SOMEONE TELL ME, Clay Nuttall, D. Min.
These
long days of illness have given me a good opportunity to triple my reading
time. It has been very profitable, and I am reading more widely than ever.
While it assists me in my research, I keep coming back to questions that are
not found in any written text. Having spent a lifetime in ministry, education,
and missions, my mind is full of questions. Some answers are clear; others are
not. As you read my questions, you may have some wisdom to share. If so, I ask
you to pass it on to me.
Some
weeks ago, I had lunch with a dear friend who is the president of a well-known
seminary in another country. We were considering the impact, or lack thereof, of
theological education on every level. I could easily spend a month recording
the positive effects of training on the lives of so many who have served the
Lord so well. Many of these folks have gone on to their reward, and we are
grateful for having known them. On the negative side, though, it has been
painful to see men and women who appeared to have been well-trained but who
have slid, or jumped, into theological systems and questionable moral practices
of which they now seem to be proud. This type of errant direction was unusual
in the past, but it has now become a rush with men and women who ought to know
better. So my question to you is this: “Why has this departure from truth
become so popular?”
ONE
THING I AM SURE OF
There
is no question in my mind that the American model of education is responsible
for adding fuel to this fire. The liberal mind-set has always been a part of
that system. It is flawed and tends to hide behind intellectualism, philosophy,
and so-called “science.” It is intellectually cruel with the capacity to turn
truth into a lie, deluding people into thinking that it is indeed the truth. As
time has passed, this “liberal mind-set” has become the majority and has now
created a mental dictatorship.
The
admission that something is a lie comes when you have to force others to think
like you do. Ultimately, you are punished if you don’t think (or believe) like
they do. If truth doesn’t stand on its own two feet, then it is a lie. This is
exactly where our world is at this moment.
The
liberal mind-set makes much to-do about “critical and analytical thinking,” the
truth is that their approach forbids such serious consideration. The American
educational model is really just indoctrination and brainwashing. If you don’t
support the fairy tales of evolution, global warming (even they know that was
dumb), and moral degradation such as sodomy or transgenderism, you are a danger
- an enemy. You are not allowed to either think or speak on the subject.
THE
RESULT OF THIS PLAGUE
Almost
everyone we know today has been raised to think with a liberal mind-set. It
might be understandable that this could happen in an academic world run by
intellectual pagans. It is understandable that the present plight of this
nation came about because the liberal mind-set is now the only one that is
tolerated.
What
troubles me is that this mind-set has become the standard for most so-called
Christian institutions. Our crowd “longed for the leeks and garlic of Egypt [Numbers 11:5].”
They wanted to be like the “big boys” in education. Like all departures from
error, some of that error was carried along. Such is the sad story of Luther
and Calvin.
That
is not to say that some institutions are not battling to pass on a biblical
mind-set. Of course most of them would say that they do “think biblically,” but
where is the proof? They have bought into the world of “form” rather than the
imperative of “content and meaning.” A good education will cover a lot of
ground and disciplines, but it will never bow to human reason as the final
authority. Everything ought to begin and end with the authority of the Word of
God.
OBSERVING
THE FAITHFUL
So
how can it be that some who were trained with a high biblical standard, with
professors or pastors who were loved and respected, could then move to flawed
theology? At this point, I am thinking of men who were educated beside me or in
front of me. Some of this has to do with our own circle of education, where
indoctrination or brain-washing was used. They were not taught critical and
analytical thinking, and the truth as it was presented never became their own.
Pick
up the catalog of an institution, any institution, and start asking questions
about individual courses or sections. Where is that clear effort to lead the
student in owning the theological truth? Course after course is full of good
information, our truth. We even give them exams so that we can know they
remembered our truth. Where is the emphasis of God’s truth as it is displayed
in the text, in that the student knows how to own what he gleaned from that
text?
Those
who have moved on to theological error and the liberal mind-set didn’t get it.
They have joined the great movement of “adding to the Bible” whatever they want
it to say. Intellectual pride makes that so easy. Young men in particular are
lured by theologians with twisted minds who a have made rewriting the Bible
into an art form.
So
here we are back at the beginning. The fact is that not all students will get
it, but I would be satisfied if most of them did. I have a short list in front
of me; how did these men get drawn into a historical theology that reads like
“Alice in Wonderland???”
