Stealing thunder

Q&A time after a Bible lecture is a good thing, I suppose, but there is a downside. If the speaker has delivered a well-prepared, prayer-bathed, edifying message, one could wish for time to let it linger a while, like a fine wine. Or like the last note of a perfect symphony hangs there, filled with longing, longing for more of the voice of God.

But then come the off-the-wall questions. The floor is thrown open for responses, and there is a strong social taboo against dead air time, and an equally strong imperative to have something to ask. With the very first question, a message that took hours to write and days to meditate on is swept from the collective mind like cobwebs, its fine seed never to be planted and germinate. One hand, then another, shoots up, challenging some point that was made in the talk, suggesting that it lacks nuance or needs qualification or is downright unscriptural. Other hands chase a rabbit down some new trail, and the scent of the old is lost forever.

The same dynamic happens in blog posts I have read. I was, today, mischievously imagining the minced meat that commenters would make of some of Jesus' or Paul's statements if they were posted online. Consider:

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (This is, of course, 1 Corinthians 1:25, but let us suppose we do not know that.)

The 9 a.m. commenter fires the first salvo: "God is not foolish! He is not weak! It is irreverent to suggest that there is any degree of those qualities in God!!! He is all wisdom and strength. . . ."

The 9:17 comment interacts: "Perhaps the post is just making a point about God being higher than men. Still, this is not a fortuitous use of language. . . ."

At 9:40 we read, "I heard a lecture the other day on 'open theism.' Interesting theological development. Do you think God knows the future ahead of time, or do you think He learns it along with us? Is it possible that His willful ignorance of the future is the 'weakness' of God? . . ."

And the poor poster's contribution is long left in the dust. No attempt is made to see the point he or she was trying to make; no attempt is made to listen with love and wisdom. The Enlightenment casts a long shadow. For the next post, lets try this one:

"You know that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." (Don't tell anyone it's James 2:24.)

To hear commentaries by Andrée Seu, click here.