Getting Too Big For Our Theological Britches... aka, "I'm just some dude"

I have a lot of passion about being a layperson. I like being a layperson. I like spending a ton of my time studying and passing that on to other laypeople. I feel personally called by God to teach laypeople how to be studious, lead studious lives, and to do it as a layperson. I feel I have the spiritual gift of teaching. I, however, have limits.

One of the problems with the social media/blogosphere thing is that everyone has a voice. Anyone can say almost anything they want about any subject and have an audience, a group of followers who will listen to them. It seems like in a lot of cases, the more radical you are, the more people listen. What this has done is created a whole generation of people that view themselves as if they are peers with people who are not in the same class of understanding as they themselves are. I'm seeing this more and more. It's one thing to ask a question of someone of higher standing, or to disagree and have a back and forth with the person. It's quite another thing to either engage in formal debates with them or to comment on the level of their scholasticism. Things like Twitter and personal blogs have allowed us laypeople to elevate ourselves to that of people that have had their Ph.d.'s for as long as we've been alive, work in full-time teaching ministries, know the original languages, and read more books on more subjects in the past year than we have in the last five. We are just not on their level, and need to recognize that.

Laypeople, even teachers, have things to say. Good things. They have input, they have insight, they have experience. They are valuable, no matter how much or how little they study. I, as someone who studies a lot, have no right to argue with the meaning of a certain Greek term with someone who has their Ph.d. in New Testament Greek. I can disagree, and have my reasons for doing so, but for someone who has been through the rigors of seminary, worked on dissertations, taught, etc., they deserve my respect in their specific area of study. I've listened to people with their doctorates talk, and sometimes I really think that I could school them in a debate on some particular subject. I can think of specific people who are widely regarded in their position that I know I could trounce in a debate. Do I have that right? No. Let someone else more qualified do it.

I'm just a dude. I'm just some guy. Even if I wasn't just some guy, if I ran a website, or had a podcast (which has been tossed around), or written a book, or had a foundation or whatever, I still wouldn't have that right. Why? Because I'm just a dude. I don't have a degree. I'm not in an elected position. I do not have a people that I exercise authority over. I'm just a dude.

Recently, Matthew Vines made this comment:

Michael Brown is not a leading biblical scholar. I'm not sure I've ever seen his work referenced in any of the academic literature on this subject. He also, like James White, uses such over-the-top rhetoric in his opposition that I imagine he mostly succeeds at persuading people to become more affirming, not less affirming.

The hubris involved in statements like this is unreal. The same could be said about his Google talk in regards to why he won't debate James White. The honest, humble fact is, Matthew, you don't have the right to do so. You're not degreed. You don't know original languages. You have not demonstrated a thorough understanding of Systematic Theology. You're just a dude. You're a dude with a voice. A dude with things to say. You've done a great job of repeating other people's arguments- but I've never seen you actually defend them from any sort of scholarly standpoint. You're just a dude. Why don't you just say it? Why make comments about Michael Brown's level of scholasticism that you're not in the position to make? Instead of setting down the baton, or passing it to people who are on the scholastic level to deal with people like James White and Michael Brown, you've decided to make comments about why you shouldn't have to. There is a big difference there. There is a level of disrespect that is amazing for a 25 year old to have towards men who, if you regard them as Christians, have been amazingly outspoken in areas that you would probably agree with them on, for as long as you've been alive. Men who have done amazing work in evangelism and apologetics against people that would disagree with you about your faith. Yet you disregard them.

No person in our position has the right to make comments about someone who has done the legwork worthy of respect on a scholastic level. You can disagree. You can have reasons for disagreement. You have a voice. You have an opinion. You have experience. You are also a layperson. There are limits on us that we must respect.

My suggestions:

1) Recognize and admit your limits. Recognize where you've stepped over the line.

2) Do what they do. Lob a paper at Dr. White. If you don't want to debate him because of his rhetoric,  then push the debate to what he's good at: exegesis. Leave the experiential stuff out of it if you don't like his personal opinions, make it purely about exegetical/theological considerations. But don't marginalize him, because you're not in a position to do so.

3) Apologize to Dr. Brown. If you don't appreciate Dr. White's equating homosexuals with pedophiles, then how much moreso have you offended Dr. Brown with your comments?

Grace and peace to you.

As a footnote, I want to clarify that I am not defending some sort of caste system within the Church. No individual is of more value than another individual. All I'm saying is that certain positions, especially elected ones, demand a certain respect that people on our own level should admit to.