The Top 100 Issues That Divide Us

When the blogger at Free In Christ started his blog in July of 2008, he noted his indebtedness to a book by Cecil Hook also called Free in Christ.   Not being a regular follower of that blog, and so not having read everything in between then and now, it does appear that 21 months later, he hasn’t stopped blogging his admiration for the book.

Recently, he cited Cecil Hook’s list of 100 things people disagree on in the churches of Christ.    Rather than simply link to it — many of you never click anyway, and even fewer leave comments — I wanted to have this list recorded here.    I’m not sure about the order in which these are listed, but here it is:

1. taking of oaths

2. serving in the military

3. inflicting capital punishment

4. using force to defend oneself or others

5. voting for political candidates

6. serving as a government official

7. engaging in political activism

8. Christmas or Easter programs

9. letting a non-member lead prayer

10. lifting hands while singing

11. joining a ministerial alliance

12. indwelling of the Holy Spirit

13. work of the Holy Spirit

14. baptism of the Holy Spirit

15. prayer for healing

16. the Trinity

17. special providence

18. how God answers prayer

19. fasting

20. translations of the Bible

21. use of Thee and Thou in prayer

22. authority of elders

23. who selects and appoints elders

24. qualifications of elders

25. tenure of elders

26. elders presiding at the Lord’s Table

27. qualifications of deacons

28. deaconesses

29. enrolling widows

30. addressing disciples as Major or Doctor

31. long hair on men

32. midweek contributions

33. dimming the lights during prayer

34. singing as the emblems are passed

35. use of church buildings for secular activities

36. use of pictures of Jesus

37. use of symbols such as the cross

38. use of steeples and stained glass windows

39. use of the term Sunday School

40. passing of the collection baskets

41. eating in the church building

42. grounds for disfellowshipping

43. support of colleges from the church treasury

44. divorce for any cause

45. remarriage of a divorced person

46. preacher officiating at a wedding of a divorced person

47. disciples marrying non-members

48. preacher officiating for a mixed marriage

49. use of an instrument in “church” weddings

50. method and type of inspiration of the Bible

51. re-baptism of Baptists and Christian Church members

52. the “five items of worship”

53. use of choirs, choruses, quartets, solos, etc.

54. serving the Lord’s Supper on Sunday evening

55. serving the Lord’s Supper other than in assemblies

56. integration of races

57. smoking

58. total abstinence from alcoholic beverages

59. membership in fraternal orders

60. contributing to public charities

61. use of Bible class literature

62. youth directors, youth rallies, youth camps

63. the six days of creation being literal days

64. the extent of evolution

65. the operation of Christian hospitals

66. awards and prizes for church activities

67. debating religious issues

68. ministers of education, ministers of music, etc.

69. benevolence to fellow-disciples only

70. the baptismal “formula”

71. formal confession before baptism

72. going to law against disciples

73. dedicating babies

74. signing contribution pledge cards

75. children’s homes under eldership or a board

76. dancing

77. women wearing shorts and slacks

78. women wearing slacks to church services

79. girls leading prayer in family devotionals

80. girls leading prayer in youth devotionals

81. clapping hands during singing

82. buying VBS refreshments from the treasury

83. the present day activity of demons

84. applauding in the assembly

85. use of God’s name as a by-word

86. use of euphemisms of God’s name in by-words

87. use of contraceptives

88. abortion

89. adopting out an illegitimate child

90. women working outside the home

91. Children’s Bible Hour

92. busing children to services

93. “What is to be will be.”

94. bodily resurrection

95. if we shall know each other in heaven

96. degrees of reward and punishment

97. whether heaven and hell are literal places

98. dress code for men serving the Lord’s Supper

99. whether Christ came in AD 70

100. a name for the church

The unnamed blogger follows the list with a brief discussion here, but I’m wondering if you think there’s anything there that shouldn’t be or anything that got left out?

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And now, for today’s bonus item:

This is the “disagreement hierarchy.”  Anyone know the origin of this?   Here’s an article (without the chart) which would seem to attribute this to Paul Graham.

Christians, Alcohol, and James MacDonald

Recently, the radio program Walk In The Word repeated a couple of programs featuring a message James MacDonald gave at Harvest Bible Chapel on the subject of Christians and alcoholic drinks.   MacDonald believes in total abstinence.   In other words, zero consumption of alcohol.   If there was a way to even further that position by inserting a negative number, that would be his position.   Don’t touch that bottle.   Don’t even look.

James MacDonald, pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Northwest Chicago and host of the Walk In The Word radio program

James MacDonald is the kind of person you would probably listen to and decide you’d like to meet.   His radio show has a cool theme song.   He takes himself seriously but not 100% seriously.   There is a fair amount of honesty and transparency.  There is a request for money at the end of each broadcast but it’s tempered with some empathy for the pitch-weary listener.

But it would probably be a short meeting in which he would dominate the conversation.    James is a strong personality.   He understands brokenness, but projects having it all together.    Frankly, if there were 30 kids in a classroom, I think James would be the bully; and I’ve said that to a few people lately who agreed the analogy fits.

So if James says stay away from alcohol, you know you’d better do what he says because if you don’t it’s SIN.   That’s capital-letters SIN.

Of course, James believes Christian women should be homemakers, and it is a requirement of his male staff that their spouses not work, something he shares in common with Mark Driscoll.   I’m not sure if this means to do otherwise would be capital-letters SIN, but disobeying him certainly would.   I’m also not sure how he accounts for the various female staff members who work at Walk in the World and Harvest Bible Chapel.  But it shows that he has strong opinions on many issues that are non-issues elsewhere.

Sometimes, James MacDonald appears to get it wrong.   Occasionally everything from scientific statistics to Bible texts seem to get misquoted or misapplied.   Sometimes, this is due to the fact he’s broadcasting older sermons; one trusts that with today’s wisdom he might say some things differently.

He has six points for abstinence:

1. Because drunkenness is a sin and not a disease.
2. Because alcohol impairs wisdom.
3. Because alcohol is an unnecessary drug.
4. Because alcohol is destructive.
5. Because alcohol is addictive.
6. Because wisdom calls me to set it aside.

Some of them are given to subjective interpretation.   Let me explain.

I love Christian rock music.   For many years, I earned an income selling contemporary Christian music.   But every so often, I ran into people who were on that part of their journey that involved leaving the secular rock music scene.   And for them, Christian rock was not acceptable.    For most of my friends and customers however, Christian rock — the music, the concerts, the means of learning scripture and doctrine — was totally acceptable.

So I think that yes, alcohol is wrong for some people, especially if there is a family history of alcoholism or any addictive behavior for that matter.

But some people, like Zach Nielsen, don’t think you can make blanket statements on this subject.

Zach Nielsen writes the popular Christian blog, Take Your Vitamin Z, and is Pastor of Music & Teaching at the Vine Church, a church plant in Madison, WI -- just a few hours from James MacDonald -- starting in 2010

At his blog, Take Your Vitamin Z — a blog where eight different posts in one day is not unusual — Zach devotes six posts to engaging MacDonald’s six points.  You can read those posts here:

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three (which engages point four)
• Part Four (which engages point five)
• Part Five (general clarifications)
• Part Six (point six; conclusions)

Ultimately, Neilsen concludes:

…Churches should not be divided on these types of issues. When it comes to this message, I fear that Pastor MacDonald has contributed to an ethos at his church that is unhelpful and unbiblical. We should be communicating freedom on extra-biblical matters and not give such a strong word on one side or another. Most Christians are spring loaded towards legalism and we should not add fuel to that fire.

I’ve deliberately avoided engaging the actual issue here. (Personally, as I indicated in the footnotes of a blog post a few days ago, I generally don’t drink, but I also don’t “not drink;” if you get the distinction.)   I think you should save opinions on the actual issue for Zach’s blog, if comments are still open.

As I commented there, I “find myself returning to Walk in the Word, as I think there is a need for people to confront their sin, as James so often reminds us.   But then I find myself getting frustrated with his style, and needing to take a week or two off.” and like Zach, find myself  “living in the tension of a similar ambivalence” when it comes to Walk In The Word.

On one level, great admiration for the man and what he has accomplished, and on another level a recognition that as Christians, we simply can’t depict everything in black and white.

A viewpoint and personal stand that James MacDonald has constructed on this issue is fine for sharing over coffee with someone who asks, but it should never have been presented dogmatically as either a Sunday sermon, or a prescription for all Christ-followers in all places, all situations, at all times.

HT: Though I have Take Your Vitamin Z bookmarked, I was alerted to this series there by Darryl Dash.