The family small group I’m in at church recently decided to work through a book on parenting over several weeks. Before I opened the book, I decided I would wait and see if how long it took for the word “unfortunately” to show up. Answer: The second paragraph of the introduction.
That’s pretty normal really. The book actually isn’t too bad, but it follows the usual pattern of Christian self-help:
God really wants Christians to do ___________________.
Unfortunately, we all stink at this. Good thing you’ve got this book! Now I’ll tell you how to fix it.
a slightly improved option is the “appearance of humility” introduction:
Don’t you want this great thing the Lord has for you? We’ll I’m going to help you do just that.
Disclaimer: I don’t know all the answers, so God help me. I probably know more than you though, so listen up.
It’s refreshing to find something seriously different. I just cracked open another book by N.T. Wright and found this in the introduction:
I make many mistakes in moral and practical manners, so why should I imagine my thinking to be mysteriously exempt? But whereas if I hurt someone, or take a wrong turn in the road, I am usually confronted quite soon with my error, if I expound erratic views within the world of academic theology I am less likely to be convinced by contradiction. We all have ways of coping with adverse comment without changing our minds.
-N.T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God, p.xvii
Oooooo. We all have ways of coping and not changing our minds when we’re wrong.
I’m so sick of hearing about how “great leaders use self-deprecating humor”. Most of the time it seems forced or faked actually. There is no mistake on this into to one of Thomas Merton’s journals:
In any case, the careless style, the callow opinions and all the other defects are those of writer much younger and even more unwise that I am at the present.
-Thomas Merton, Secular Journals, preface
We could all use a bit more authentic humility in our religious discorse if you ask me. And you don’t have to compromise your beliefs to do it either.
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May 4th, 2009 at 8:28 AM
Good post (esp. the N.T. Wright quote – love it). Perhaps you should ask J.I. Packer to write a foreword for it?
May 4th, 2009 at 2:12 PM
I’m sure Packer would be down with that. He’s a straight shooter. Perhaps he could write intros to my blog posts too:
Christians should be generous and humble when parading their superior theological knowledge to the masses.
Unfortunately, many of us seem to be following the John MacAruthur model in their preface. Good thing you’re about to read this post! We’ll make fun of successful Christian authors and promote a more thorough trash-talking of yourself. There’s no time to waste!