Make Love Not War
In light of Wednesday’s post on Dobson and Obama I thought it would be poignant to post something I read today by Brian McLaren. At the same time I think I must also say that I do not think I was fair enough to Dobson. Some of the negativity in Wallis’ post was just as strong as the negativity of Dobson, so I apologize if I frustrated some of you by writing a post that tore down Dobson. He is a highly respected man, even by me. I have many issues with him, but his ministry has done, and continues to do, incredible things worldwide for Christianity and I respect him for that. My goal with this post is to simply bring to light the need for accountability in the way we throw around words and thoughts within Christianity.
In response to this week’s ongoing saga between Dobson and Obama, Brian McLaren has proposed a Evangelical Council for Rhetorical Accountability.
“The need for an ECRA became clearer than ever to me this week when a beloved elder in the Evangelical broadcasting community spoke out against Senator Barack Obama. What is evident to me in this interchange is not just a difference in policy, but also a difference in rhetoric, defined as how one attempts to argue and persuade.”
McLaren outlined 7 things we need to avoid in dialogue within disagreements.
- Inferring and Judging Motives (Or: Do not judge – Matthew 7:1)
- Scrutinizing the Biases of Others Without Scrutinizing One’s Own Biases (Or: Don’t remove others’ splinters before removing one’s own planks – Matthew 7:3-5)
- Logical Inconsistencies (Or: In your thinking, be mature adults – 1 Corinthians 14:20)
- Name-calling/Mockery (Or: Don’t stir up needless anger – Proverbs 15:1)
- Misrepresenting Your Opponent’s View (Or: Do not give dishonest evidence – Proverbs 12:17)
- Confusing Democracy with Theocracy (Or: Don’t pre-empt discernment by claiming “God says…” – 1 Thess. 5:20-22)
- Name-Appropriating (Or: Calling yourself something doesn’t make it so – 2 Corinthians 10:12)
I find it sad how quickly we all are willing to rip a part someone over email or blogging, but cannot take part in a decent conversation with that same person. I am guilty of some of these same things that McLaren has listed as ones to avoid. Many people think this “lets avoid disagreement” mentality of postmoderns is a negative thing. They see it as leading to relativism. I simply do not see that. We must find a way to have disagreements in loving ways. Not only does it allow our witness as Christians to be stronger, but it is completely Biblical.
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Tyler Braun.
first off, i’m not sure you mis-represented dobson at all. he IS considered an important voice to many of the traditional conservative right and has a tendency to vocalize his distaste for anyone on the left.
as far as young people not being aware of him…i actually agree w/ you. i know many christian 20 somethings who may say “familiar name, but no dice”- they are not aware of the impact of the extent of focus on the family’s ministry. i’d say had i not lived in their backyard for awhile, i wouldn’t know that much about them.
but i also agree with you when you note that people take another’s word out of context…and use it/warp it for their point of view before fully understanding. then again, james talks about being wise w/ our words, b/c as humans we praise god and yet turn to curse our brother…so no matter how small or big our dictations are, we should at least attempt the think through what we say or how we say it…
of course, that’s coming from a writer who is obsessed w/ semantics….wink.
those are great points for us all to remember…..they check our egos and pride and – as you say – are loving.
Dobson should make more love…
so jay my question is…..outside of the obama statements, what makes you think dobson does not love enough?
I believe his message as gotten entirely too political. I don’t hear him asking people to take a look at what’s going on in their hearts that might be causing a given societal ill. I hear him asking people to take a stand on laws, rules and political “sides” as if making something illegal or legal is going to solve the problem of people not living Christ-like.
Now, I think Dobson and I would part ways dramatically when it comes down to our theology, which could account for my mostly 100% disagreement with his methods. I agree with your above statement that his ministry is doing wonderful work…mostly. I even have good friends who are on VP level there. But still…
I think he (in his public) statements comes down very harshly on people who don’t align themselves with mainline conservative thinking (marriage, abortion). While these are important issues coming down on the legal side supposes that by changing the law, you change the heart of the sinner. He doesn’t come across as caring about the person, he comes across as caring about how they live. How they live will come out of who they are. He doesn’t present himself as someone who cares about that.
Additionally, his outspokenness on political issues has, I believe, resulted in the so closely aligned designation of “Evangelical” and his personal beliefs, that the two have become synonymous in many circles. Example: being an “evangelical” means believing in the Dobson (FOTF) way. Not true.
But I’m sure there’s a system of belief that suggests God will come to us as a nation if we work our darndest to become a Godly nation. Again, that presupposes, we have anything to do with our own Godliness and that God’s not with us now. (I’m just a wee-bit reformed in some ways).
i was pretty disgruntled at the Dobson radio broadcast. just one-sided to imply that every evangelical should NOT vote for a particular candidate. i’m all about opinions, but it’s gotta stop there.
but then again, i could care less what Dobson has to say… ha.