Check out John Fraiser's post on Paul Washer: One of the Worst Sermons I Have Ever Heard.
I admit, I know a lot of Paul Washer fans (emphasis on the word fan). I really appreciate Fraiser's critique of Washer and I plan on directing some of the Washerites I know to it. However, I don't completely agree with Fraiser. It has the danger of being the reactionary pendulum swing that leads us to another dead end. For example, see the comment by "Jason" which ends up simply straw-manning Washer. Hey, maybe Washer just uses hyperbole? Come to think of it, there was this other guy once who used a lot of hyperbole. I can't think of his name right now but I think he lived circa 16th century.
On an observational note. I'm not a Lutheran but it seems to be a fad among young Lutherans to get pissed off at whatever is popular among Protestant circles (you get bonus points if its Reformed). Oh yeah... Fraiser says he isn't pissed off though. I guess what us non-Lutherans consider pissed off is really just casual observation for them. I'd hate to see them when they are pissed off.
Maybe I'm wrong though. Maybe I just happened to come across a lot of Lutheran rants on stuff that, while I would usually roll my eyes at, wouldn't bother to make a hub-bub about it. But that's why I like those kind of Lutherans and that's why I like Fraiser's post. It's a perspective not often heard and some people need to hear.
P.S. I haven't personally listened to Paul Washer's sermon on marriage, but I've heard some people say they like it and one guy laugh at it because Washer "just talks about how much marriage sucks." I'd be interested to hear what Fraiser has to say about it.
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RM,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the press. You are right, Lutherans (young and old) can get quite upset over some stuff that is popular in Protestant circles (though I'd say we show equal opportunity to Catholics). When someone is outside of a particular tradition, they come off as much angrier when they criticize that tradition. Also, people are much less tolerant of their criticism than someone inside of that tradition who might say the same thing. The same thing goes for people who show appreciation for those within their tradition: If a Catholic fawns over the Pope, everyone thinks "Here he goes again." But if a Protestant references the Pope favorably people might think, "Maybe what the Pope said was pretty good." When I was a Baptist I never got accused of quoting Luther too much. Though I quote him now with no more frequency I suspect people think, "Here he goes again..."
I hope that in time you will find that I don't support any fad that makes whipping boys of non-Lutherans.
I roll my eyes at this stuff too, but I make a hub-bub about it because the issues are important and I have watched this teaching ruin people. I'm sure Jesus rolled his eyes at some bad teaching, but he also made a hub-bub plenty of times too.
You've got a great blog. I'll add you to the roll, and I'll be back to visit.
"When someone is outside of a particular tradition, they come off as much angrier when they criticize that tradition. Also, people are much less tolerant of their criticism than someone inside of that tradition who might say the same thing. The same thing goes for people who show appreciation for those within their tradition: If a Catholic fawns over the Pope, everyone thinks "Here he goes again." But if a Protestant references the Pope favorably people might think, "Maybe what the Pope said was pretty good." When I was a Baptist I never got accused of quoting Luther too much. Though I quote him now with no more frequency I suspect people think, "Here he goes again...""
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Good observation.
Thanks for the encouragement on the blog.