Many of you know that Melanie has had serious back problems
for several years now. She has had multiple operations. The last one was when
she fractured vertebrae when she vomited after eating spoiled food in a
restaurant. It hasn’t been easy.
Well, the good news is that I think her troubles are soon
over. I’ve been reading about a surgery that I think I can do myself. I read on
Wikipedia that a doctor in Switzerland developed it. I won’t try to explain it
here but it involves making an incision in her back three inched wide and two
inches deep. Then there’s tapping the vertebrae back in place with a small
hammer, sort of like a geological tool. I read on another medical (well,
actually holisitic health) site that there’s a special bone adhesive you use. I
can buy the glue from that site. I don’t have every single detail figured out
but I think I’ve got the idea well enough that once we’ve bought the necessary
supplies, I’m going to take the scalpel and go in! We’d appreciate your
prayers.
Are you okay with that? Well, relax. It’s not true. I’d be
an idiot to think I can understand back surgery by reading Wikipedia and a few
web sites by people who are generally opposed to surgery. Everybody would see
through that it in second.
On the other hand, the same can’t be said about theology.
I’m amazed by the number of blogs, Facebook posts and comments I read in which
somebody professes to be solving problems and giving exact answers about
theology that have been debated from the very beginning of the early church.
How’d they come up with their definitive answers to age-old questions?
Wikipedia. Or their favorite preacher’s blog. Or their next door neighbor’s
nephew’s pastor, who reputedly told the nephew the answer before it was passed
back up line to them.
And the amazing thing? People buy it. In fact, they repeat
it. Like parrots in a pet store, they all start screeching the same thing. They
haven’t studied the Bible to come to an answer. Why should they? They
learned what Trinitarianism is from Wikipedia! They understand the whole issue
of hell because they read online where (insert name) explained it. They heard a
guy say that he knew a guy who saw a guy embrace that doctrine and it wrecked
his family’s life!
In today’s religious climate there are two dangers, coming
from opposite extremes. The first is rejecting something we hear because it is
new to us. The other is embracing something we hear because it is new to us.
Some people seek to preserve tradition and are threatened by ideas that
contradict what they’ve always believed. Others, who’ve been burned in the
religious world, impulsively jump on any new idea they believe is a slap in the
face to the tradition they have heartily renounced.
Paul commended the Berean Christians by saying, “These
people were more receptive than those in Thessalonica. They were very willing
to receive the message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to
see if those things were so” (Acts 17:11)
Listen to those you respect. Read the blogs. Check out the FB posts, but
at the end of the day, study the Bible for yourself. None of us are 100% right
on everything we say. We’re all in process. We certainly can learn from each
other but we each have the duty to study the Scripture and see what The Teacher
says to us about the things we’ve heard and read.
I need to go now. Melanie’s back hurts and I have a knife,
hammer and glue to purchase.
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