The Online Dictionary defines “McCarthyism” as:
1. The practice of making accusations of disloyalty, especially of pro-Communist activity, in many instances unsupported by proof or based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence.
2. The practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism.
As time passed, the term came to be associated with reckless, uninformed and unsubstantiated accusations. During the McCarthy era, many Americans were falsely accused and aggressively scrutinized by those who had already passed verdict in their own minds concerning those who were being accused. Despite assertions under oath concerning their innocence, many people lost their jobs, saw their reputations destroyed and some were even imprisoned.
“Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist party? was often nothing less than an accusation posed as a question. Undoubtedly, there were those whose allegiance to the United States was exposed but, in the process, many others were unfairly persecuted to the point of great personal loss.
The irony of the ugly tactics sometimes used during that shameful time in American history is that it was carried forward under the banner of “the fight for America.” While “the Red Scare” may have turned over rocks and exposed some, the fear-based passion among many left other innocent people with the tag of “Communist Sympathizer” even if there was no basis for such a judgment.
Regardless of ones political predisposition concerning American politics today, almost all Americans readily recognize the excessive and unfair abuse of many people during the fifties who didn’t deserve to be judged and found guilty using such spurious claims against them.
This is the kind of thing nobody is surprised about when it comes to the steely, cold hand of politics. As deplorable as it is, this sort of thing goes on across the world in governmental offices, agencies and committees every day. It’s “the nature of the beast.”
Sadly, this same calloused witch-hunt seems to have moved into the church world. The modern “Fight for Othodoxy” has often brought forth the same kind of tactics employed by those in the “Fight for America” six decades ago. The sad thing that is simultaneously amazing and horrifying is that it often exists among those who profess to belong to “the grace community.”
“Are you now or have you ever been a Universalist?” “Do you or do you not believe in a literal hell?” “Is it your viewpoint that everybody has already been saved? These type questions seem to be the order of the day for many. A forthright and avowed denial of such accusations is often still met with the cold verdict of guilt or, at the least, the lingering murmur that those in question surely are “Universalist sympathizers” if not themselves Universalists. It doesn’t matter that the accused affirms confidence in the Scripture and in the historic stand of the church on these matters. If the accuser can’t fit it into the religious, cultural boundaries of his own background and experience, no amount of clarification or explanation is enough. To the contrary, the accused is deemed guilty without even an opportunity for a fair hearing. Then the guilty verdict is spread through the rumor-mill under the guise of concern for the accused or those who could potentially be exposed to the teaching in question. Statements are lifted out of context or refitted into a contextual format for which they were never intended.
Reckless accusation abounds. State that you believe every person was included in the finished work of Christ and that you believe the benefits of the cross are already efficacious for every person and you will likely find that no amount of explanation in the world will cause some to believe that you are not a Universalist. Tell somebody you don’t agree with the Augustinian understanding of the nature of hell, and they may well then announce that you don’t believe it hell. Fail to give adamant, ironclad, dogmatic answers to questions that have been debated for millennia and you run the risk of being called a heretic simply because you don’t express politically correct certitude on the matter. The unforgiveable sin in the Gracestapo today is to leave a question open-ended. There can be no unanswered questions. It’s all perfectly clear to those for whom it is clear.
I cannot count the times I’ve heard Rob Bell called a Universalist despite his repeated insistence that he is not. Answering the straightforward question "Are you a Universalist?" posed by Newsweek's Lisa Miller Monday night, Bell said, "No, if by Universalist we mean there's a giant cosmic arm that swoops everybody in at some point whether you want to be there or not," he elaborated. Despite his answer, many (including a great number who have never even read his book) insist that he is a Universalist to this day. Evidence, schmevidence. "The man’s a Universalist and a heretic." So goes the momentum.
I’ve seen that tactic myself. One “grace teacher” even said that Steve McVey is a Universalist in the same way that one is a legalist even if he doesn’t know it. My response was that his accusation impugned either my integrity or my intelligence. The accusation suggested that I was either lying about my views or else that, unlike my better-informed critic, I don’t know even understand what Universalism is.
This is the climate in which we find ourselves and it’s unfortunate. No, on second thought, it’s tragic. While we get bogged down in sectarian arguments over things that neither deny the supremacy of Christ’s finished work nor the necessity to believe it in faith, the rest of the world is starving to taste the love of God.
Ignorance is a curse, regardless of which position we take on a matter. In some instances, modern Evangelicalism is no different from the very cult groups we have often criticized or condemned. We have a position and that position cannot be reexamined, questioned and certainly not renounced without serious repercussions.
Truth never changes. It is an absolute that stands the test of time. On the other hand, our understanding of truth does evolve. There was a time when the church accepted slavery, misogyny, the lack of civil rights, and other unbiblical positions that we now know were wrong. It is unrealistic to believe that there still may be areas of truth that need further exploration while maintaining complete trust in the Spirit who will guide us and holding a high view of Scripture which will instruct us?
Show me a man who becomes angered by a different viewpoint and I’ll show you one who is insecure in his own position. If truth can’t withstand scrutiny, examination and the give and take of varying interpretations then truth isn’t all we’ve had it cracked up to be. But it can. Truth will outlast all our discussions and debates.
In my own journey, the greatest surprise has been the ungracious way some “grace people” have responded when others spoke something that contradicted the party line. Pejorative labels have been assigned. Integrity has been questioned. People have been renounced, expelled and shunned by those who fear that exposure to the person they believe has erred may lead people astray.
These words may sound self-serving but what I’ve witnessed reaches much further than my own experience. I could list names of others who have become castaways to those who once professed to be fellow laborers in the gospel, if not friends. These expulsions often have happened without so much as a word. Read a blog. Ask somebody else who doesn’t know the facts either. Have your opinion validated. Pass verdict and sentence. Done. End of discussion. Attack.
It feels and looks like McCarthyism all over again. None of us have a corner on the truth, but are all in a process of personal growth and development. If a person hasn’t changed his view in any way in twenty years, I submit that that he hasn’t grown. Growth is impossible without change, but that’s a scary proposition to those who have become comfortable in their existing paradigm.
Some who want to continue to grow in their understanding of grace have learned that Bilbo Baggins was correct: “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." (The Fellowship of The Ring) It’s so true that once you are willing to submit your journey to The Wind and give up your own footing, you can’t know where He may carry you.
I submit a proposal to each of us who love the grace of God. Let’s not vilify each other, not even with cunning words cloaked in a gracious tone and vocabulary, couched under the pretense of concern. If we have a problem with each other, let’s talk about it with each other and not to others. Let’s agree to trust the Holy Spirit with His people and realize it’s not up to us to protect them from one another. Let’s realize that we may be wrong in some of our existing views, admitting that we each are where we are in our understanding after sincere and heartfelt study, prayer and confidence that His Spirit is leading us. Let’s not take offense that somebody else's view contradicts our own and let’s not feel a need to respond every time we read or hear something we disagree with. Let’s each proclaim the love of God to the extent and within the framework of what we believe the Bible teaches. Let’s not distance ourselves from each other over style, mannerisms, personality or methods by which we share the truth but instead appreciate the value of the Treasure we each are seeking to share in our respective ways. Let’s respect each others sincerity and embrace each others hearts even when our heads can’t quite make a connection. Let’s feed those who are starving to taste true Agape. Let’s lay aside offended pride, bruised egos and the urge to react to somebody just because we know we can win the argument. Let's not try to build ourselves up by bringing somebody else down. Let’s love. Because if we fail to do that, the rest of this is just a big pile of “dung” (KJV) that nobody except us even cares about. They just want Jesus and, in that way, they are ahead of all the rest of us who would rather spend our time denigrating, dissecting, and debating.
I offer my sincere apology to those who would contend that I, myself, have failed in this area. I have, but this is where I am at this point. By God's grace, I hope to stand here. Will you join me?
(For those who don't even know what all this is about, thank God for having shielded you from some of the ugliness among His people.)
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