We have all heard the expression “slicing the bologna thin.” It means that a person is examining something too closely, even to the point of obsession.
It can be used positively: “He really sliced the bologna thin on that theological issue.”
In this case, it means that the person conducted a careful study, bringing out important details that others might have missed, and that such a study proved helpful in understanding a Bible passage.
But the phrase can also be used negatively: “You’re slicing the bologna a little too thin.”
This means a person is “majoring in minors.” He is obsessed with things that are not important. The person will be accused of being divisive and not willing to work with others.
Many Free Grace folks get accused of this problem. We are often attacked for being too nitpicky, for being “context Pharisees,” and for not being peacemakers. Many argue that theological differences aren’t that important and that we should simply get along.
Unity is important. Christ prayed for it, and peace is commanded. But how do we achieve unity? There are many issues over which we can agree to disagree, or even admit that we should not be dogmatic about.
But there are other theological issues that are not minor. Wrong theology in these issues can severely damage people’s lives. If necessary, we must cut the bologna thin when discussing them. I will give two examples. Each is destructive, but some would contend that we should not argue about these things.
The first example comes from the modern prophetic movement. Recently, many have criticized its practices, such as those of Bethel Church. Others would say these things are not worth arguing over. They would say that the people in this movement are sincere and have great Christian music.
In this movement, an individual might receive a “prophetic word” declaring that another person’s cancer (or another illness) will not take his life. Because that “word” is believed to carry divine authority, pursuing aggressive medical treatment is seen, implicitly or explicitly, as unbelief. As a result, treatment is delayed or rejected. The disease progresses. The person dies.
If modern individuals can speak binding revelation from God, and if resisting that “word” is resisting God Himself, then rejecting chemotherapy can feel like obedience. However, the people proclaiming these “prophetic words” are actually liars and often cause people harm. This is not a minor issue.
A second example involves the assurance of eternal life. Most Evangelicals would say this is an issue over which we can agree to disagree. There is no need to make a big deal out of it. There are lots of great people who teach that we cannot know whether or not we have eternal life. But such teaching has devastating consequences. It denies the gospel of grace. Eve LaPlante explains how, in extreme cases, it can even lead to physical death.
In her book American Jezebel, LaPlante recounts how a lack of assurance caused intense psychological stress in some early Puritan communities. Many Puritans experienced profound despair because of wondering whether they were of the elect. LaPlante describes how the lack of assurance affected women in particular. They were excluded from many aspects of worship because of their gender. They were not able to adequately discuss their fears of not being elect. One woman in Boston suffered such “utter desperation” over her spiritual estate that “one day she took her little infant and threw it into a well, and then came into the house and said, now she was sure she should be damned, for she had drowned her child” (LaPlante, American Jezebel, p. 47).
The pain the woman felt over this doctrinal issue was so great that she could no longer bear it. It seemed better to her to simply conclude there was no way she could be eternally saved. She was tired of struggling over her eternal destiny. Rather than continuing to live with the lack of assurance, it was easier to do something that, in her thinking, doomed her for eternity. Clearly, most people who deny the assurance of salvation will not do what this woman did. But millions suffer her same despair. At the very least, they suffer profound psychological damage.
Bad theology can lead to devastating consequences. Are people truly receiving special revelation from God? Can only the elect be saved? Many would say such beliefs are not a big deal. We should not argue over them. We should seek peace. But such sentiments are wrong. In these areas, we need to cut the bologna as thin as needed to arrive at the truth.
