistic view. Then he brings in the Arminian argument and interacts with it. Therefore I will ask questions of the textbook and of the prof in class. It is the appropriate time to debate that issue. Our textbook says so. But I am not going to drag on the discussion so that we cannot cover all of the material we read.

Everything has a proper time. On the blog Theology for the Masses, we are trying to discuss these issues and wrap our heads around them. There it is appropriate to debate these things. We must be mindful of what we bring up, who we are talking to, and the spirit in which the discussion is taking place. If the timing is right, then go for it. But don’t do it in a dishonoring fashion like my substitute prof did two weeks ago. Sometimes people are not in a good spirit to debate and we provoke anger by bringing up something we should not.

If I could encourage people with one thing this weekend and this week, be wise as serpents when beginning a discussion and gentle as doves when discussing it. There is a time and place for everything. Be discerning of when and where that is and there will be much harmony in your life and in your relationships.

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