Biblical Principles

Issue posts. There are a lot of issues that the Bible just doesn't address very much. Like dating - there's no sermon on the mount about how to pick your spouse. There are a few rules - if you're a Christian, they need to be; no sex pre-marriage - but really? There's just not a lot said about it. Personally, I think that's because for the most part, it doesn't matter. Dating, courting, arranged marriages - none of them are of themselves right or wrong.

Here are two links to two posts. These are those kinds of topics. Topics about which you rely on Biblical principles, rather than Biblical commands.

Link One
Link Two

The first one is about dating relationships. There's a lot of stuff that is taught about dating - and it seems like every different faction of family, religion, and culture has a dozen things that they think are best. Really, the only thing that seems to be stretched is saying that because SOME Christians use that, that therefore it's a Christian teaching. I wasn't taught what the author was. Does that mean I missed out on CHRISTIAN teaching? Or that I missed out on someone's VERSION of Biblical principles?

Principles are a lot harder to use properly. They require a lot more than commands. Commands are simple and straightforward. You pretty much just have to be able to read the instructions - like on a recipe card. Principles are when you call your grandma and ask her how she made her famous, delicious bread and she gives you measurements like "a dash of salt" and tells you to "knead it until it looks right." Principles require more understanding of what you're doing on the whole. If you're an experienced baker, you can probably make due with those instructions; if you're not, you're not going to have any idea. You might guess right, or you might ruin the dough - either way, you're guessing and experimenting.

Because a Christian taught something - because MANY Christians taught something - that doesn't mean that something is a CHRISTIAN teaching. It might be; it might not be. I know a lot of Christians who don't believe that God uses dreams or visions today. And I know a lot of Christians who believe that He does. Which one is the "Christian teaching"? The Bible doesn't say one way or another - it doesn't say that God will always use direct methods or that once the Bible is finished, that's all He will use. So people draw on Biblical principles.

I have found that making definite statements about those kinds of things doesn't turn out well. God didn't make a definite statement for a reason. Maybe we should try to refrain from making them for Him.

The point is, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Christians are people; we are not infallible. We get it wrong. But because Christians aren't perfect, don't dismiss Christianity, and don't think that because the Christians in such and such a culture and place believe one thing that therefore ALL the Christians in the world believe it, or that that teaching is a tenant of Christianity. I mean really, in the broad, widely-used meaning of the word, Christianity includes everything from Catholicism, to Quakers, to Pentacostol. That is quite enveloping and there's a LOT of differing opinions about stuff.

One last point about this one and then we'll move on. I've been on both sides of this. I was in an emotionally abusive relationship where all he really wanted was sex and all I wanted was a friend, and I've been in a very balanced relationship where we both wanted each other - not just bodily. I honestly don't know what anyone could have told me that would have helped me either not get into that abusive relationship in the first place, or would have gotten me out of it earlier. I didn't want to be alone and I did not realize for a very long time how emotionally damaged I was getting. I picked up a LOT of bad things from that - some have gone, some have remained. But having been there, I don't know what you can possibly teach someone that's going to keep them out of that. Because most of the time, I think we walk into it, our eyes wide open because we think we know.


The second link really has no bearing whatsoever on Christianity. The point is basically that using ad hominem is bad. Not much to say about that one.