Years ago I was at a conference where one of my heroes of the faith, Don Carson, was asked about what to do with Christian works by people who apostatized. He said they should be burned. The reason is people young or new in the faith, may start studying them, then learn where the author went theologically, and assume it is okay.
For a long time, I agreed.
I started rethinking it when I recommended the music of Gungor to a friend. They responded that they didn’t listen to them because they’d heard the lead singer had left the faith or something like that.
I responded well he definitely went through some kind of crisis, I wasn’t sure where he was now but that didn’t mean he wasn’t saved or God was done with him. And their album, Beautiful Things, had some extremely beautiful and deeply biblical songs. They didn’t respond. The conversation was over.
Have you ever heard of the Trinity? Or, lowercase, trinity? The term was first popularized (or created) by Tertullian. One of the early church fathers, known as the “founder of western theology.”
Here’s the thing: later in his life he went in a wonky direction and joined a sect known as the Montanists. They were later deemed to be heretics.
But no orthodox believer would dream of not using the word trinity to describe the Triune God. All truth is God’s truth. The truth doesn’t belong to the individual, they are just a vessel God has used to distribute his light (2 Corinthians 4:7). It’s the message, not the messenger. And no messenger is perfect.
If I had the pleasure of meeting the good Dr. Carson (again), I wouldn’t tell him I disagreed with him. I’d thank him for the invaluable truth he had communicated so clearly for so many years and what a difference he had made in my life.
Three Taverns Brewery 