BuM: We can Live Without Some of These Folks
Michael Barnett OAM
We can Live Without Some of These Folks
On dealing with Christian critics:
I have written before about some believers who I am not all that thrilled with. Two broad groups of such Christians tend to bother me to be honest. One I call the heresy hunters and the other I call the armchair critics. Consider some older pieces I penned on these groups:
This from 11 years ago: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/04/09/on-heresy-hunters/
And this from 9 years ago: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2016/04/21/dealing-armchair-critics/
The former group tends to spend much of their time trying to find error in other believers and condemning them big time. Now, as I have said so often, real heresy does exist and it does need to be called out. But too often the theological ‘crimes’ being exposed have to do with secondary matters and the like, where some room to move should be allowed.
And so often these heresy hunters show zero Christian grace as they go on their theological search and destroy missions. They have a dogged determination to call out anyone and everyone who does not fully line up with their own particular theological checklist. They often can do as much damage to the cause of Christ as genuine heretics can do.
As to armchair critics, they also can be an unloving and ungracious bunch, simply criticising everyone around them, while they sit in their cosy rooms banging on their keyboards. Anyone involved in any sort of public ministry knows all about these critics.
I get them all the time. I may well deserve their criticisms. But when I see someone like Charlie Kirk doing so much for Christ, even being willing to give his life for the cause, then I tend to want to ignore his many critics. In fact, I then call to mind this story about D. L. Moody:
A woman once approached the great evangelist D. L. Moody to air a grievance. The woman said to him, “Mr. Moody, I don’t like the way you do evangelism!” Moody replied, “I agree with you. I don’t like the way I do it either. Let me ask you, how do you do it?” She replied, “I don’t!” Moody responded, “Well, I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it!”
Kirk and his critics
I have had various Christians of late sharing things with me that they had seen about Charlie Kirk coming from his critics. Some had thought he got too cozy with conservatives who were not Christians, or were homosexuals, and so on. As I said in a reply to one believer who asked me about this:
-I always prefer Christian warriors fighting the good fight over the various armchair critics who sit on the sidelines and take potshots at the warriors. They are a dime a dozen, and I have little time for them. The truth is, Kirk did more for the cause of Christ, and saw more people come into the Kingdom, than this pastor ever has or likely ever will.
-I am not a supporter of homosexuality either. But at times I will share the good things they say about other issues. Thus I have quoted from books by Douglas Murray (another homosexual) on the good things he says about Israel and the like. That does not mean I approve of his lifestyle, nor of Dave Rubin’s. But I do pray for folks like them that they become Christians.
-This in good measure is about cobelligerence: being willing to work with others in some areas even though not fully agreeing with them. For example, I have attended pro-life marches where non-Christians, even atheists, have attended. On standing up for the unborn, I am willing to do this. And other notable Christians feel just the same. See this piece about Francis Schaeffer on this matter: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2012/06/30/8405/
And see this more general piece on the issue: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2010/09/02/on-co-belligerency/
So I will give some of these critics a wide berth. My prayer is that I will be even a fraction as effective for Christ and the Kingdom as Charlie Kirk was. My advice is to ignore the armchair critics who happily sit in judgment on other Christians who are doing so much for the gospel.
A few more words can be said about this. Many of the Kirk critics who claim he was weak on homosexuality run with a video from 7 years ago in which he engaged with Rubin. Yes, Kirk was willing to engage with plenty of others, even non-believers and those whose lifestyle he would differ on.
So he could act in a bit of an ecumenical manner at times, and not all of us might have fully agreed with all that he did in this regard. And if you follow him over the years, you clearly see a few things. For one, his theological and ethical positions became more pronounced and more solidly biblical over the years.
Also, what he started as a mainly political organisation with Christian overtones clearly morphed into a mainly Christian organisation with political overtones. Whereas a big part of his mission early on was to take on the woke left and get Trump into office, and get more conservatives to bravely engage on college campuses, over the past few years he was far more keen on delivering hardcore gospel truths.
Thus he became more of an evangelist and less of a political activist over time. But he did see both callings as important, as do I. So he might have been a bit too willing in his earlier years to interact with others and not overly dwell on their differences.
But I have to keep saying this: Kirk was not perfect, he did not get everything right, and he was growing and maturing as a believer. He would be the first to say he was not impeccable, and that he needed to keep growing in wisdom and biblical understanding.
And he did far more in his very short life than so many heresy hunters and armchair critics have ever done. And when Kirk was still alive he would have listened to his critics and sought to discern what he might need to take on board. He had humility and a teachable spirit – something all Christians need to have.
His critics are not perfect, I am not perfect, and Kirk was not perfect. But for the most part, I will side with Charlie on many of the things he is now being attacked about. And what I said above I repeat here: If you do not like the fact that he was willing to dialogue and engage with a Rubin or a Jordan Peterson or with Jewish conservatives such as Dennis Prager or Mormon conservatives such as Glenn Beck, then you have a few options here:
You can keep criticising and judging Kirk for daring to do this. Or you can – as I seek to do – pray daily for folks like Peterson, Prager, Shapiro, Carlson, Rubin and so many others. I know which is going to be more beneficial in the long run.
And a final word about criticism. Four things to keep in mind:
-No one is above criticism.
-If you give criticism, do it prayerfully and carefully.
-If you get criticism, consider it prayerfully and carefully.
-If you are keen on criticising, start with the person most in need of it: yourself.
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