In Galatians 2, Paul talks about the circumcision party who had previously caused trouble in Antioch as those who “came from James.” The implication there may have been that James himself was endorsing their position. However, that isn’t necessarily the case. In 5:11, Paul is himself compelled, to deny and refute that he was a supporter of circumcision for Gentile believers. It seems that his name had been taken in vain and it is possible that the agitators had also claimed untruthfully to act on James’ authority.
I suspect it would not have been too hard to rely falsely on another’s reputation and attribute views to them. News travelled more slowly in a pre-technology world but rumours could be spread more quickly. This wouldn’t be the only time that a false rumour would get Paul into trouble. It would also be possible to misrepresent words and actions, taking them out of context. For example, Paul did circumcise occasionally for missional reasons.
Whilst the internet means that news travels quicker, this hasn’t prevented rumours from circulating even more quickly. Nor does it prevent people from taking words and actions out of context either. The result is that sadly, Christian leaders do find themselves misquoted, misrepresented or have rumours spread about them.
Sometimes this happens by accident or carelessness but sometimes it can happen through deliberate agendas. It might be that it suits someone’s purpose to rely on the authority of prominent leader to add wait to their own argument. Sometimes the aim is to cause trouble, to malign the leader in question, to turn people against them.
As well as happening on the larger stage, such misrepresentation can happen in the local church too. We should be careful about relying on the supposed authority of others and wary of those who seem to make a habit of it. It’s always a good idea to double check sources and to seek truth. Most importantly, it helps when we rely on the authority of God’s Word and not the say so of preferred others.
Faithroots 