| Discernment |
| Well, the bout that I was dealing with last entry is basically gone for now. So, I'm back to an old-fashioned analytical rant. The intended style for this diary, though it eventually turned into a common diary... AKA whining.
So, here goes! 1 Thess. 5:21a: "Test everything." This was the passage that we focused on for a while in Sunday School today. Not a bad passage in itself. (For goodness sakes, it's Holy Writ!) Problem was this: it was being applied to why we should be okay with going to see a play that showed (and glorified) unChristian themes. Does this really qualify as testing? So, here's the real question: What is testing? I will contend that the best definition of testing is this: discovering and discerning the goodness or evil of something where that state is uncertain. This still leaves open the question: How do we discover and discern good or evil in something? Discovery takes place through observation. This observation can be experiential (personal experience), witnessed (watching personally), or 2nd hand (hearing someone else talk about it). The important thing is that discovery is the process of gathering information. Also, it is preferable to gain knowledge about morally ambiguous things in the opposite order that I have them listed. In other words, 2nd hand is better than witnessed, which is better than experiential. In short "better to hear of evil, than to do it by accident". Discernment is the fun part. My personal view of discernment is drawn from the Quaker tradition (because I love Quaker theology). So, here goes. All discernment of good and evil comes from God. He has given us a two-pronged heirarchy of methods of discernment: 1. Scripture - inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. Note: it is the inspiration that gives the Bible authority. There is, admittedly, a difficulty with it: interpretation. So, though the words are divine, the interpretation may or may not be. However, a position based on Scripture tends to be stronger than one not based on Scripture. 2. Immediate Revelation - unlike some of my Christian counterparts, I do not believe that the revealing work of the Holy Spirit is done. His revelation continues on to today. This revelation can also discern that which is good from that which is evil. However, because this revelation is more of an intuitive nature, it is less reliable than Scripture. It is very easy much of the time to get this divine Revelation mixed up with our own human thoughts and feelings. However, if the Scripture is silent, Immediate Revelation is what we have to fall back on. Now we come to the most important thing: once there is sufficient information to discern whether something is right or wrong, we need to do what vs. 21b and 22 tell us to do. "Hold on to that which is good. Avoid every kind of evil." Ignoring this method that I have detailed can create absurdities. But, they are absurdities that flow directly from the verse I started with. By the way, I need to start a gay relationship. See, I've never experienced it, so I don't think that I've really "tested" whether it's good or not. I really won't know until I sleep with another guy. This is clearly absurd. However, if we want to take "test everything" as an unlimited mandate, then we all need to try out a gay relationship. Oh, I haven't been involved with enough pornography either. I mean, to tell whether or not it's sinful, shouldn't I star in it, or at least film it? Once again: preferring experiential knowledge, and seeing "test everything" as an unlimited mandate. And why stop with homosexuality and porn? Why not experientially check out things like theft, cults, or even murder? In fact, shouldn't we experience every sin before we can actually say that it's sinful (by this logic)? The fact is, we shouldn't. Why? Because this logic is WRONG. It's as simple as that. When you know that something is evil, avoid it. Pure and simple. Now, it's not always easy to avoid it. But, it's easy to determine that you should. So, here's a "brief guide to discernment": 1. Hear about an issue from others. 2. Test the issue against Scripture and immediate revelation. 3. If a conclusion is not reached, look at the thing "first hand" (DON'T participate in it, though). 4. Test again. 5. If a conclution is not reached, you're better avoiding it. It's simply better to choose to avoid something that might be evil. Follow this procedure when you come across something you're not sure of. Now, I just need to work on it, too... |
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