Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Semi-Official Blog of Zack Hunt

Home
Progressive Christian
In Defense Of Christian Bloggers

In Defense Of Christian Bloggers

Last updated on: January 19, 2012 at 3:19 pm by Zack Hunt

In Defense Of Christian Bloggers 2012-01-19T15:19:07-06:00 Zack Hunt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This may come as a surprise to many of you, but I am an internet blogger.

Shocking I know.

There’s a lot of us out there. You may be one yourself. We all blog on a wide range of topics from politics, to photography, to food, or in my case, religion.

Bloggers come in all shapes, sizes, genders, political persuasions, and religious backgrounds. But if there’s anything that ties us all together, it’s the fact that we’re uneducated, unqualified trolls who live alone in our parent’s basements and spend our days causing trouble for the “real” men of God who are “out there in the world” trying to take a stand for truth

At least, that’s what I’ve learned from watching this clip from The Elephant Room (along with other denunciations of internet critics from at least one of the hosts, Mark Driscoll).

Watch the first 1:30 or so of this video and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

(Source)

If you’ve never heard of The Elephant Room, then you may want some context for this post. Instead of a lengthy history, here’s the trailer for round 2 of The Elephant Room that will take place a little over a week from now.

When I first came across this conference(?)/table talk(?) I was really intrigued. I love theology. The idea of a bunch of theologians and pastors sitting around, talking about “tough” theological issues sounded right up my alley. It should give you a pretty good idea of what it’s all about.

Then I watched some of the video from The Elephant Room.

Wow. This is theological dialogue?

Certainly these guys are entitled to hold an event like this and I agree that in theory such an event could be really helpful for the church. That’s not my issue. My issue is the way in which it is presented. Namely, that this is the church (broadly speaking) having an open and honest dialogue about important issues from various perspectives.

From The Elephant Room “About” page….

The Elephant Room is more than an event. It is the outgrowth of an idea.The idea that the best way forward for the followers of Jesus lies not in crouching behind walls of disagreement but in conversation among all kinds of leaders about what the scriptures actually teach. We must insist on the biblical Gospel, right doctrine and practice but not isolate ourselves from relationship even with those who believe much differently.

However, what we have in The Elephant Room is a group of neo-Reformed celebrity pastors ganging up on one, possibly two theological lightweights (no offense intended) from another theological tradition. Shallow theological arguments are made for particular issues and every once in a while there’s a glimpse of reason and logic, but the bulk of the support is found in pandering to popular sentiment and an emphatic denunciation of the opponent and their position.

That’s not theology. It’s demagogy.

The strength (if you can call it that) of the arguments put forth from Driscoll, McDonald, Chandler, and others like them is not found their logic, reason, or biblical scholarship, but in how loudly and forcibly they proclaim what they have to say. It’s this approach that allows these guys to casually toss aside criticism, particularly when it comes from sources they don’t deem acceptable, i.e. internet bloggers like this one.

Are there bloggers out there with dubious or non-existent credentials, who blog from their parent’s basement, ranting incoherently about anything that pops into their noggin? Can these incoherent, anonymous rants cause unnecessary damage to the church?

Absolutely. I’m not debating that.

What I want to call attention to is the outright hypocrisy and profound ignorance behind the assertion that what is written on the internet is lacking in theological validity.

First, the hypocrisy.

Wanna guess which guys in this video have blogs?

Mark Driscoll? Blog.

James McDonald? Blog.

Matt Chandler? Blogs at The Resurgence.

Perry Noble? Blog.

Steven Furtick? Blog.

Greg Laurie? Blog.

To his credit David Platt doesn’t have a blog, but he did write a book. Which is suspiciously like a blog, but in paper, rather than digital form.

So, if blogging about the church, her leaders, and theological issues renders a person’s opinion and/authority null and void (which seem to me what is clearly being implied), then what authority or credibility to any of the guys in this video have if they all have blogs and post their thoughts on the internet via YouTube and social media? Or are their blogging efforts the only acceptable form of online theological expression?

Which leads me to my other issue with Driscoll and McDonald’s casual dismissal of internet bloggers.

Not only do many of us not live in a 1 bedroom apartment surrounded by cats, but many of us are ordained ministers actively involved in full-time ministry. And at least in the case of the guys that run this blog, unlike Mr. Driscoll, we didn’t follow in the path of Joseph Smith, ordain ourselves, reject the authority of every existent denomination and found our own church at which we have no authority higher than ourselves.

I could also go on about the multiple theology degrees (and earned doctorates) that many of us hold, but I digress.

Am I mad? Absolutely. But I’m also really frustrated and profoundly disturbed.

I’m frustrated by Driscoll, McDonald, and the rest of their neo-Reformed friends fashioning themselves and their tradition as the arbitrators of Christian orthodoxy when their own credentials for doing so are often dubious at best. The Christian faith is profoundly diverse and acceptable interpretations of the Bible and doctrine which still fall within the parameters of orthodoxy are almost as equally diverse. Though the neo-Reformed movement may want you to believe otherwise, it is not the dominant theological tradition in the church. Not by a long shot. That honor would go to our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, all 1 billion of them. Furthermore, there are literally hundreds of millions of Protestants who don’t ascribed to neo-Reformed theology.

Having the loudest voice doesn’t make you right, nor does it make you and your tradition the representative of faith. Represent your tradition and do it proudly, but do sow with humility, knowing that you are but one of many voices who also proclaim “Jesus is Lord.”

Finally, I’m profoundly disturbed that people like Driscoll are quickly becoming the faces and voices of the Protestant church. Check out this, this, this, and this and then explain to me why he/they should be the one/ones to speak for the rest of us. This sort of behavior and theology is not the church. Or at least it shouldn’t be. We are called to do better, to think better, to be better than the caricature of Christianity that the faith has become.

I’m not sure exactly how you change the status quo here. However, if the Arab Spring has taught us anything, it’s the power of the internet. Driscoll, McDonald, and the rest may not like it, but “the people” have a voice and a very powerful one at that. So, if you’re a pastor or theologian out there who also happens to be a blogger, then please continue to “fight the good fight”. Please continue to be a voice of reason and diversity in the cacophony of madness that is so often the American church. Always do so with love and grace, but do so courageously, knowing that your platform is no less valid than theirs simply because their church has 10,000 people in attendance and yours has 100 or because their blog gets 5,000 hits a day and yours get only 50.

If these guys really think that the blogs are not a helpful format for discussing then faith, then they should lead be example and take down their own blogs.

Grace and peace,

Zack Hunt

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 19, 2012

Pastor: Using Painkillers During Labor Is Sinful

Next Post

January 20, 2012 Can't Stop Rockin' For Jesus

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Review Classifieds Commentary Fundie Friday Funny Pictures Music Video News Prophecy Technology Televangelist Throwback Thursday Tract Tuesday Tracts Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz