[OBW]

I've been noting lately in all kinds of Christian contexts that people who are trying to direct us to what they think are the missing things too often go way off the rails in trying to make their case. I have griped incessantly about how Lee turned so many things into "just" this or "simply" that when it should be obvious that almost everything is much more complicated, robust, broad, etc.

And it was not just Lee that is guilty of this kind of thing.

One thing I have been grappling with lately is what to do with things said by writers/teachers who seem to have something important to discuss, but make their whole argument questionable by taking almost ridiculous stances on some things. Just about the time you get that excitement about seeing something important, the next page starts to reflect a foam-at-the-mouth bashing of everything that is not seen as absolutely in line with their position.

So you almost have to go back to what they have been saying and decide whether they actually managed to make a reasonable case in the earlier portions such that you can ignore their rants and read on to see if there is something else that is meaningful yet to come.

And I don't really like doing that. I will never suggest that anyone should just take the word of any particular teacher (or particular group of teachers). But you should trust them enough to not simply distrust them.

I've been reading a book by a guy who has made many insightful comments on the out-of-balance state of evangelicalism (as he puts himself squarely within that camp). So I expected the book to be more of the same. And to some extent it is. But, like so many others (including me) he seems better at sizing up problems than coming to solutions.

And as I was reading some of the part where his wheels were coming off, I was reminded of this forum and this particular thread.

The problem for me is that what Lee managed to actually get even sort of right no longer places him in a position of trust. He seldom spent a lot of time pointing at the right things and then later managed to get off track. It seems that his "got it rights" are so far from the center of his teachings that they keep looking to me like admissions that are necessary to keep the followers from thinking too hard about the not so right stuff.

I will agree that enjoying Jesus/Christ is right. Ignore what went wrong with it. It is true.

But, like Igzy said, it is only part. It is not the whole thing. And I know that this seems like sniping at truth, but what portion of the scripture, or just the NT, or even just the gospels, is about enjoying Christ. I don't mean how can someone rephrase something so that it can be argued that it actually is some kind of enjoyment. Or how can we argue that obedience should generate joy within us. Simply put, how much scripture clearly makes reference to enjoying Christ (with or without some lengthy training banner tack-on).

My goal is not to dismiss it, but to give it proper scope. I don't have the answer. But it is clear that "simply enjoying Christ" is not the whole of anything. It is not given as the solution to anything. And it is not the predominant thing discussed by Jesus, Peter, John, Paul, or any of the other writers.

And there aren't many metaphors after the four Gospels, so not much opportunity to say that something not even referring to Christ is "simply the enjoyment of the processed triune God as our life supply." Yet this too often what too much scripture was turned into.

There is a vast wealth of truth in scripture. It does not all distill down to "dispensing God," "enjoying Christ," or any other kind of "simply." We all need a view of the gospel that is broader than salvation or the kingdom yet to come. That is about righteousness, meekness, humility, love (for God and man), and the kingdom right now on earth. And the kingdom right now on earth should be expressed more in our daily lives than in our meeting lives. More in the way we actually live than in some hidden, spiritual "process" that will eventually fall on us as righteousness without us ever having to think about it.

I would suggest that those who are not trying to be righteous by any means will never be righteous. And if they are never righteous, then any claim of spirituality is worse than suspect.