Articles
Critical Thinking Skills - 8
In my opinion, conservative Bible students tend to be literalists. We respect the authority of scripture and endeavor to follow it as closely as possible. We recognize the importance of original intent, contextual accuracy and logical consistency. We sometimes parrot a slogan of the “old timers”: “We speak where the Bible speaks, and we are silent where the Bible is silent.” This maxim was coined in a period of our country’s early history where denominational division was rife, and “restorationists” were engaged in hot debates with religious authorities who were leading their constituents astray with corrupted doctrine.
But by nature, slogans are not nuanced. They are designed to convey an overall thought; to create a “sound bite” or a memorable, focused principle. When one begins to examine details, further explanations are necessary.
“We speak where the Bible speaks” might leave the impression that we literally practice everything that is taught in the Bible. But we do no such thing. The critic loves to quote from the Old Testament – usually some obscure Jewish practice or an instruction about attacking an enemy or the death penalty – and asks, “Do you do that?” Or someone of a Pentecostal persuasion might quote 1 Cor 14:1 – “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” – and chide, “Why don’t you believe in modern day prophecy?”
The flip side – “We are silent where the Bible is silent” – might also be viewed with a critical eye: “The Bible is silent on churches buying property and building a special place to assemble, yet you own a church building.” Or, “The Bible is silent about teaching children’s classes and coloring pictures of Jesus; the Bible is silent about using PowerPoint and TV monitors; the Bible is silent about the church having a bank account and members making contributions on the Lord’s day using checks – and yet you do all these things. So, you really don’t practice what you preach.”
So, are they right?
In a sense they are, if it is true that we have misled folks by an adage rather than by a fuller explanation of things. And this is where adages and catch phrases become problematic: we may rely on them as a glib justification or comeback and overlook the responsibility we have to explain ourselves to the degree necessary. Over time we may ourselves forget what the adage really means.
But in another sense their criticisms show a lack of understanding of what Biblical authority truly is. First, not everything authorized in Scripture is specified. In fact, there is broad, discretionary activity allowed to Christians under the new covenant that is adaptable to a global environment (which is what the kingdom/church is intended to be) and subject to wisdom and circumstance. Consider a rather obvious example: No, there is not a specific passage that says, “Thou art permitted to use computer projections” when computers and display monitors did not exist in the first century. How to teach is far less specified than what to teach. In teaching God’s word we are permitted to divide into ages, plot our own course of study, employ mechanical aids, use the Socratic method (asking questions) or lecture format, study verse-by-verse or topically, etc. The new covenant doesn’t regiment such things, so they are authorized though one cannot point to a specific verse to justify what is a matter of liberty.
However, when we exercise this flexibility, we must ensure that we are not violating other Biblical principles or doctrines that may be tangentially connected. The use of mechanical instruments of music in worship is a good example of this. If God had issued a generic command such as “make music,” then that would enable Christians to play instruments, have choirs or innovate musically in other ways. But this would run counter to the instruction actually given: “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ”; “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Eph 5:19-20; Col 3:16).
Ø “Speaking to one another” rules out choirs, praise bands, solos and other “performance” arts.
Ø “Singing” is a specific form of music, different from but often in association with instrumental music. A lack of critical thinking skill often leads to the mistake of starting with a specific, reasoning back to a generic category and then going in another direction from the generic – thus straying from the original specific. It works like this: “Singing is a form of music, and music encompasses a wide variety of options. Therefore, playing a piano is the same as singing.” This is a logical fallacy.
Ø “In your heart” actually identifies the “instrument” of origin for musical worship. The melody is made in the mind; it’s not even the vocal chords, per se, for they can be engaged in singing notes but to no avail if the heart is not also engaged. God wants the heart, not vocal quality – and certainly not banging on drums or riffing on guitars in a display of contemporary entertainment.
Ø “Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” identifies the content of the music. Though various styles of music can be emotionally moving – inspiring, melancholy, reflective, etc. – what we are to offer in worship are songs of spiritual content to God (praise, petitions, adoration, thanksgiving, confession of sin, pleas for forgiveness) and to each other (hope, edification, comfort, encouragement, admonition).
It is easy to become mentally sloppy about this or even other elements of our faith. We might be staunch about authority in our earlier years, then mellow later and reject the standards we once held. Or, vice versa, we may be lax in our younger years and, after wising up through real life, become more “conservative” or careful in our approach. The main objective is to develop a healthy sense of Scriptural authority which grows out of respect for the God who issued the new covenant to begin with. We need to be just as flexible and/or rigid as the Scriptures direct us through a careful and consistent study of them.
