jamezosn wrote:
I am in a very liberal College at the moment, and happen to disagree with much of what is said. Somehow God and Christianity are very constant subjects, subjects people seem to know very little about to be honest. Should I be constantly correcting every slight misconception that comes up, or only the major ones? Ive been trying to choose my battles and correct only the most blatant errors...but usually I end up with a strange feeling that I should have done something else both when I remain silent and when I correct people. Any Help? :-(
Its difficult, isn't it. Maybe something from my own experience of theological college might help, though it wasn't all that lliberal.
There was one lecturer who had had a lot of trouble with strongly evangelical students a while before I was there. They had apparently complained about his teaching, and i think some of them had left the college, and the denomination because of it, (it was the training college for the whole of that denomination).
I began to notice that when there were Evangelical students in class he would teach from a more liberal standpoint. When there were more liberal students he would teach from a more conservative view. I got the impression he was deliberately trying to wind people up, to get them thinking and challenge their views.
Some of the things he said rather upset and angered me, though I kept quiet. I decided to sit in the lectures and pray silently (in tongues, so it was still possible to take notes and concentrate on the lecture as well!)
Gradually I found MY OWN attitude to him changing! I grew to respect and like him, in spite of some of the things he said.
Because it was a small college the classes tended to be small, and we were encouraged to ask questions, which I often did. My essays also showed my stance of course, but this professor was OK with that as long as I'd researched and thought out the matter properly and could support my views in a logical and rational way.
In one course of lectures there were only three of us, and the other two dropped out of that course, so there was only him and me. The couse and the marking were internal, so, as long as the basic coursework was covered, we could study whatever we wanted. One day we spent an hour's lecture debating the liberal idea that the book of Isaiah was written by two or three different people!
Oe time I happened to be in the entrance hall when some visitors were there. The professor saw me and introduced me to the man he was talking to. He said "This is my favourite arguer!"
I think he liked and respected me too, but it took a lot of work and prayer! The thing was that the Lord got my attitude to him right first, then we developed a good working relationship. He sensed I respected him and wasn't being confrontational for the sake of it.
Another thing is that theologians use certain things that may offend us, as technical terms. For example, Cult, or cultus, simply means the formal or ritual aspects of worship, as in the OT sacrificial system. And "myth" means any supernatural occurance. The "myth" in this sense might well be true, but technically its still called that.
Hope that helps - though it sounds as if you have a tougher job than I did!
In Him
Jeannette
