Letter from America

Over-kill is the equivalent of using a hammer to crack a nut. To 'over-kill' in a particular situation is to go to an extreme, to 'over-react', in order to accomplish an otherwise commendable goal. Cracking a nut is fine; using a hammer might seem impressive but it is probable that the resulting innards of the nut will be either scattered to the four corners of the room or smashed to pulp.

It is my growing conviction that 'Over-kill' is setting in among conservative Christians in America. Perhaps you'll recognise the same phenomenon closer to home. While I presume that my theologically conservative credentials are assumed because I am writing for Evangelicals Now, it is perhaps nonetheless worth stating what to me and anyone who has heard me preach is obvious: I am a theological conservative. To say that I am somewhat right of Attila the Hun theologically speaking might not be a 'nice' way to put it, but you get the idea.

So this is not a remark from an enemy of the conservative evangelical cause, but a friend. An insider, I guess, to some degree. Nor is it to deny the equally true truth that there are parts of American Christianity which remain radically liberal. What is known as 'Open Theism' (the idea that God changes with time) is a current theological battle underway whose defeat is a crucial aim of all who love biblical Christianity. There are other examples we could enumerate. Let us take it for granted that liberalism still exists, as does its younger cousin 'moderatism', or its elder uncle 'liberal evangelicalism'.

Abuse and right use

What I am talking about is a certain unsubtlety and inflexibility of mind and approach that comes from having insufficiently grasped the grandeur and scope of biblical teaching, and from over-reacting to liberal movements of bygone eras. For instance, until recently those who espoused any kind of 'social' action were viewed as tainted by liberalism. The fact that historically evangelicals were at the forefront of social action seems to have been forgotten. The logical principle 'the abuse of a thing does not deny its correct use' will apply here as frequently elsewhere. Or, ethical issues are gradually merging into doctrinal issues. While ethical teaching and standards are a must of the gospel (an imperative that emerges from doctrine), ethical standards themselves are not doctrinal standards. Because liberals have ignored some ethical standards means that evangelicals should be careful to insist upon them as discipline in church; it does not mean that evangelicals should make such ethical standards their message. If they do they will have lost their 'gospel', their evangel. Or, in another case, preaching is often defined merely as teaching in some circles today. The reason? Liberals, moderates, liberal evangelicals have removed doctrinal emphases (therefore 'teaching') from their preaching to prioritise motivational speeches, political harangues, or practical moralism. Again: the abuse of something does not deny its right use. Preaching is teaching: it is more than just teaching, including exhortation, 'heralding', proclamation, evangelism, application, etc.

Got any nuts you want to crack?

Josh Moody

© Evangelicals Now - July 2003
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