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Apologetics

Labelling people

A friend wrote about

FUNDAMENTALISM (from Peter Cameron’s “Fundamentalism and Freedom” (Doubleday; Sydney: 1995.)

Another responded: I have a question regarding “Labels”.

Why do you, (not personally) believe it’s necessary for Christians to be put into little pidgeon holes (Labeled)?

Thanks

I responded:

Good question!

Are you American?

Should we label people Republican or Democrat?

Whether we like it or not, all ideologies – whether religious or political – have people along a continuum from ‘left’ to ‘right’. Humans being what they are, they seek to avoid ‘cognitive dissonance’ (look it up) and clarify their ideological stance vis-a-vis others’.

The problem’s not in labelling so much, as in wildly generalizing, and using labels pejoratively…

I’m a fundamentalist: I agree with Jesus about the objective reality/existence of Satan.

I’m evangelical: I don’t believe we should have an opinion about the Bible which the Bible doesn’t have of itself.

I’m radical: I agree with Jesus’ emphases on social justice (Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42)…

And so on…

P’raps the maturity is in not being ‘boxed in’ in terms of one particular ideology. See http://jmm.org.au/articles/9664.htm for more on that!

Shalom!

Rowland Croucher

http://jmm.org.au/

12,000+ articles

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