I’ve joked that in my twenties, the most owned, least read book among my conservative evangelical contemporaries was “The Gagging of God” by Don Carson. It was Carson’s take on the problem with post-modernism/pluralism. By denying the ability of anyone especially God to speak clearly, truthfully and finally, Carson argued that our world had sought to silence, to put a gag on God.
However, pluralism is not the only way to gag God. In fact, by connecting the two things, we may have risked drawing attention away from ourselves and the dangers we face. It is easy to see how a non-Christian world outside might seek to silence God’s voice. We can even identify the ways in which liberal Christianity has done the same. We can then feel very smug and secure about ourselves.
Mike Ovey, the late principal of Oak Hill Theological College used to frequently put out the challenge “Will you allow God to disagree with you through his word?” If we are not allowing God to do this, then we are in danger of gagging him, seeking to stop him from speaking to us.
So, in what ways might we do this? Well here are three. First, we can make our preaching and teaching safe. It is possible to use the format of an expository sermon which in fact says very little. We offer a gentle safari, a commentary on the text. If we combine this with a tendency to couch what we are saying in polite or highbrow language, seeking to sound learned or trying to soften the blow, then that will exacerbate the problem further.
Secondly, we can use theology and doctrine, again to nullify the force of the text. Instead of going straight to Scripture, we go to the writings of others, even the founding documents of our denomination. This leads to the situation where those who go straight to God’s Word and take it at face value are dismissed snootily as “Biblicists.” Since when did that ever become an acceptable insult amongst reformed evangelicals? It means that instead of expounding God’s word, we expound our theological frameworks. It leads to the kind of situation where I was memorably told that the relationship of the persons in the Trinty had nothing to teach us about human relationships. This of course begs the question “If we cannot learn from God himself, then from who?”
On a side note, I think this also leads to a situation where not only God isn’t heard correctly but also other people. It has been my frequent complaint that I’m not convinced that the neo-classical theists are hearing and representing the views of those they disagree with accurately. It leaves me wondering if they have even understood their beloved classical theists rightly. You see, everything is heard through the filter of how you think, of the worldview that gives you comfort.
I think that the third way is in fact an effect of the first two. It is possible to love engaging in theological discussion, it’s possible to be a student of the Bible but for those things to have no impact on your life. Jesus insisted that it was not just about hearing his word but doing it as well that makes us wise.
So, these are three ways in which we too can gag God. Of course, we do not have the power to truly gag him, as though he were weak and dependent on us to speak. It is less that we gag him, preventing him from speaking and more that we put our fingers in our ears and refuse to listen.
Faithroots 