Words

As you may have noticed, I’ve been trying to keep up with the debate (and usually it gets very far ahead of me) that is going on in the blog-o-sphere concerning John MacArthur’s lecture at the Sherpherd’s conference about eschatology. As I have been keeping track of what posts are out there on this topic, I cannot help but wonder if a debate such as this could have happened even 10 years ago. Certainly it could have, but not between the so many people in such a short amount of time. The blogging community provides a unique technology to enable this kind of discussion.
This is both good and bad. It is good for those who want to learn (like a seminary student such as myself, who is still molding his theology, and for that matter all of us!) to see the variety of positions and the defense of those positions from some very scholarly and godly individuals. It is also bad because it opens the door for anyone to say anything they want, including misinformed statements and derogatory remarks, without too much accountability. Anonymity can work against accountability for statements made.

With this debate, from what I have gathered, everyone seems to be playing nicely, after all we are all on the same team. We are all attempting to glorify God through our lives. It is good to see this discussion, and I hope that it continues in this manner.

So as I think all this through, I am cautioned to put weight to those statements that deserve weight. Look at the person who wrote the information, look for their faithfulness to the Bible, look for their respect in Christianity, look for a life devoted to humbly serving Jesus. That’s not always easy to do when the web doesn’t give you that information (who am I from Adam?), but with enough searching around, usually you can figure that out.

Enjoy the debate, may it bring honor and glory to the one from whom all things come. Come quickly Lord, come quickly.