Making it Clear

A Christian who is concerned that I'm emergent/postmodern spent some time on my blog recently and found his worst fears confirmed because I quote from Gore Vidal, Frederick Buechner, Eugene Peterson, Henri Nouwen, A.J. Jacobs and other authors who either don't know Jesus or don't know him in a way that meets his criteria. He wrote a mutual friend of ours to say, "Paul seems to agree with, and openly appreciates, Gore Vidal on his blog post in August 2008. Why on earth does a pastor give credit to the ideas/ideology of a wild-eyed liberal and atheist?"

Maybe its because what Gore Vidal said reflects what most of us have felt at times. (What I wrote was: I find myself agreeing with Gore Vidal, "There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.") Has this brother never felt that he has all the answers to everyone's problems and if they would do what he tells them, then the problem would be solved? Here's the irony, lost to my brother in Christ I'm sure, that his judgment of me (without actually talking TO me, only ABOUT me) is exactly what Gore Vidal was talking about.

He went on to write, "Tim Challies (who is a solid, biblical Christian with an excellent blog [in contrast to my blog, no doubt]) makes it absolutely clear that Buechner is indeed an emergent." So I took a minute to look up Tim Challies blog and this is what he wrote, "Here is Kevin DeYoung, co-author of Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) on how you might know if you are emergent… "You might be an emergent Christian: if you listen to U2, Moby, and Johnny Cash’s Hurt (sometimes in church), use sermon illustrations from The Sopranos, drink lattes in the afternoon and Guinness in the evenings, and always use a Mac; if your reading list consists primarily of ... Henri Nouwen, N. T. Wright, Stan Grenz, Dallas Willard, Brennan Manning, Jim Wallis, Frederick Buechner..."

Did I miss the part where Tim makes it "absolutely clear" that Frederick Buechner is emergent? Using this brother's logic, would that mean it is "absolutely clear" that everyone who uses a Mac (my 91 year-old mother-in-law used a Mac until recently, so I guess she's quit being emergent) or drinks lattes or Guiness is an emergent? Much like my use of the Gore Vidal quote, I don't think this young man saw Kevin DeYoung's (or Tim Challies') tongue firmly planted in their cheek. Maybe Tim, Kevin and I have learned to take God more seriously and ourselves less seriously.

Let me go on record, in writing, that I believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. The Bible does not simply contain the word of God, it is the Word of God. There is salvation in no other. Christ alone is the sufficient sacrifice for my sin and only through Christ can I be reconciled to God.

All of this to say, I guess I need to make clear something that I thought went without saying (You know what they say about assume........."don't".):

When I quote people on this blog, it DOES NOT mean that I agree with everything they say or write. Including this brother who thinks I'm emergent.