Posted on by Abe Austin

Criticizing Another’s Faith- Signs of Bad Faith Arguments

Different Approaches)

I have spent the last couple days denouncing the aggressive approach that some take towards my faith, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, how they seek to crush the good beliefs that I hold, how they make very apparent their anger and hatred; and I have also spoken in favor of establishing a relationship, of honoring the faith of one another, of having opening an honest dialogue over differences of belief.

We can have interfaith dialogue. We can strongly disagree. We can even say, “I believe that my church is the one, true church, and I hope you come to see that for yourself.” And we can do all of it in a manner of brotherlykindness.

For the rest of this series, I want to flesh out the definition of unproductive, un-Christlike “evangelism.” In the past two posts I tried to give some examples of both good and of bad, but now I want to call out specific attitudes and practices that I have only ever seen be used by those possessed with a destroying spirit. These approaches are wrong, whether employed by others towards my faith, by members of my faith towards others, or by me towards anyone.

What Are Your Intentions?)

Intent is what matters first. Even before considering the substance of what is said, why it is said is what actually determines whether a critic comes in good faith or not. Intent means the reason behind the approach. Everything good or bad that follows in the conversation will directly stem from that underlying reason. Determining the intent of a critic is the first thing that every person seeks to understand, evaluating it subconsciously and then changing their entire posture according to what they perceive.

Sadly, having a person tell you their intent is the least reliable method of knowing what it is, as everyone will of course profess a sincere and worthy one. Most deceptive of all, they might even believe their stated intent themselves, but then the following conversation can betray other motives. Because, at the end of the day, intent does not lie. Over time, it always manifests its true form, and that true form always shapes the overall conversation, whether to good or evil.

Every critic of another’s faith will say it is their intent is to bring back to the fold those who have gone astray. They love the lost sheep, and the idea of their eternal torment compels the critic to come and save who they can. Very well, but how do you intend to save the lost soul? As we explored in the last posts, not all approaches are conducive to the convincing of others. Do you intend to win souls through sacrifice and service, through establishing a relationship and being genuinely curious to know another’s heart, through speaking from the place of a friend? Or do you intend to save souls by crushing what beliefs they have so that all that remains are yours? Because if that is what you intend, then you do not intend to save anyone at all.

If you come to convert by dismantling, then it is a destroying spirit behind your intentions. You have deemed a belief as unworthy, and your intention is to purge it. You do not intend to save a brother; you intend to damn an enemy. You do not come to save the world, but that the world through your judgment might be condemned.

And as I said earlier, when those are your intentions, that shapes all the conversation that follows.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Optimism in a Falling World- 1 Corinthians 13:3-7, 13

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

COMMENTARY

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity
As I contemplated what solutions the scriptures offer for the conundrum of cynicism, I had come to my mind the virtues of faith, hope and charity. And not only faith, hope, and charity towards God, but also towards His children. I will therefore be dedicating the next several posts to these topics, beginning with the matter of charity.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing
First of all I want to point out that charity is not just doing kind things to others. It is entirely possible to do one’s duty to their follow man and be wishing them ill the whole time. Consider the example we recently considered of Jonah, who preached to the people of Nineveh while hoping for their destruction.
As Paul suggests in this quoted verse, it doesn’t matter what you do towards the world if your heart has not been opened to charity. Charity is not about what you do, it is about why you do it.

Charity suffereth long, is kind, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil
I often hear of charity in terms of how spouses, parents and children, and members at church should treat one another. But today let us consider how charity applies to our relationship with the very people we believe are destroying the world. How should we behave to the people we want to change more than any other? Well, take a look at the descriptors I have selected for charity in this verse: longsuffering, not seeking its own, not easily provoked, and thinking no evil. How would those qualities look when applied to those we find hardest to love?
Well, speaking for myself, the image of brotherly kindness and love brought to mind is entirely impossible so long as I view these “others” as “others.” To apply such a patient understanding to my enemies I must first find a way to relabel them as my friends.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Doing Muscle- Luke 9:61-62, Matthew 7:21

And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

COMMENTARY

I will follow thee; but let me first…
I can certainly relate to this idea of “I’ll follow, but let me first…” I want to improve, I want to do right things, I am convinced in my head of what those right things are, but I am not yet converted to them in my heart.
And I think it helps to recognize and differentiate between these two stages of becoming an active disciple. It is true that before anything else, we need to be convinced of the truth. Before we can worry about the problem of not following our conscience, we first need to become sensitive to what our conscience is even saying. Simply being able to identify what is right and giving a name to it is an essential first step.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father
No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God
But having that knowledge is not enough. Intending to do good simply is not the same as doing good. As we see from this verse, intending to do good alone does not make one fit for heaven.
And it is important to understand that there is no hateful retribution in Jesus’s proclamation of one being unfit for heaven. This isn’t about punitive punishments. The simple fact is that God is a doer, He is a being that has intentions and follows through on them. His kingdom, therefore, is one of doing, one of following through on intentions. If we haven’t developed within ourselves the same trait, then we simply will not fit in with that atmosphere. We wouldn’t feel that we belonged.
So if we want to join the society of the celestial, we must learn how to be doers.