Who Is Orthodox

An "oldie but goodie" article by Michael Patton - Six Views on What It Means To be Orthodox

Have you ever been called a heretic? Have you ever had someone say that your faith is “unorthodox”? Have you ever wondered what it meant to be “orthodox”? No, I don’t mean Greek Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox. I am talking about orthodoxy which carries the meaning of “straight or right teaching and worship.”

The answer is not easy. For some people, “orthodoxy” is a shallow word meaning that you agree with them. For others, it means you agree with their particular denomination or local church confession. For many, it is a meaningless heavy handed designation that should no longer be used.

What does it mean to be orthodox in your beliefs?

There are really six primary views that I find represented in the church today. I am going to try to explain these views using both established and original terminology....

Read it all at the link.

The Big Difference

I've posted this before, but it's worth a re-post. From @CMichaelPatton

(click image to enlarge)

Things Not to Say to A Depressed Loved One

From a good article by Michael Patton, who has experienced depression from both sides (as a sufferer and a counselor) - 7 Things NOT to Say to a Depressed Christian. Please read. Please understand, Please do not act this way or say these things to your depressed loved ones.

As many of you know, I’ve been depressed for almost five years now. I had a major break in March of 2010. It came out of nowhere and has been a frequent uninvited guest in my home ever since.

I won’t go into it now, but almost seven weeks ago I came out of the depression. I think I know the triggers. But I often tell people not to get too excited. I can never be sure which “me” is going to wake up tomorrow. Will it be joyful me? (who I love) He’s the one who sees life positively and has no time for worry (too busy serving God)? Or will it be broken me (who I hate)? He can’t dwell on anything but the bad and sees no hope in life (and doesn’t even act like there’s a God)?

But while I have my thoughts straight, I’ve been able to dwell on so many positive things. One of these is the subject of this post. I’ve accumulated a list of seven things depressed people (Christian’s especially) are told. They’re meant to help them out of their depression. I’ve even had these things said to me. But these things are wrong.
Please Note: None of these things necessarily come from evil intentions. These come from people who sincerely want you to recover. However, they do come from the evil flesh that dwells in all of us: judgmentalism. I hope this becomes clear as you read.

Further Reading: Dealing With My Depression #1: Muffling Its Voice

“Just Snap Out of It”

I don’t know how many times I said this to my depressed sister before she took her life. “Just snap out of it, Angie.” From my perspective, I thought you could. I thought that being depressed or happy was an act of the will. If you just make the right decision, you can think your way out of it. But more often than not, depression is not an act of the will. It is an interplay between the mind and the brain that you can’t snap out of. Don’t you think that people who are depressed would “Just snap out of it” if it were that easy? Remember, they don’t want to be depressed. It is the worst torture that one can possibly imagine.

“Think Positively”

Again, this might seem right. Please realize that most of the time a depressed person can’t think positively. That’s why they’re depressed. If I were to tell you there’s a giant elephant in your room, would you believe me? What if I said that all you have to do is close your eyes and trust it to be true? You’d probably say, “I can’t!”Telling someone who’s depressed to “think positively” completely misses the problem. They can’t think positively any more than you can believe there’s an elephant in the room. They don’t want to think negatively. They just can’t stop.

Further Reading: Depression – When We Want to Die

Read it all at the link.

Speaking Christianese

Are you a fluent speaker of "Christianese"? You know, all the little phrases and idioms church people use that outsiders or new believers find so confusing. Here's a slightly "tongue in cheek" look at some common examples of the phenomena from Michael Patton.

1. “Heads bowed, eyes closed . . .”: During a church service, you may hear a preacher abruptly break into this unexpected dialogue with the audience: “Heads bowed, eyes closed. If you have accepted Christ into your heart [more later], I want you to raise your hand.” Don’t get scared. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. It is not a fancy way to steal your money or pull anything sneaky. It is the preacher’s way of helping the uncomfortable seeker feel more at ease about accepting Christ. It is best if you just follow instructions here.

2. “Into the Word”: This is a portion of an important phrase that may be communicated by seasoned Christians in many different contexts. It always has reference to the Bible. Yes, I know, the Bible is more than one word, in fact it is thousands, but once you are a Christian, it becomes singular and has a definite article, “the,” attached to it. If you hear someone say, “Are you in the Word?,” this is another way of saying, “You need to read the Bible if you are going to be spiritual like me.” IMPORTANT: This has no relation to the phrases, “Word to your mother,” “Word up,” or just plain “Word.”

3. Backslidden: This has no reference to the past event of sliding down a hill on your back. It is used to refer to those Christians who are now suspect in their original confession due to their current participation in a particular sin.

4. “Ask Jesus into your heart”: Although there is nowhere in Scripture that people are commanded to ask Jesus into their heart, this has become the primary means by which Evangelicals believe a person becomes a Christian. Don’t be scared here. Heart surgery, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular exercise (or lack thereof) have no bearing on Christ’s presence in your heart. He does not actually live there.

5. Soul Winning: Please understand, this is not a game. It is the act whereby one person tells another about Christ and the person believes, thereby having their souls “saved” (i.e. “won”). I know that normally if there are winners, you would think there are losers, but not in Soul Winning. Everyone wins in this game (except the lost).

6. “I see that hand . . .”: This is related to #1. The pastor has just asked for raised hands while everyone’s heads are bowed and eyes closed. “I see that hand” can mean one of two things: 1) Someone is indicating that they have accepted Jesus by raising their hand. 2) The pastor is acting like someone has to be more heroic and finance the new building. VERY IMPORTANT: Avoid any temptation to look for the hand when the pastor says “I see that hand.” Although science is inconclusive, we are not sure if you looking for the hand raised has any bearing on the effectiveness of the salvation process. It is best to be safe and avoid giving in to this temptation. To be very spiritual, just thank the Lord for that person and pray that they become a Calvinist.

7. Contemporary Christian Music: Avoid at all costs. Yes, many of your Christian friends will act as if they like it. Musicians, sociologists, and psychologists are perplexed as to the reasons why. We believe it is due to the pressured environment of the Christian community for Christians to do all things Christian, but this has no bearing on your salvation. Please, don’t feel pressure to like it.

8. Christian Movies: See “Contemporary Christian Music.”

Much more at the link.

Hierarchies of Truth

I love C. Michael Patton's charts! This is a good one - Fundamentalists, Liberals, and Evangelicals Charted 

Tuesday night, at “Coffee and Theology” at the Credo House, I taught what might very well be the most important lesson I have ever taught for “Coffee and Theology.” It was over the necessity of creating a hierarchy of belief, helping people learn to distinguish between essentials and non-essentials, cardinal beliefs and non-cardinal beliefs, those things that we should be willing to die for and those things that are less important.

My goal during people’s initial exposure to this subject is not to tell them what the essentials and non-essentials are, but to help them understand that these categories exist in Christianity. Beliefs matter very much in our faith, but not all beliefs matter equally. Part of the discipleship process of any Christian is to begin to work through these differences.

Here is the basic “Concentric Circle of Importance” that I often teach from. I have used it here many times on this blog.



The very center circle represents those issue of the faith that are “of first importance.” Paul spoke in such terms in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. “Of first importance” for Paul was the person and work of Christ. Who Christ is and what he did come before all else.

Instead of filling in this chart with all that I believe fit in each circle (an impossible task to do exhaustively), I want to show this how this chart might look in differing traditions...

Read it all at the link.

Six Myths About Sola Scripture

From C. Michael Patton: Six Myths About Sola Scriptura:

The Protestant doctrine of sola Scriptura is one of the most misunderstood doctrines I know of. The misconceptions come not only from those who repudiate the doctrine (such as Roman Catholics), but also from those who affirm it. Here is a list of some things that sola Scriptura myths.

1. Sola Scriptura means that the Scripture is the only source of spiritual insight.

Spiritual insight can come from any number of sources, both secular and Christian. I remember in 1995, I received quite a bit of spiritual motivation and inspiration from the movie Braveheart. The idea of a person giving up his life for something bigger than himself possessed my thoughts and hopes. There are many things – songs, wise words, books, and movies (Christian and secular), among other things – that can be sources of insight and inspiration. Remember, all truth is God’s truth. It does not have to be in the Scriptures to be true.

2. Sola Scriptura means that there are not other authorities in our lives.

We believe that the Scriptures are our final and only infallible authority, but not that they are our only authority. For example, we believe that our pastors and church leaders have authority in our lives. Hebrews 13:7 says that we are to obey our leaders. Wives are to submit to their husbands (Eph. 5:2). People are to obey the government (1 Pet. 2:13). Children are to do what their parents say (Eph. 6:1). There can be no excuse like, “Dad, the Bible does not say I have to clean my room, so I choose not to.” Or “Officer, it says nothing specific about running red lights in the Bible.”

As well, tradition (church history) is an authority in our lives. Those who have gone before us in the faith must be respected. Their collective and unified influence creates an authority which, I believe, is second only to Scripture. After all, they had the same Holy Spirit as us, didn’t they? The Holy Spirit does not teach us everything new as individuals, but educates and inspires us in and with those who have gone before us. That is why I love dead theologians!

As I read through the Institutes of John Calvin a couple of years ago, I did so with a fine-toothed comb, underlining every time another source was referenced, especially a source from another church father. One cannot study the Protestant doctrine of sola Scriptura and come away with the idea that the Reformers ever meant that the Scriptures were our only authority. Ultimate, yes. Only, no.

None of these are our final authority, and if the Scriptures contradict what these authorities say, the Scriptures trump.

Will the Real Charismatic Please Stand Up

Found this interesting article by C. Michael Patton in which he explores the various attitudes toward spiritual gifts in contemporary American Christianity, and decides that it isn't so easy to define who is a charismatic anymore. And, as always with Patton, there are charts!

He explains all these terms in the article. I had to do some thinking and self examination to see where I fit on this gradient, and decided I fall to the right of the middle line between options 4 and 5.

How about you?

Would You Rather be Blessed or Strengthened?

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” (2 Chron. 16:9 NIV)

Some Bible translations use the word "bless" in this passage, instead of "strengthen" as in the NIV.  We all want God to put his eyes on us to bless us. However, we usually interpret that to mean that God will get us out of our tough time: out bills paid, our relationships healed, our sicknesses removed. This passage in Chronicles, within its context of the story of King Asa, reminds us that sometimes God's promise of blessings is only a promise to give us strength to endure a trial, not a promise to get us out of the trial in the way we would like him to. Look what happened to the Prophet Hanani in this very story!

Michael Patton has a good commentary on this verse here. Read it.......if you dare!

I must choose to accept that sometimes I am blessed by strength to endure and by his presence with me in the pain, and not by removal of my problems. I wish it was always otherwise, but both Bible and experience say that this is often the way he does things. And.....It really is enough!

Bible Study Diagram

How to study the Bible in a nutshell.  the diagram is explained at the link.

The Difference

A simple explanation of the Difference Between Christianity and Other Religions

Is that clear enough?


From: | Parchment and Pen:

Will Studying Theology Kill My Faith?

Will studying Theology kill your faith?  



From: Credo Clip: Will theology kill my faith? | Parchment and Pen

It can, if the pursuit of facts and abstract knowledge replaces communion and obedience. But it can also strengthen faith.

It's a little like asking "Will knowing more about my wife, her history, her opinions, her concerns and values, hurt our love?  Silly question - you need both the relationship and the accurate knowledge of the loved one that feeds that relationship. To continue the marriage analogy, do not separate what God has joined together!

Dark Times

Do Christians have dark times- periods of depression and even despair?

Yes, yes, unfortunately yes. One of my favorite bloggers, C. Michael Patton at Parchment and Pen, is going through one now, and opened up for his readers in this transparent, emotionally raw post.

It is a very dark time in my life. I don’t know how else to describe it. About three or four weeks ago I changed. I don’t know how to describe this to you. Either I attempt to comfort you and preempt any sorrow by saying it is not really that bad and understate my circumstance, or I catalogue my thoughts to you with the possibility of misunderstanding and dread. All I can say is that I have had some sort of mental breakdown. My strength is gone. Depression? Certainly. Anxiety? Definitely. Fighting with the Lord? Most assuredly. All I know is that I broke a few weeks ago and I don’t know how to fix myself. All of the advice that I have given to broken people over the years is now pointed back at me and I realize how empty it can be.

Christians are not immune from hard times and down times, or even from clinical depression. It does us no good to pretend otherwise. King David had such times (just read the Psalms), Jeremiah had them, Martin Luther had them, C.H. Spurgeon had them. I've had them, and you have had them, whether you will admit it to your Christian friends or not.   Let's be real, people!

If our theology does not allow for depression and periods of darkness for believers, then perhaps something is wrong with our theology.Yes, there is a spiritual joy from the Lord that comes even in the midst of sorrow, but the sorrow can still be very real, and sometimes very inexplicable. Exhortations to just "rejoice in the Lord," however well meant, sometimes just do not cut it.

I think there are some aspects of the love and mercy of God that can only be understood through (and after) these dark times. The God who is most revealed in the darkness of the crucifixion of His Son also seems to show himself more clearly to the beaten man in the mud by the side of the Jericho road. Our dark times may be a form of His severe mercy.

But that realization doesn't make it any more fun to go through.

BTW, if you see this, Michael, I'm praying for you.

Complementarianism: Defining the Issue

I like the definitions offered in this article by Michael Patton at Parchment and Pen answering the question What Complementarianism is Really all About. This makes the issue clear, don't you think?

"Here is what Complementarianism is:

Complementarianism is the belief that men and women have God given differences that are essential to their person. Men and women are ontologically (in their essential nature) equal, but often, functionally, take subordinate roles (like the Trinity). These differences complete or “complement” each other. Due to these differences, there will be some things that women are predisposed and purposed to do more than men. As well, there will be some things that men are predisposed and purposed to do more than women. Therefore, there are ideal roles for both men and women that should be celebrated, exemplified, typified, and promoted in the church, family, and society. To deny these differences is to deny the design of God and thwart his purpose.

Here is what Egalitarianism is:

The belief that God has created men and women equal in all things. Men and women are ontologically and functionally equal. The way the sexes function in the church, society, and the family is determined by individual giftedness, not role distinctions according to the sexes. Therefore, each person should be judged individually when being placed in a particular position. We should exemplify this reality by overcoming the stereotypical placement that has traditionally been a part of societies in human history, thereby giving freedom to individuals to follow the path that God has uniquely created them for, whatever that may be. In doing so, we should no longer educate or indoctrinate according to any of the former stereotypes, including those of basic masculinity and femininity.

These, in my opinion, are the foundational tenants of each position without giving examples on how this plays out in the family, the church, or society."

The entire article is worth close reading. Good job, Michael!

Can Women Be Head Pastors?

For those of you who are interested in such matters, here's a good expression of the complementarian position on the issue Why Women Cannot Be Head Pastors? by C. Michael Patton.

For what is is worth, I agree with him.

The Christian Message in 9 Words?

Michael Patton tries to put the entire Gospel message in only nine words - Parchment and Pen » The Christian Message in 9 Words

What do you think? Complete? Accurate?

End Times Disease

Do you have Eschatomania? How about Eschatophobia? Michael Patton will help you self diagnose at Parchment and Pen » The Forgotten Gospel of the End Times

One theologian has said that there are two extremes when it comes to studying eschatology (the doctrine of the end times): Eschatomania and Eschatophobia.

Eschatomaniacs talk about nothing else but the end times. With charts in hand they are ready to give the “Gospel of the end times” to whoever will listen. However, their “Gospel” is primarily concerned with issues of the Millennium, the timing of the Rapture, the details of the Tribulation, and the Anti-Christ.

Eschatophobics are a product—a reactionary product—of Eschatomaniacs. Because of the emphasis that many would place on the end times, believing that it is all there is, Eschatophobics shy away from any discussions, commitments, or teaching on the end times. It is seen as “unacademic” and counterproductive to the Gospel.

I believe that both of these extremes are unhealthy for the church and are taking its toll on Evangelical theology.

There's more at the link!

Are You A Heretic?

Are you a Heretic? Michael Patton want to help you answer that question. See his blog post entitled Crossing the Heretical Line.

By his definition, I think I am safe. But one never knows!

Trinity Truths

C. Michael Patton wrote some good stuff this week on teaching about the Trinity. This was published based on a class he did for teenagers on this doctrine. If teens can be learning this stuff, wouldn't it be a good idea for the rest of us? See Parchment and Pen » “The Trinity is Like 3-in-1 Shampoo”. . . And Other Stupid Statements

“The doctrine of the Trinity is like an egg: three parts, one thing.” Ever heard that? How about this, “The doctrine of the Trinity is like a three leaf clover: three leaves, one clover.” Or how about THIS, “The doctrine of the Trinity is like water: three forms (ice, steam, liquid) one substance.” But the greatest I ever heard was by a guy in one of my classes. He said that he thought that the Trinity was like 3 in 1 shampoo: three activities, one substance.”

Stupid statements. Creative, but stupid. Don’t use them. Any of them. Ever.

I recommend the whole article to my readers. All Praise to our God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity!

Are You A Calvinist?

For Facebook users, C. Michael Patton has created a test to determine Are You A Calvinist?

Guess what - I am! Who'd a thunk it!

Theology of Big Words

C. Michael Patton had a good article up this week entitled A Theology of Big Words.

Every discipline or industry has its own vocabulary of technical terms that participants know. The tech terms are useful because they are packed with meeting through education or participation in the activities of that group, and thus become short hand for easier communication. Musicians have their terms that they use among themselves with total understanding. Computer geeks talk about bytes and bandwidths, sometimes confusing the rest of us in the process. In my professional life as a CPA we talk about debits, credits, GAAP and accruals among ourselves, and the terms are packed with meaning through our educations and common usage.

So why are so many preachers afraid of teaching their congregations Bible terminology and theological technical terms and then using the terms in teachings and sermons?

Preachers and Bible teachers should not be afraid of using "big words"- especially Bible terms like propitiation, atonement, predestination, justification or sanctification. We just have to be careful to pack the words with Biblical meaning, to fully explain them, and not assume our listeners already know the terms. They must be explained so that they can then be used for cogent effective communication. We need more theological teaching, not less. But it must be more teaching that is well done by leaders with both right knowledge and good communication skills.