|
 Perhaps
you have heard the story about the man who wanted to know why
his wife cut the end from a ham she was preparing to bake. She
said her mother always did that. Mother said that grandmother,
always did it. And grandmother, shaking her head as memory
spanned the years, said yes, she always did that — because
she did not own a roasting pan large enough to hold the whole
ham. That illustrates the meaning of “tradition bound.”
There
are church members, just as tightly and foolishly bound to
doctrinal conclusions of the past; with less real historic
reason for their faith, and no Bible reason at all. We may be
unaware of the fact that most denominations of our day no longer
hold to their “creeds” as they once did. They couldn’t
care less about conforming to this or that traditional doctrine.
But “we” — who so long fought “creeds” — are
threatened by the same spirit we once condemned.
A
“creed” need not be written by a “council” and formally
accepted with a pledge of allegiance. It can be any “belief”
(credo, is Latin for “I believe”) which we accept as
the final authority in a matter, and by which we judge and
fellowship, or refuse to fellowship others. Read with care the
“quote” on page
|
|
6, this issue.
We
urge people to “have convictions” and to stand by them. This
is not the same as saying, however, that what one believes is
the divine standard. We must leave the “rule” where God put
it — in His word; and be as willing to have our own
conclusions measured by that rule, as we are anxious to measure
others by that rule.
The
radical mind may plunge recklessly after “something new,”
and the reactionary mind may seek to bind where God has not
bound, but these extremes do not stamp the “mainstream of the
movement” with authority. In fact, creeds form in such
mainstreams and are given strength there. It is there that “majority
opinions” are framed into “church doctrine” and become “law”
in the minds of the creed- bound. It is the “great middle
section” that frowns upon private investigation, and refuses
to study issues in the light of God’s word. It might “rock
the boat” of their serenity.
As
you read Trible’s Sermon about creeds in 1892, ask yourself if
you are cutting ham ends today simply because some one before
you did it. RFT
[Previous
Article] [Next:
Vol.8, No.1, p.1]
|
