The biggest problem in doctrinal controversy is the power of prejudice. When men embrace a favored teaching as “the truth,” this commitment leaves them incapable of applying the historical-grammatical hermeneutic, in a robust and consistent manner, to that teaching.
This prejudice makes for awkward conversations.
Camp A offers a supposedly objective argument for position A, composed of a proof text and a theory.
Camp B presents a display of historical facts, grammatical facts, and textual observations which challenge position A.
Camp A dismisses the historical facts, the grammatical facts, and the textual observations as mere “opinions” and bolsters their case by appealing to names, tradition, authority.
I have watched this play out thousands of times in the past four decades in every field of theology in major and minor controversies. Watching for this interaction has become my go-to sniff test. Will men stay in the arena of objective analysis of the evidence or will they dismiss any evidence that challenges their favored position?
For those who have followed me for a while, you know that this is the ultimate purpose of my ministry and the foundational message beneath my messages. Once you learn to look for this pattern (embracing evidence vs rejecting evidence), your doctrinal discernment will never be the same. How are folks handling the evidence? Do they want all the evidence? Or do they only want the proof text and the theory? Are they married to the principle of investigation and evidence? Or are they married to the theory? May we all walk carefully before God in this matter. It is all too easy for us to walk in the way of truth in general, but still have an area or two of weakness where our prejudices override the historical-grammatical hermeneutic prosecuted robustly and consistently.
It can be truly said that there is, ultimately, only one error that hides behind and energizes all error—prejudice. That is THE error that protects error from truth, facts, light.
Eyes Wide Open, Brain Engaged, Heart on Fire
Lee Brainard
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