Challenge Your Traditions

Everyone has a certain worldview. This worldview is shaped by many things, including where we grew up, what our family make-up was like, where we went to church (if we did), and who the relevant authorities were. What our parents believe is generally what we believe, at least initially. Then factors like where we go to school, the friendships we develop, and significant experiences we have begin to shape who we are and what we believe.

When I was young, Christian values and morals were instilled in me, we had Bible stories read to us at home and taught to us at Sunday school. Before I had the mental capacity to critically evaluate things for myself, certain beliefs were passed to me by my parents, Sunday school teachers, secular school teachers, friends, TV, and others. This is just a fact that we all face, and it’s not necessarily bad or good. Our formative years are ones where we are very vulnerable though, and this is one reason why being a parent is such a great responsibility.

Most of what we learn in our early years is just accepted without question. From birth we are cared for by others. They know what is good for us, they have all the resources to provide food and shelter, and when someone says “Don’t touch, that’s hot!” we tend to trust them and find out sooner or later that they were right.

When it comes to matters of doctrine, the same principle applies. None of us is uninfluenced by others. None of us has gone to the Bible with out any preconceived ideas and just taken their beliefs straight from the text. Even if someone were to come to the Bible without any outside influences, that person would still not have the ability to understand things like the culture or time in which the author and his primary audience lived, or how different parts of the Bible come together to provide a “full picture” of a given doctrine.

The point I’m getting to is this: If we had parents that attended a given church or belonged to a certain denomination, and then we attended the same church and grew up there without much outside influence in our theology, what we believe will be largely affected by what that denomination or church teaches. Unless that person seeks out various other positions and compares them to the Bible, how can that person know that what he or she has been taught all of their lives is the correct understanding of what the Scripture says?

Some of the readers here will likely be very cautious at this point and that’s a good thing. I’m not saying that people should check out Hinduism or Voodoo or something to see if there is truth to their teachings. I’m not advocating “church hopping” either. I’m assuming a mature Christian person who is searching for the truth as presented in the Bible.

We all know there are many interpretations of the same verses, and the Bible can be made to say anything someone wants it to. I am just saying that if you believe only what your church, family, and friends believe the Bible says, and all of you are fairly like-minded, you will never be challenged on your beliefs. It has been said that those who are most blinded by their traditions are those who believe they have none.

There are so many differing positions on so many subjects that you cannot just assume that the church you happen to end up in is one of the few that has everything right. Even if you chose the church or denomination yourself, you should always be maturing and growing in your walk with God and your understanding of the Bible. If the only resources to help you understand the Bible come from your own church you are at risk of being misinformed because most denominations place emphasis on certain portions of the Bible and de-emphasize others. This can be very subtle and it can be unintentional. Add to this the fact that portions of the Bible can be “spun” a certain way, and it becomes clear that one must try to understand the positions that differ from the ones we hold, and verify or disprove them by a careful study of the Bible. What you believe absolutely must be able to withstand the scrutiny of others who believe differently. There may just be someone out there who can provide a helpful perspective. There has to be a balance between being so open-minded that you’re “tossed about with every wind of doctrine”, and being so closed-minded that you miss the truth when you see it.