True Confessions of Hannah Faith

A Response to Recent AYOR Postings

Posted on July 8th, 2004 by hanfaith.
Categories: Deep Thoughts.

This summer, I have taken a backseat to the active lifestyle I previously pursued this spring on the board. Mostly, it has been the result of sheer lack of time, the amusements of having out-of-state family around, and a growing lack of interest in some aspects of the board. It appears, though I am fairly new to the board, that the summer is not what the school year is in terms of participation, wit, and community. It’s still somewhat there, but you can tell that people have more to do with their time than sit and stare at a computer screen all day.

Anyway, my board activity has definitely been reduced to one of lurking. I still go on and read most of the posts, but I find little to say in response.

But recent arguments in the AYOR have sparked a flare within me. While I don’t want to get truly involved in the debates due to time restraints and just the headache of trying to keep up with it all, I think my blog may be the appropriate place to voice my thoughts.

It has been recently debated on the AYOR such things as the innerancy of scripture and the truth of the trinity. Such things disturb me. If we do not believe the scriptures to be the true word of God, then what basis do we have for our faith? If we believe that some things can be taken as true, and others can be left for false - who gets to do the picking and choosing, and with what authority? If we give authority to logic, it is bound to fail. I am wary of those who claim, as it appears on the AYOR that some lean this way, of an experiential gospel: i.e. I believe that which I know to be true only through my own experiences and not necessarily that which the Bible has revealed. While Christ has and does reveal himself to us in this way (through experiences), it is not the only way - and not the central way. The whole Bible testifies to His glory - and to disbelieve in the total truth of the Bible is (in my mind)to somewhat try to diminish that glory. This seems to me to be a slipperly slope to start walking down. Once you believe that the Bible isn’t “completely” true, you open up a world of heresies and false doctrines to infultrate your beliefs.

As to the trinitarian discussion, I also am slightly unnerved at the readiness with which some will openly confess being a Christian and yet denying “Three in One”. It was for times such as this that the Apostles Creed is, to me, a refreshing confession to fall back on. I have to agree with some on the board that to deny the trinity, is in many ways, a heresy. It scares me somewhat to declare this, because I myself am not intellectual enough to confront all of the debate. And yet, it is a belief that the Church over time has held to strongly, consitently, and has not been afraid to defend. It is not a debate within the church such as between Free Will and Calvinism, but instead, seems to me to be a debate of radicals on the outskirts of the church - and we should be wary, lest they influence weak Christians.

Generally, I like the discussions in the AYOR - they spur me on to study further, but recently, it seems like so much potential heresy and wishy/washy doctrine is mixed in there, that I am concerned that maybe it is not a healthy place for me to be right now. In the mean time, I think it is possibly best for me to continue to lurk, but not post there.

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