Lie #15 – Proof Matters Most

from Helena Sorensen Aman:

Lie #15: “Proof matters most.”

(This is a reminder that I am speaking out of what I have experienced and observed in Protestant, Evangelical churches. If I were to wait until I saw and understood everything perfectly, I would never say a word.) In my experience of Christianity, rational argument and Biblical “proof” reign supreme. We could have a long conversation about infallibility and Biblical interpretation and so on, but frankly, I’ve had enough of those discussions for three lifetimes. Here’s what I want to say:

*Whatever it is you’re preaching and whatever it is you think God is saying, your motive matters. Unfortunately, this requires self-awareness. It requires us to acknowledge our fears and recognize the influence of shame on what we believe. This is hard interior work for which very few of us were well equipped by the church.

*Whatever it is you’re preaching and whatever it is you think God is saying, the fruit matters. You cannot place all blame on the failure of human beings to live up to a perfect standard. The message, and what has grown out of it, matters.

*Whatever it is you’re preaching and whatever it is you think God is saying, the fact that it produces division is not proof of its veracity. The divisiveness of an issue, as we have daily evidence, proves nothing. We think we’re being courageously honest about what the Bible says, but are we equally honest about the limits of our understanding? Are we honest about our addiction to certainty?