Dec 16, 2009
When It’s Good to be Wrong About Theology…
When I look at those who rejected Jesus, they had particular theological assumptions about the Messiah and what it meant to be a good Jew. Jesus challenged them, proving many of these assumptions wrong. They missed the Messiah because they had way too much invested in their theology and how that theology played out in their lives.
Being wrong about their beliefs was the worst possible thing they could have imagined, so they ignored the things that God was doing in their midst. Sometimes the quest to be faithful and to seek God’s truth means we’ll have to admit we’ve been wrong about our theology. Sometimes being wrong is a very good thing, provided that we move on to what is true.
I confess, I live in fear of being wrong about my theology. It feels terrible to invest in beliefs that may be exposed as incorrect. In fact, finding out that certain beliefs are wrong could completely change how we treat others, how we order our lives, and who knows what else.
When it comes to theology, no one likes to be wrong about God, salvation, or how these beliefs change how they live. Religion becomes personal and deeply ingrained to the point that it becomes a significant part of our identity.
Many of our debates and arguments over theology spring from not only what we believe to be right, but all of the decisions we have made in light of them. To see one belief change could mean a reordering of other beliefs and life choices. In addition, we may end up feeling foolish or deceived.
In fact, the harsh tones of many theology debates may not spring as much from the offense of a particular belief or practice, but more from what we fear we’ll lose if such a thing is proven true. In other words, our attacks on others may be rooted more in defending our own lifestyles and beliefs by proving them wrong rather than dispassionately working toward the most logical conclusion.
If you’re like me, thinking through something like this can be very unsettling, but I think it’s a necessary step for a number of reasons. For starters, it makes us humble, reminding us that we are never as objective as we claim. Secondly, I have found that in admitting my mistakes over several points of theology I have been able to embrace some new discoveries about God and others, moving into greater freedom about the Kingdom of God.
This is especially true as I continue to read the Gospels and the OT prophets. There are some many lessons that I have missed in these significant parts of scripture. It’s unsettling to be wrong, but sometimes our growth as followers of Jesus requires a humble, teachable spirit that rejoices in being proven wrong in order to embrace the truth.
Wow. This is powerfully true:
“They missed the Messiah because they had way too much invested in their theology and how that theology played out in their lives.
“Being wrong about their beliefs was the worst possible thing they could have imagined, so they ignored the things that God was doing in their midst.”
Your thoughts have stirred up so many thoughts in my head–I might just have to follow up with my own post!
Great post Ed.
Personally I try to hold to the notion that I’m probably wrong on at least half of what I believe. I just don’t know which half, so I remian open to suggestions.
It’s probably good to assume that I am wrong about something (several somethings, most likely). That way I won’t be so disappointed when I discover the truth.
Thanks for the comments. I’m glad to know this resonates with you all!
wow, great piece.
This lines up with the caveat that I use in almost EVERY theological discussion I’ve had as of late…
“This is what I think RIGHT NOW, and it’s been different in the past, and may change again… but this is where I’m at right now”
I just think that there is SO MUCH that we need to hold lightly, because history shows us that we (Christians) have been on the wrong side of things MANY times.
Good stuff, man.
Thanks Curtis. That’s why having a blog can be quite a humbling practice… I’m thinking of one day doing a post where I track how my ideas shifted over time on certain issues as played out in my blog posts. Unfortunately that sounds like a lot of work.
I have often heard people say Christians are “dogmatic” in their beliefs, but I believe that real faith has the possibility of being wrong. If there is no possibility of being wrong it cannot be faith by definition.
I heard a very learned and wise man say that he wrote his theology in pencil. That tell me two things: Write it, and be prepared to defend what you believe; be prepared to be proven “wrong” and be able to erase and rewrite any piece of doctrine.
So, I will argue passionately for something I believe, but always with the idea that the other guy may have a truth revealed to him that I don’t. On the other hand, I might be the guy with the revealed truth, so you can’t just be a wimp either. It’s an iron sharpens iron sort of thing.
Thanks Nick and Justin! I think these are good balances to consider.