Let me begin by apologizing for the extended period without writing. Though my readership is not large, I do appreciate you and enjoy the creative aspect of writing. Life since October has been a whirlwind of activity. So, dear reader, from the bottom of my heart, I promise I will not leave you again…unless of course life gets crazy ☺
There is a scene that plays out every single day in hundreds of places. The circumstances may be slightly different, but the situation is the same. Every day, millions of people around the world visit their doctor. It begins something like this:
Doctor: How are you feeling today?
Patient: Not good. I seem to have a pain in my lower left side. It gets better with ibuprofen but comes back again. I looked it up on the internet, and I am sure my appendix needs to be taken out. Well, that or a strained muscle. Also, one site said it could be a problem with my liver. Either way, I am quite sure it is serious. Can you confirm what the website said?
Doctor: (with a look of disgust on her face) Why don’t you let me take a look and decide what is wrong? After all, I went to med school for 7 years and have been in practice for 25, but hey, thanks for letting me know what Facebook thinks.
We laugh at this scenario, but realize it is true. Maybe you have been guilty of selfdiagnosis…well internet diagnosis. Maybe you have suffered the scorn of your doctor. They do not say it, but their look says it all.
Those working in the medical field understand the depth needed to make a correct diagnosis, because symptoms can be the same and point to a wide range of problems. While we do understand this, we go to the doctor; many in our society have become TikTok Theologians.
To be candid, yes, I do have a PhD, and yes, I have had 27 years of experience in church ministry and Christian academia. Do I know everything? Certainly not. Yes, it is frustrating that everyone is an armchair theologian. Now, do not get me wrong. Christianity is a participatory faith. You need to know what you believe, why you believe it, and be able to share that knowledge clearly.
One of the great challenges of the Church is the move for TikTok Theologians who have no experience, no formal education, no credentials to comment, and likely very little personal time in the Word of God. Rather, the expediency of quick theological quips is given to prove a political or social point and is all too easy. In other words, their theology is defined by their experience, rather than their experience being defined by their theology. Case in point: whatever you may or may not believe about Israel’s connection to the end times, defining your theology by a modern understanding of the Israelite nation and their grievances does not negate the theology of Scripture, held and prophesied about for thousands of years.
Someone is now screaming, “dispensationalists are all alike.” Let me assure you, I rejected dispensationalism as a student in Bible College. Do not tell Finis Dake. Not for the overriding principles that it teaches, but the arbitrary deviation of time (dispensations).
My theological training and Biblical study are deep and long enough that I can separate what a government does from what its people do. Many of the kings of Israel were evil and led them into sin, but God always had a remnant. We cannot make an exclusive comment at this time. Scripture is clear throughout the Old and New Testaments: Israel has and will always play a part in God’s divine plan. Now, I do not believe Jews get an automatic pass into heaven. They need Jesus as much as the rest of us.
This is, of course, one example of many. I welcome you to listen to the modern voices on TikTok, but balance that by reading the great Doctors of the Church, many of whom may agree with you on some points. I implore you, do not be a TikTok Theologian, be a Spirit-led Christ follower with a hunger for the Word and truth. Weigh what o you hear against the Word of God. If you land on the side of an influencer, so be it, if you weigh every possible diverging thought. As a Doctor of the Church, I can assure you that is exactly what we are trained to do.
Through Time 