Discerning and Mean

Tim Challies asks "Why are so many discerning people so mean?" I think it's a reasonable question. Have you ever noticed it? There are those people, apparently self-appointed, whose job it is to go about pointing fingers at the wolves in sheep's clothing hiding in our midst. As far as I can tell there is never any claim to being a prophet or called by God. It's just something they do. And while I can appreciate the need to contend for the truth and the need to exhort and reprove, I have to wonder why it has to be so ... mean?

Challies suggests that one reason is that the longer we are immersed in the muck, the more mucky we get, so to speak. I don't doubt that this is the case. But there seems to be more than enough "righteous indignation" going around out there for mucky people, and it really seems that there are more angry Christians shouting about the evils of this or that than Christians who have actually examined this or that.

Why do I think this is the case? Well, I've been labeled a "Calvinist" because I believe in the doctrines of grace. As such, my beliefs have often been the target of some of these angry ravings. (Please don't misunderstand. I understand that many who call themselves "Calvinists" are equally guilty of angry ravings. Don't miss the point.) The problem I have seen likely some 95% of the time is that the things about which they are raving are not the things I believe. They hold up a viewpoint, call it "Calvinist", and rant about how evil it is. It's not "Calvinist", but because it is labeled that way, that's what is being attacked. They are not an accurate representation of the doctrines of grace, but they are still considered an attack on the doctrines of grace.

This is simply my example. It is, in fact, the norm. So many people who rant about the evils of this view or that view don't actually understand the view about which they are ranting. What I have seen, in fact, is that most of the time while the people who are angrily decrying the views they oppose without actually understanding them, the people who actually understand the views they oppose are discussing them calmly and carefully. It seems that when we really know what the view is that we oppose, there is less of a need to get riled up about it. (And here is a side question: Why is it that all these words I'm using such as "rant", "rave", and "riled up" all seem to start with "r"? But I digress.)

I know that right-thinking, godly, God-called people in history and particularly in Scripture did some loud ranting about the truth. I am not suggesting that all ranting is evil. I'm not saying that there is no room for righteous indignation. What I am suggesting is that far too often our attempts at "defending the truth" with anger and mean-spiritedness are not informed by knowledge, formed by wisdom, or motivated with purity. It is too often not a deep personal love for the truth of God that motivates our ravings, but too many other sinful things. Just understand that when you descend into unkind comments, it tends to take away from your arguments rather than giving them credence. Generally there are better approaches as you try to discern the truth from the lie than a lot of shouting.