Train of Thought

Many of us, perhaps most, believe our take on reality, formulated when we came of age, say 12 to 20, is close to the truth, and other takes are probably wrong.

This devotion to the status quo, to our existing paradigm, reflects pride and not Christ.

On the one hand the Bible teaches we should stick with what we first heard and not be blown about by every new wind of doctrine. (Ephesians 4:14) But our problem is that command was directed to folks who had learned from Apostles, or those "inspired" to present the pure, unadulterated gospel. Now what we first learned came from the traditions of people, some no doubt spot on and possibly others off the mark.

When I came of age, late1950"s and early 60"s, many kinds of people were not actually given the same chance for success as white protestant college educated males. So there was room for me to grow and formulate new attitudes toward non-whites, women, those not gifted in English language usage. But I needed to hold on to my view of justice for all, the need to be like Christ and express love toward those in need.

If we consider our "here and now" culture as our status quo, we should be aware that some of our views may be off the mark. Think of our status like a train station, full of people holding views like our own. Now picture a train pulling in, full of new people, new ideas, and new takes on truth. Do we listen, keep what is good and discard the rest, or do we close our minds, and mutter taint so, taint so?

Reverse the command as to what we are to do with people who do not listen to us and apply it to ourselves. 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 tells us not to reject out of hand potential revelatory gifts, but for us to examine them and hold on to what is good.

 

When most of us use the term "coming of age" we are referring to the transition of considering yourself a child and as an adult.

As baptists, we, perhaps ambiguously, draw a line for a "believer's baptism" at some age, where we think the child is old enough to be accountable for his or her beliefs, rather than just reflecting their parents "indoctrination." And yet, almost all posters on this board will waffle, and not publicly draw a line, but for those exercising leadership in local churches, they did establish policy. I arbitrarily drew the line at 12, but for other assumptions of responsibility, i.e. driving a car, buying hard drinks, joining the military, older lines have been drawn.

Why try to move the line to 27 or even 30? To claim they cannot vote or buy a gun, or in other words the left trying to disenfranchise the young. We all might have a hard time, finding a young person to have met the special circumstances for lethal injection, but if the person did not seem to me to be feeble minded, I might go as young as 16.

All this to say, 12-20 is where I draw the lines.

 

I was 15 when I committed to Christ, and I believe most believers had "come of age" before they (1) repented and (2) put their trust and devotion toward Christ. OTOH, some here believe a 5 year old under compulsion from Irresistible Grace, can engage in "believers baptism."