Please, I beg of you, read this post with your sense of humor in tact.
As I read about the Reformers, I am struck by how dynamic they were. They were the theological warriors of their day, doing battle against false doctrine and false shepherds. As I think about the modern internet theological warrior, I realize how unlike the Reformers, whom they idolize, they are. We all, at least those of us who are Reformed and spend too much time on the Internet, all have "those" friends: in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties, bearded, self-proclaimed intellectuals with noteworthy theological vocabularies who have taken it upon themselves to reform the Church one post/tweet/etc. at a time. They see themselves as called to correct any and all theological errors being perpetuated on the worldwide web. We all know the type. Heck, some of us are/have been the type. However, I don't recall "Internet Theology Warrior" being one of the offices of the Church described in the New Testament. Now, I do not want to deny the usefulness of the Internet for religious training, nor would I bar the Internet from being subjected to the Kingdom of Christ, but I think we all need to understand the limitations of e-communication and, more importantly, our place in this world. Internet theology warriors are not comparable to the Reformers, as much as they would like to think of themselves as being their spiritual heirs. I would like to outline three very important differences between the Reformers and most of our theologically-literate friends on the Internet.
1) The Reformers were qualified. So here is the main difference between your average guy spouting theology in an on-line forum and those well-respected men we call the Reformers--the Reformers were qualified to challenge the sins of the Church. There are really two aspects to this being qualified: they were ordained church officers and they were learned. Now, don't get me wrong. God can use anyone, from the simplest pauper to the richest king, to reform His Church. He used Peter and He used Paul, clearly showing that social status and academic background are not obstacles to His will. However, so many of these well-meaning young men on the Internet pride themselves in their theological knowledge, and that is precisely where they fall so far short. I understand that many of these men are ordained ministers and have their degrees, but the Reformers intellectually dwarf not only the modern Internet theologian, but even most of our legitimate theologians. The Reformers were not uneducated upstarts disturbing the educated establishment. They knew the Scriptures and Church history and led a resurgence in restoring the importance of studying the original Biblical languages. Many of them were so influential because they were in positions of academic and Church leadership, which leads us to my second point.
2) The Reformers were busy. Reading the life of John Calvin will probably put you to shame for the amount of time you spend doing frivolous things. I know it affected me that way! The Reformers were generally not dawdling theologians who sat around in ivory towers writing long dissertations about unimportant theological minutiae. They were teachers. They were elders. They were shepherds who stayed busy tending their flocks. They poured our their lives into preaching, teaching, and guiding the people of God, and many times had to do so at the risk of their lives. How different this is from the modern Internet theologian! One can certainly redeem time on the Internet (hopefully even by reading random blog posts), but how much time do we waste on the Internet? We are all guilty of such frivolity. The Reformers didn't have time for that kind of thing. They were thing-doers. They spent their lives serving God and His people.
3) The Reformers pursued unity. Many people have this view of the Reformers as independent-minded free thinkers who refused to be shackled by the stifling Roman Catholic Church. Certainly the Roman Catholics painted the Reformers as rebellious heretics who refused to submit to Church authority. When you actually read the writings of the Reformers, however, you'll find that they were actually attempting to unify the Church. Every thing they did and taught was designed to unify the Church under her true head, Jesus Christ, but they knew that sometimes breaking away from false teachers and shepherds was required to accomplish that goal. They believed that the true Church had little to do with the socioreligous system of their day. Unfortunately the modern trend seems to be building our own personal little kingdoms at the expense of the unity of Christ's Church. We encourage the cult of personality instead of Christianity focused on our Lord and Savior. This is a simple way to test the veracity of anyone claiming to reform the Church--is he/she encouraging or harming the unity of the Christ's body? Too many of us fail to heed Paul's call to be "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit."
So next time you're arguing with someone on the Internet, seeking to persuade them to turn from their grave error, try to remember your place in this world. Before you go trying to reform the Church, reflect on whether or not you are qualified for such a role, how you are working to serve God's people, and whether or not you are pursuing unity by doing so.
As I read about the Reformers, I am struck by how dynamic they were. They were the theological warriors of their day, doing battle against false doctrine and false shepherds. As I think about the modern internet theological warrior, I realize how unlike the Reformers, whom they idolize, they are. We all, at least those of us who are Reformed and spend too much time on the Internet, all have "those" friends: in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties, bearded, self-proclaimed intellectuals with noteworthy theological vocabularies who have taken it upon themselves to reform the Church one post/tweet/etc. at a time. They see themselves as called to correct any and all theological errors being perpetuated on the worldwide web. We all know the type. Heck, some of us are/have been the type. However, I don't recall "Internet Theology Warrior" being one of the offices of the Church described in the New Testament. Now, I do not want to deny the usefulness of the Internet for religious training, nor would I bar the Internet from being subjected to the Kingdom of Christ, but I think we all need to understand the limitations of e-communication and, more importantly, our place in this world. Internet theology warriors are not comparable to the Reformers, as much as they would like to think of themselves as being their spiritual heirs. I would like to outline three very important differences between the Reformers and most of our theologically-literate friends on the Internet.
1) The Reformers were qualified. So here is the main difference between your average guy spouting theology in an on-line forum and those well-respected men we call the Reformers--the Reformers were qualified to challenge the sins of the Church. There are really two aspects to this being qualified: they were ordained church officers and they were learned. Now, don't get me wrong. God can use anyone, from the simplest pauper to the richest king, to reform His Church. He used Peter and He used Paul, clearly showing that social status and academic background are not obstacles to His will. However, so many of these well-meaning young men on the Internet pride themselves in their theological knowledge, and that is precisely where they fall so far short. I understand that many of these men are ordained ministers and have their degrees, but the Reformers intellectually dwarf not only the modern Internet theologian, but even most of our legitimate theologians. The Reformers were not uneducated upstarts disturbing the educated establishment. They knew the Scriptures and Church history and led a resurgence in restoring the importance of studying the original Biblical languages. Many of them were so influential because they were in positions of academic and Church leadership, which leads us to my second point.
2) The Reformers were busy. Reading the life of John Calvin will probably put you to shame for the amount of time you spend doing frivolous things. I know it affected me that way! The Reformers were generally not dawdling theologians who sat around in ivory towers writing long dissertations about unimportant theological minutiae. They were teachers. They were elders. They were shepherds who stayed busy tending their flocks. They poured our their lives into preaching, teaching, and guiding the people of God, and many times had to do so at the risk of their lives. How different this is from the modern Internet theologian! One can certainly redeem time on the Internet (hopefully even by reading random blog posts), but how much time do we waste on the Internet? We are all guilty of such frivolity. The Reformers didn't have time for that kind of thing. They were thing-doers. They spent their lives serving God and His people.
3) The Reformers pursued unity. Many people have this view of the Reformers as independent-minded free thinkers who refused to be shackled by the stifling Roman Catholic Church. Certainly the Roman Catholics painted the Reformers as rebellious heretics who refused to submit to Church authority. When you actually read the writings of the Reformers, however, you'll find that they were actually attempting to unify the Church. Every thing they did and taught was designed to unify the Church under her true head, Jesus Christ, but they knew that sometimes breaking away from false teachers and shepherds was required to accomplish that goal. They believed that the true Church had little to do with the socioreligous system of their day. Unfortunately the modern trend seems to be building our own personal little kingdoms at the expense of the unity of Christ's Church. We encourage the cult of personality instead of Christianity focused on our Lord and Savior. This is a simple way to test the veracity of anyone claiming to reform the Church--is he/she encouraging or harming the unity of the Christ's body? Too many of us fail to heed Paul's call to be "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit."
So next time you're arguing with someone on the Internet, seeking to persuade them to turn from their grave error, try to remember your place in this world. Before you go trying to reform the Church, reflect on whether or not you are qualified for such a role, how you are working to serve God's people, and whether or not you are pursuing unity by doing so.
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