Tuesday, January 10, 2012

How Bad Theology is Like Cheap Diapers


My son is 27 months old and I have been trying to introduce potty training for several months to no avail.  I want to get him on the potty and out of diapers as soon as possible.  For nearly the first year of his life I used cloth diapers, extra work on my part, but we saved a lot of money.  However, I haven’t been able to make the cloth diapers “work” since my son has increased his...uh...output, shall we say.  We have been dropping a lot of money into diapers and the only ones that have worked are an expensive name brand.  Thankfully, we can get them at a discount at a warehouse store, but I thought I’d save some money and try a generic brand again.  What a mistake!  In less than 48 hours he has peed through 4 times during the nighttime hours and then just before naptime today, total disaster!  I’ll spare you the details, suffice it to say that he had poop down is legs and all over the inside of his pants.  Diapers are supposed to prevent these sorts of things from happening, but it’s my own fault, I went the cheap and easy route.
And that’s when it hit me...bad theology is like cheap diapers.  Cheap diapers cost less money and you think you’re going to get the same results.  Bad theology is much the same; it sounds so much like the good theology, but sooner or later you wind up wearing poop!
What exactly is bad theology?  There are several things that can fall into this category: ancient heresies recycled for the 3rd millennium, New Age teachings, and anything that is Christianity-Lite (picks and chooses beliefs, but ignores the scandalous parts - like the Cross), and prosperity teaching.  Any of these cause me to go apoplectic (see my details in the side bar) because it willfully distorts the Truth.  Oh yeah, I just used a capital T in the word Truth!  I get a bit snarky when I start getting apoplectic.
Let’s take a prominent New Age teaching that we can “evolve” to a higher consciousness.  First, I don’t even know what the heck that means and that is the first sign of bad theology!  Anything that suggests that you have to be open to receive “secret” wisdom in order to be saved or evolve or whatever is not true.  Jesus told us everything we need to know in order to get to Heaven.  Now, there is a difference between not understanding and “secret” wisdom.  I can gain understanding, but secret wisdom suggests not everyone is going to let in on the secret; Jesus was very clear that His teaching is for the whole world, no exceptions.  Second, any theology or philosophy that says humanity can save itself is wrong!  If we could save ourselves, then why the heck haven’t we done so already and why would be it reserved for only a few people.  
Bad theology doesn’t start off by looking bad, actually it looks very attractive, just like cheap diapers.  However, once you start to delve into the teachings, you’ll discover that it can’t hold water, just like cheap diapers!

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