“Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous. The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true."
A.W. Tozer. "The Knowledge of the Holy."
This is by far my favorite quote. I wholeheartedly agree with it. However, in my sinful self I corrupted even this truth.
Idolater! I cried whenever I met somebody holding to what I considered an unorthodox theology. Now, don't get me wrong, I still think Calvinism is right. And I don't think that is wrong to be right. What has changed is my realization is that even the most reformed theologian is still not able to think totally correctly about God. I don't care if you are a Calvinist, a Covenant theologian, a Pedo-baptist, chances are that you have some messed up theology somewhere. Can we say total depravity? it doesn't even let us think correctly about God. We are all idolaters.
I concluded then, that we are all in the same boat. I have no right to judge, criticize, or bad mouth anyone with different theology than mine- even when I may be certain that they are wrong.
It is not easy. I am a prideful beast sometimes. I need God's grace. I need to be sanctified. I need humility. And I think a bunch of us do. As DW said, may God have mercy on us.
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2 comments:
Hey Taty,
I didn't know you had a blog. Cool deal.
It's been interesting as I've been home talking to folks about theological matters and trying to display a little theological humility and charity. Folks are often surprised to hear a Calvinist say things like "well, I can understand why the Catholics would say such-and-such, because they're really trying to do justice to such-and-such a text" or "As someone standing in the Reformed tradition, I really have trouble with such-and-such a text. Generally, I've found Dispensationalist exegetes are better on this point." Folks are often shocked, even troubled, to hear theological discourse that lacks a rancorous, polemical edge. The more the Holy Spirit trims away my young Calvinistic arrogance the more I see that the line between idolater and true-worshipper doesn't necessarily cut along the theological lines we like to draw.
Blessings,
D
taty!
hey roomie:) somehow i didn't know you had a blog either. and yours is cool! you actually take the time to talk about important issues. mine is not so cool. but hey! now i know you are here, and we can replace any real-life interaction we may have with blog commenting! hahaha. just kidding! i love seeing you. i hope class went well this morning!
-r
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