Why is there a dislike of Traditional Theology?

[tampasteve]

And - not to sound harsh towards your wife - but that's not really a "relationship to Jesus", that's MORE about a desire for community and conformity. I never had any of those views challenged, because we lived in a theological bubble.

It's not harsh, but probably not really accurate either in her case. Church is not really even about the community to her, though she can enjoy that aspect. It is more that she has her belief that she knows the basics of the faith and that is all that is needed, the rest is just pretty music or pointless debate. Honestly it is OK, but that is also a incomplete version of the faith, IMO.

 

[Halbhh]

There are things that do matter, though.

Yes, that's so right, but often people argue over things that truly do not matter we might notice at times.

And, I'm also being instructed here by Paul (to me) that if I find a person that objects to any bishops in a church (for example) that I'm not to worry about that, but let them be (they will end up having their equivalent of a bishop, but by another name, after all).
If they do a real wrong though, in contrast, like condemning others, then I can helpfully quote to them passages against that real wrong. But if they object to robes, or insist on Saturday, or against pork, whatever etc., I should not feel I have to correct them on it. If one insists that decorations are wrong, I can just be friendly and love them, and not worry about it at all.

 

[Dave L]

I see it a lot in these forums and in real life. What do you think is the motive?

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,” 2 Timothy 4:3 (NASB95)

I believe the church has been under the Gog/Magog attack by the dead who now live, the 1000 years being ended and Satan loosed (Rev 20). This also means the Lord could return today.

 

[Pádraigín Ní Saorlaith]

A poster here responded to me the other week that the early church teachings should be ignored - something along the lines that "they were still in the process of working out their theology".....inferring that only recently has theology "gotten it right".

Which is wild to me, because saying the Early Church was still "working out their theology" implies that people living in the generation immediately following the Apostles (and indeed, people taught and mentored by the Apostles) got every single thing they did wrong. (Not to say that a theology is orthodox just because it's old.)

 

[prodromos]

Because everyone is an idiot.

But I like Traditional Theology, so there must be more to it than being an idiot.

 

[dzheremi]

But I like Traditional Theology, so there must be more to it than being an idiot.

Sure, but it's a good start.

 

[Pavel Mosko]

I see it a lot in these forums and in real life. What do you think is the motive?

It just seems to me baggage from the Reformation, especially the Radical Reformation end of it. For lots of people Traditional = Catholic or something else that is Pharisaical etc.

I don't think people are aware that there aren't any panaceas in Christianity, that every strategy you take has its law of unintended consequences. If you try to evade some form of Pharisee-ism by being anti-traditional chances are you are just going to blunder into some kind of anti-traditional Jim Jones or David Koresh, or maybe even become that yourself. Or bump into any other myriad problems according to the addage "those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it".

 

[mkgal1]

If you try to evade some form of Pharisee-ism by being anti-traditional chances are you are just going to blunder into some kind of anti-traditional Jim Jones or David Koresh, or maybe even become that yourself.

Good point. I believe David Koresh was very adamant of "Bible only" teaching - but, the trouble with that (refusing to acknowledge, even hold in contempt, other sources) is the obvious road we saw where that self-interpretation leads people totally off course.

9 Things You Should Know About David Koresh and the Branch Davidians

 

[eleos1954]

I see it a lot in these forums and in real life. What do you think is the motive?

Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Traditions from men ... dismiss them .... traditions according to Christ ..... accept them.

Isaiah 29:13

The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

 

[prodromos]

Traditions from men ... dismiss them .... traditions according to Christ ..... accept them.

What about traditions from the Church, which is the body of Christ.

 

[Halbhh]

What about traditions from the Church, which is the body of Christ.

Meaning all the body of Christ then -- all true believers, in all the variety of churches....yes, and more -- we should additionally weep with those that weep, and rejoice with those that rejoice, and continue to practice "love one another" in all ways.

 

[seeking.IAM]

... The UCC rejects the Trinity.

I would never call the UCC "traditional" but I believe you are mistaken about its view on the Trinity. What We Believe

 

[seeking.IAM]

There are many who believe their way is the correct way, as led by some late arriving-theologian with a new idea, as if to say, "You have been doing it wrong for 2,000 years. We know better." That seems rather absurd on the surface of things.

In this particular forum, it also seems that many people consider their own pathway to be "traditional" because it's what they've always known or been told...Such as "we're traditional because we worship at Joe Bob's house just like early Christians did." Uh, no you're not.

 

[~Anastasia~]

I think a certain amount of it stems too from being taught contra-this or contra-that (mostly anti-Catholicism ime). There is a range of such teaching, from outright propaganda which attacks various traditional doctrines (often through misunderstanding or misrepresentation) to more "scholarly" approaches which through their own interpretation of the Scriptures have concluded that various doctrines are in error. Jack Chick on one end of that spectrum, John MacArthur on the other.

I think most people who have accepted either of these or a combination are at least sincere in a desire to hold to what they believe is true. But it can get pretty polemical along the way.

 

[charsan]

I see it a lot in these forums and in real life. What do you think is the motive?

Without reading other posts,the reason that those here hate Traditional Theology can be attributed to the lack of knowledge, that Traditional Theology is Catholicism (Some have a great fear of Catholicism), they were taught lies about Traditional Theology, afraid that if they look in to things that they might have to change their beliefs, the desire to be right (as an example in the one thread "How would you great a Bishop" one chap has to be so right that he is still trying to arguing, they are so individualized that they think they are right about everything) and all this culminates in there being much error and heresy in the forums especially GT.

 

[prodromos]

Meaning all the body of Christ then -- all true believers, in all the variety of churches....yes,

Where can I find this church? If my brother has sinned against me and refuses to listen to me or two more of my brethren, Scripture tells us to take it to the Church. How do I do this if the Church is this invisible community of 'true believers TM'?

 

[hedrick]

That's sad.

But is it true? The major liberal theologians that I know of all accept the Trinity.

 

[bèlla]

You know the thing about cars. There are those who purchase a vehicle for its quality and others for its prestige. Religion is no different.

If I need to reiterate why my tradition is best or true I don’t fall in the first group. The emphasis detracts from the greater merits it holds.

I ought to focus on producing good fruit so my tree draws others near. Then I can share what I’ve learned and both are blessed by the discussion.

 

[Radagast]

Stuff from Orthodox, Catholic, Coptic, and mainline Protestantism.

It's interesting that you would lump those together, in contrast to conservative Anglicans, conservative churches that hold fast to the Belgic Confession of 1561, and other conservative Protestants.

 

[Athanasias]

I see it a lot in these forums and in real life. What do you think is the motive?

Lack of education in early Church history is a huge part of this.They have no idea what the early Church of the apostles or their successors taught or worshipped like. Often when they find out they end up converting eventually to either the Catholic or Orthodox Church. I have personally seen this and had conversations with even young seminarians baptist and non- denominationals who really never read the early Church fathers. So they had no idea of the great richness of what they were turned off by or how ancient and apostolic it really was. So they leave or get turned off by ancient apostolic liturgical eucharistic sacrificial centered worship and prefer rock concert worship services with coffee shops and "Cool" pastors who preach for an hour and have big screens in thier churches.