I’ve been a Christian and student of church history long enough to know that Christianity is often peppered with jealousy and colored by strife. My theological journey has placed me in or close to a variety of evangelical theological camps, and my travels exposed me to Thai, Shan, Mexican, American, Russian, Turkish christianities, to name a few. Unfortunatley, no matter where Christianity exits, there is a tendency among camps Charismatic, Conservative, socialist, doctrinalist, Arminian, Open Theist, Calvinist, Dispensationalist, Covenantal and so on to disdain one another. The strife that is stirred up in the name of Christ is often quite Christless.
A tour of various christian websites will often reveal a certain theological arrogance, stone-throwing at the names that represent other camps. In fact, there are entire systems and sites devoted to disproving other theologies. While I am in favor of debate over someting as precious and weighty as truth, it seems to me that the proof should be in not only in the logic but also in the pudding, and the pudding often tastes bitter.
Bitter debate and doctrinalizing, often associated with camps and camp leaders, is something that the Apostle Paul considered childish. Those who took comfort in hanging their theologies and identities on Paul or Apollos were rebuffed in 1 Corinthians 1-3. Paul called these people “mere men,” men who are fleshly, bottle-sucking infants in Christ, not strapping, spiritual meat-eating brothers in the Lord.
Spiritual maturity results in a clear-headed understanding of the difference between theological name tags and true identity. Just because you wear the label “Calvinist” or “Arminian,” “N. T. Wright” or “John Piper” doesn’t make you a spiritual man. Our true identity should be deeply rooted in Jesus, the god-man. The spiritual man’s diet is the triune God, with theology for desert, not the other way around. The fleshly man wakes up to a bowl of theology or a plate of social activism and takes a quick drink of Jesus to make it through the day.
Jesus was impatient and often furious with those who wore theological name tags. He made disciples whose desire was to be with him, as well as to learn from him. Jesus modeled truth and love, not theolgy and courtesy. Jesus was and is strong because he grounded his identity in the Trinity. He acted as a result of spending time with the Father. He praised and prepared the way for the Spirit. When given the opportunity to glorify himself, he often left that to the other members of the Trinity. Jesus did not side with a rabbinical camp, but charted a Person-centered religion, one centered on knowing and enjoying God.
The heart that beats for God rejoices in truth wherever it is expressed preciesly because it is Person-centered. It is mere men that are campists, theological rogues, and social action junkees. Remember, everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God. Get caught up in communion with the Trinity and have theology and activism for desert.