Plowboy Theology

In the early 16th century, a man named William Tyndale made his famous proclamation: "I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost!" His mission, though illegal, was to produce an English translation of the Bible from its original languages. Likewise, Desiderius Erasmus said, "I would to God the plowman would sing a text of scripture at his plow, and the weaver at his loom with this would drive away the tediousness of time. I would that the wayfaring man with this pastime would expel the weariness of his journey." Erasmus compiled the first published Greek New Testament in 1516, calling it the New Instrument. In his second and later editions, his publication was titled the New Testament. Today, we refer to his work as the Textus Receptus, or the Received Text, a text used in translating many English Bibles such as William Tyndale's Bible, the Geneva Bible, the King James Version, and the New King James Version.

Look how far we've come! We have God's Word on our smart phones in a variety of different translations, all because brilliant Christians before us desired that even uneducated plowboys could read and study their Bible. William Tyndale, for one, burned at the stake for his work and desire, even asking for his Hebrew Bible and study material to use while imprisoned for already completing the New Testament. My main question is this: if William Tyndale could have looked into the future to see how well the average American plowboy knows their Bible, would he be amazed, or would he be appalled?

After graduating from Bible college, I went on to study Apologetics in graduate school. I even started an apologetics blog to share with others how to defend their faith against atheism. However, after completing the degree and going into the work force, I realized that atheism was not the prevailing issue in my region of the "Bible-belt." People weren't denying God's existence, but were completely ignorant of His character, His attributes, and overall, His Word.

In attempting to have conversations on theology with professing Christians, I heard some bone-chilling responses. I heard reactions such as, "well, I don't believe I need to know all that." Or, even worse, "nobody has time for all that." Over time, I realized the problem wasn't just ignorance, but willful ignorance. Not only did the local plowboys and girls not know theology, but they didn't want to.

The Big Issue

Let's consider a parallel example just to grasp the weight of it all. You just graduated college and have found the one with whom your soul loves. You cherish them, and they you, and you take the next step in advancing your courtship. You get married.

You've been married a couple years. And while on your lunch break at work, you stop by Starbucks to pick up a Hazelnut Latte to ease your mind before going back to the grind. While waiting for your coffee, you bump into me, an old friend who you haven't seen since high school. You check your watch and see that you have a few minutes to chat a while, so you sit down beside me on a high stool and tell me what you're up to. You tell me you met the most amazing person and married them, and I smile with genuine happiness that even someone like you found a love of their life. I ask you to tell me about them, and you respond, "Oh man, I'm telling you, they're great."

"I'm sure!" I reply. "What do they do for a living?"

Your genuine smile turns into a deer in the headlights glare. I eagerly wait for your response, but start to feel as though that question caught you out of nowhere. I move on assuming they work for the CIA and that you're not at liberty to discuss it.

"Well," I think of another question, "where are they from?"

You catch on to what I'm doing asking so many questions, so you divert the conversation. "You know, that stuff really isn't important. What really matters is that they're my spouse."

I refrain from reacting to such a bizarre statement, but try one last time to be polite. "So...." I gulp my regular black coffee, "what do you guys like to do for fun?"

You've finally had enough of my curious prodding and nod smiling, "good to see you again."

I go home and tell my wife that I ran into you today and had a moment to talk to you. She asks me how you are, to which I candidly say, "well, they said they got married. But I don't believe them."

To bring the parable back to the original point, why don't we find it bazaar when a mature Chrisitan who has attended church for 20, 30, maybe even 60 or 70 years, doesn't know any deep theology? Why, after being saved for most of their life, are they still as ignorant as plowboys before the Bible was given to them in their language? Why do they know just enough to get saved, and not know where their Bible came from, or have a clear understanding of the nature and personhood of God? Contentment in knowing just enough to be saved and not go to hell is merely fire insurance, not a relationship.

The example given above is, in all honesty, ridiculous. Of course, if you got married to the love of your life, you could sit there for hours expelling to me all the grand things about them which made you fall in love in the first place. That's because you had put the work and effort required into knowing someone on a deeper level. You didn't learn it all in one day. You'd spent the last several years learning and studying that person because you wanted to know them. Our relationship with God is the same way. It takes work, not just loud preaching once a week of the same sermon from a different text. It requires the work that, frankly, many professing Christians are not willing to give it. Not everyone is given the same wonderful opportunities I have been given to study God's Word. But, I can tell you, everything I was blessed to learn can be achieved for free online, in a Christian library, and through a good local church, emphasis on good. You just have to know where to look and put the effort into it. I’ll note that I hesitate to say the internet since it is also full of pure garbage filled with bloggers who know little to nothing about systematic theology or church history yet appeal to people based on their self-proclaimed grand insight into spiritual matters, not to mention the plethora of websites created for the sole purpose of spreading misinformation. At the same time, teachers like RC Sproul and John MacArthur are also on the internet, which offer a vast collection of free advanced studies in Scripture.

Bible college and seminary are great, but not required in order to know sound theology and doctrine. The Bible teaches more so that training is to happen within the church (Titus 2), but it is necessary that the pastor know how to do these things by not being an ignorant plowboy himself. Even if a list of letters follows his name on the church sign, it is his obligation and duty to still put the work required into it as to not shepherd ignorance for 40 years.

The Long-Term Effects

In 325 A.D., a heresy began to spread among churches called Arianism. Arius taught that Jesus was a created being, and that there was no Holy Trinity. Jesus was not God, but was created by God to fulfill His earthly mission. Understanding this as damnable, a council of bishops met to deliberate and set forth a creed in which they could affirm as Christians the core doctrines of their faith. Arius was there, as well as Athanasius of Alexandria and St. Nicholus. At the meeting, the now more popular "Santa Claus" got so angry at the heresy that he stood up and slapped Arius, declaring that Jesus was One in Essence with the Father. The results of that meeting were the development of the Nicene Creed which many churches still recite and affirm today, and Arius's ideas were condemned by Christendom.

Fast forward into the late 1800s when Arianism reared its heretical ugly head once more. The church did not react the same way they had some 1500 years ago, and the result of Charles Russel's ideas became the cult known as the Jehovah's Witnesses. Even now, mature Christians don't know how to defend orthodoxy. You've heard the stories too, "those Jehovah's Witnesses came to my house this weekend and I slammed the door in their face! I know what I believe and I ain't gonna hear it!" In an attempt to appear intolerant of nonsense, they have instead revealed that they know their ignorance better than that, and they don't really "know what they believe" as much as they have an idea of what they should believe and that's good enough for them.

Another example that hits closer to home is the Oneness Pentecostals which many in the charismatic movement seem completely oblivious to. While many of them are concerning themselves with issues they deem of utmost important, such as Bible translation, alcohol, or music genre, there is a sect within their own branch, intermixed with other Pentecostal preachers on television that are openly Modalistic, Trinity denying, Unitarian, Oneness Pentecostals. One of the most popular promoters of such theology was Bishop TD Jakes, who ironically preached on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network.) He has since repented of modalism, but still does not hold to an orthodox view of the Trinity. Yet, many charismatics are more concerned with issues of Christian Liberty than the heresy within their own denomination. Somewhere, we have switched our focus to looking like a Christian as opposed to believing what is Christian.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matt. 23:27-28 ESV)

This is not intended as a reprimand towards charismatics, since this issue presides in all denominations who are more concerned with following a set of rules than being orthodox and educated in their faith. A list of rules is easier to judge others with than the work it takes to examine someone based on their theology in accordance with Scripture. A mature Christian who has been in church for more hours than any Bible student has been in class should be able to take their Bibles and expound from it the divinity and distinct personhood of Jesus. If they can't, it may be time to look for a church that will actually shepherd them, and/or confess their sin of laziness and get to work knowing the Scriptures.

God’s Word is meant to graze, to ponder, to enjoy, to be edifying, to grow from, and to learn from. A shepherd watches over his sheep to make sure nothing creeps in to harm the herd, and to see that no sheep strays too far away as to no longer be part of the flock. To remedy this, some shepherds chain their sheep to the ground, not allowing them to move or graze about to grow and mature. They don’t go anywhere, but the sheep become malnourished to the point that they don’t look like sheep anymore.

Many, if not most of you, have kicked against growing in your knowledge of Scripture. Many belong to the first category: laziness. This happens when you read a passage that doesn't make sense, then assume that God doesn't want you to know what it means yet and that He may reveal it to you later. If not, maybe He never wanted you to know what it meant.

I am a firm believer in not speaking on matters in which you are ignorant of, even if that means being ignorant of many things. However, we should be afraid to plead to ignorance too often with Scripture, lest the reason be that we’re not truly Christian.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.(I Cor. 2:14 ESV)

Some fall into a second category: fear. Paul warns, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive" (Eph. 4:14 KJV). Being introduced to new doctrines is scary. We have a desire to please the Lord in what we believe about Him, and since Paul made the warning, it must be an easy thing to do, right?

However, Paul's purpose in writing this is to encourage Christians to cross-check what is being taught with Scripture. A person is tossed to and fro by latching on to whatever a preacher screams from a pulpit, or on television for that matter, regardless of Biblical proof. It certainly does refer to believing all new ideas when introduced without any thought or Scripture, but this happens even in churches. "The Man of God said it, it must be true." That person is the one easily deceived.

Unfortunately, I believe more people don't grow for the third reason: pride. They believe that given their status as a Christian for the past 20 years, they are a scholar of the Word without ever being a student of the Word. They're faithful church goers, pray often, and read at least a chapter a day of Scripture. They even leave their televisions on some preaching station. Being known as such a Christian in good standing with likeminded Christians, they can't just change their mind about the extent of God's sovereignty or the way in which Christ will return to earth. How could you possibly become a cessationist if you've commenced to tongues in church in front of everyone? Sinful pride will just not allow someone to grow in their knowledge and understanding of Scripture. Those who fall into the third category are usually unteachable despite considering themselves well studied.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Rom. 12:3 NIV)

With Plowboy Theology, I hope to spark an interest in you to be open minded as to what the Bible says. In essence, I’m going to step on your toes. For those of you reading up to this point, nodding in affirmation that there is a problem of ignorance in the Bible-belt and hoping that I will endeavor to stick it to the liberals trying to introduce their agenda into churches, I’ll probably offend you too at some point. Or many points, if I had to guess.

Let me say upfront, I am a Christian. I am a conservative. I believe the Bible is perfect and without error. I believe God has spoken and that the canon of Scripture is closed. I believe there is only one God, and I believe in the Holy Trinity, that the Godhead consists of three individual persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I believe that Christ, being fully God, took on the form of a man and dwelt among men, and died an atoning and saving death on the cross. I believe that His body was raised from the tomb on the third day, that He now sits at the right hand of the Father, and that one day He will return to earth again. I believe the Son satisfied the Father's wrath on sin in His death on the cross. These are the foundations of our faith that hopefully we can all give a hearty “Amen!” to and not skim over as secondary issues. I will expel one secondary issue in confessing that I am also Reformed Baptist, and therein lies my first ruffled feather if I had to presume. I will elaborate more on this in the future, Lord willing.

I will also confess that I’m fully aware Plowboy Theology will not win me any friends. At best, I will have critics who read my blogs to start their hearts to racing and increase their blood pressure, making it a hobby to be upset with my latest post. Yet, understanding that those who came hundreds of years before me who likewise held to a Reformed conviction were dragged from their beds, were tortured while professing their Protestant faith aloud before having their tongues cut out and being burned alive over a slow fire, I pray that God will give me the courage to write truth from the safety of my computer while suffering criticism from the unbearable Facebook trolls.

As I close this first blog out, I’d like to insert a clause for everything said above. I remember standing in the vestibule at the church I was raised in listening to two old men discuss eschatology, breaking it apart with Bible verses, and sharpening each other in fruitful discussion on theology. I don’t know if they even realized how advanced their conversation was, which was a testament to their discipleship and faithfulness to a church that educated them. I have spoken with some elderly Christians about their top study resources and theologians they enjoy, and have been amazed at the work they put into knowing God more deeply. There are some humble, studious Christians who eagerly seek to know Him better through His Word. The reason they stick out in my mind is because, in my experience, they are a minority.

Truth is confrontational. Just as Francis Schaeffer wrote in his book The Great Evangelical Disaster, "Truth carries with it confrontation. Truth demands confrontation; loving confrontation, but confrontation nevertheless." Don’t be offended, dear brother or sister in Christ. Let’s advance in our walk with Christ using His Word. We may still disagree, but let’s at least say we’ve examined theology and Scripture together.

For more information on the topic, please see the video below:

W. Robert Godfrey: We Don't Need No Education - YouTube