Doctrine vs Indoctrination

Did you know the difference between teaching doctrine and indoctrination is the capacity to ask questions?

Doctrine at its simplest means teachings, instructions, or a set of beliefs. While indoctrination means to teach someone a set of beliefs uncritically or to accept a set of beliefs without questioning them. (dictionary.com)

So, the key to whether your church indoctrinates or teaches doctrine is whether people can question what is being taught. And not just question at a surface level, but really ask questions about the beliefs they’re teaching. After all if they’re only teaching straightforward Biblical doctrine, they won’t have any trouble proving it, will they?

However, it hasn’t always been my experience, at least not entirely. I have encountered a number of traditions and doctrines that are never to be questioned in certain circles. Asking certain questions will often have you labelled a trouble maker. Which is ironic, considering how often I have been exhorted from the pulpit to be a Berean Christian (Acts 17:11).

Having worked in a high school, I know that questions aren’t the problem. Children question things all the time, it is how they learn. In the classroom a student can ask me any question they want that I find easy to answer and I’ll be unfazed. If they ask me to prove my answer and I can do so easily I will still be unfazed. It is usually only when I don’t know the answer, don’t have a sufficient answer, or when I can’t prove my answer that I don't like being asked questions. Though "I don't know" is an answer too.

But there is also another reason I have encountered: when people don’t want to consider any other point of view. Now, I personally love to engage in alternate viewpoints. It is how I learn and solidify what I believe. When I am confronted with an alternate view about the Bible, I never start by defending my belief. Rather I start by studying the other position, by checking if the proofs add up. It’s a process that children are taught in maths: they are taught to plug the answer back into the equation to check if it balances.

Now, I know many would say this is a dangerous way to study the Bible and that I’ll end up believing all sorts of incorrect doctrine. But if the Bible is my reference point and it is the infallible word of God, then won’t I always end up with the right set of beliefs? If I truly have the the Holy Spirit and the Bible isn’t that enough?

Jesus warned us in a parable that the Kingdom of Heaven would have flocks of birds roosting in it.

Matthew 13:31-32

[31] Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: [32] Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

If we study this parable in context, the Kingdom of Heaven is the tree, and the birds are the many false teachings about the Bible that we currently see in the world. But the true kingdom of God, the tree, is still there. And it really is an amazing image that Jesus gives us, because the tree can be traced from the leaves all the way back to the roots, and it is still the same tree. It doesn’t change. It started as a seed, Christ, who was planted (John 12:24) and grew into a tree, but it is always the same tree (Hebrews 13:8). But the birds don’t have that, they have a starting point, and can’t be traced back to the root of the tree. So, if a belief appears out of nowhere and can’t be traced back to Christ and the apostles there is a problem (Ephesians 2:20).

At times throughout history God has pointed Christians back to the truth but he never moves us onto a new set of beliefs. God didn’t leave the church in the dark for 2000 years about something that modern Christians, in their wisdom, have finally figured out. Do modern Christian’s really suppose “that they themselves are purer in doctrine, and more intelligent, than the apostles” or “that they themselves have discovered more than the apostles?” (Irenaeus, Against Heresies III, xii, 12)  So my ultimate reference point is that it must be clearly taught in the Bible and be traced back through historical Christianity. Because throughout history far too many false prophets have used solely the Bible but have twisted it to their own reading.

For example, I have always believed in a 6 day literal Genesis account of creation. However when I was first confronted with theological evolution I studied it from their perspective. I studied the Biblical proofs and verses they use to see if the equation balanced. But it didn’t add up. Only then did I study the literal creation viewpoint again to be certain that the evidence used stands up. But I also looked at the topic historically. The idea that days in Genesis were not literal can be traced back earlier than many would guess, to the 4th century and even possibly earlier still. But it still can’t be traced back to the root of Christianity, it doesn’t go back to Christ and the apostles.

I’ve used this method over the years with numerous topics: the resurrection, the role of the law, church polity, music standards, the role of women, Calvinism, the Curse of Ham, cessationism, tongues, tithing, Sunday best at church, the Sabbath, hair length and head coverings, eschatology and a bunch more. (Though many might be surprised where I started and where I ended up on each topic.)

Of course, many of the issues listed are taboo. They are topics that must never be questioned in certain circles of Christianity. But if people can’t ask questions, the church isn’t teaching doctrine it is indoctrinating. And that’s a problem. It’s a problem that is driving people out the door by their own admission. They want to be allowed to ask real questions, and get real answers back with a chapter and verse attached.

I once had a disagreement over a doctrinal issue with another pastor. I’ve looked deeply into the issue being discussed and have studied both sides of the argument. But his argument was based on “there’s that verse that says…” Eventually I pushed for the actual chapter and verse, but he couldn’t find one. Why? Because he had been reciting indoctrination not Bible. Now we both have a lot of mutual respect for each other and are obviously still friends. But I’ve sadly heard stories from many people who have left church, because when they asked questions, the exchange was far less respectful.

If you attend a church that doesn’t like its doctrines being questioned, the problem isn’t the questions, the problem is that they can’t or won’t defend their beliefs. And if you don’t like your doctrines being questioned, just maybe, that’s because you were only ever indoctrinated in the first place.

All Glory to God