Games Preachers Play

The subject of this post is provocative, I know, but let me explain.

I heard a minister on Moody Bible Radio this morning (don't know his name) preach on how spiritually blind others are, even though they claim to see.[1]

This is a rhetorical device, not an attempt to seriously consider and discard opposing viewpoints.

It can be summarized this way: "You've read the same books I have, you use the same words, and your perspective even makes sense, but you don't understand like I do, and I'm going to explain it to you."

What this does is effectively remove common ground and put the speaker in a position of incontestable authority,

I suppose if there's a place where this belongs, it's the pulpit. But it bothers me that so many listeners uncritically follow the speaker down that path.[2]

You know what I'd like to hear a preacher say? "To the best of my prayerful understanding, I believe this to be true."

Pastor Kenneth L Andrus at Bethel Baptist Church in Erie, PA was that way. You knew he believed he was right and others were wrong; but he didn't have to say that. He was gently uncompromising.

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[1]
It's the only morning talk station that I reliably get on my downstairs bathroom radio, so it's what I hear for 10 minutes a day or so. And it's close to the tradition I was brought up in. I know the sentiments like the back of my hand.

[2]
Caveat: If the speaker claims this authority, I don't mind; at least then we're on the same page and I can balance his words against his qualifications. And no, it can't be "because it's in the Bible." If that were so, we'd all only need to read it once and every debate would be solved. Most Christian debates start with the Bible, but very few end there.

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Started: 2012-12-09