Lt. Matt Kean, moved by the conviction that if he
did not speak out to condemn what he sees as a “blight” on The Salvation Army
then the stones might be compelled to
cry out, has published in the Journal of Aggressive Christianity, a rather
scathing attack on so-called liberals.
While the stones might be called upon to give
voice to praise if we are silent (Luke 19:40), I’m not sure that they are at
all concerned about our rebuking each other for theological differences. In fact, it is the Pharisees in that
particular story who called upon Jesus to rebuke his followers for a
theological disagreement. But, be that
as it may, I thought I might offer a response to Lt. Kean’s aggressive missive
concerning the “blight of liberal theology.”
The subject that Lt. Kean intends to address is “a
theological one” i.e. “the very liberal theology which has been permitted to
slither into the ranks of the army.” And
yet, in his lengthy document Kean never addresses exactly what it is he means
by this. After having read the article
several times, I’m still not exactly sure what this “liberal theology” is that
he thinks is the blight affecting the Salvation Army. He’s flailing away at a straw man that he’s not
even taken the time to properly construct.
And as one who self identifies as a liberal (or progressive,
if you prefer that term) I am still trying to figure out if he’s upset with me,
and if so, why he thinks that I and other liberal / progressive soldiers and
officers are bringing about the ruination of The Salvation Army. He wants us condemned as heretical and
corrupt, calls us treasonous. These are
strong accusations. These are heavy
words – too heavy to be throwing around so casually.
What I understand from this writing is that Lt.
Kean believes liberals 1) are not concerned with the Salvation of souls, 2) are
opposed to dealing with sin and its consequences and 3) are not militant
enough. But these allegations are not supported by any sort of evidence. He simply assumes them to be true and
attacks.
If this were a court of law, the defendant (liberal
Salvationists) would be assumed innocent until proven guilty. The onus would be upon the prosecutor (Lt.
Kean) to prove the offense. He’s called
us lots of names and said horrible things about liberals, but he’s not
demonstrated that we are unconcerned with the salvation of sinners or averse to
calling sin sin.
If Lt. Kean is concerned that The Salvation Army
has lost its fervor for salvation, let him address that issue, without besmirching
so many of his faithful comrades.
Can anyone please show in God's word that he gave to mankind in the the original Greek or Hebrew that shows or proves that we, His servants and vessels are to go out in all the world and preach a liberal form of theology ?? Or to go out and seek lost souls to accept a liberal thinking,acting loving all forms of sin I'm okay,you're okay type of Jesus who dies for them?? can anyone here please show me ?? I even looked in the NIV and i can't find that...and remember God through Christ didn't invite,create "theology" ....flawed well intended mankind did...and how perfect is or has "man" ever been ??
ReplyDeleteI really do not understand your characterization of 'liberal' thinking/theology, or why you think you could find that mis-characterization hiding in the Greek or Hebrew or in the NIV. You've created something of a straw man that you can attack. He's easy to knock down but he bears no resemblance to what we're describing.
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