False Doctrine

May I confess that theological triage, as commonly presented, does not work for me?

Some twenty years ago, Albert Mohler (2004) offered sage advice that Christians should discern between (1) those doctrines which are the “most central and essential to the Christian faith,” whose denial marks one as not being a Christian; (2) those doctrines which are recognized as preventing fellowship within a church or association; and (3) those variations in doctrinal belief which can be accommodated within a church or association. There is merit to this form of ranking, as it is centered on those things which are “of first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3–4).

The strangely ill-advised notion of a federal Disinformation Governance Board came to a merciful end this week—thankfully, at least for now.

As Americans, we cherish our First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech and the press, and tend to oppose anything that even vaguely appears to threaten them. Furthermore, as has been expressed far and wide in response to this oddly-timed proposal, we rightly view it as our role as citizens to critique the government of this Republic—not vice versa.

My purpose here, however, is to introduce a greater dilemma. Specifically, how are we as Christians to Biblically combat doctrinal, especially prophetic, disinformation?