An Excellent Study on Christian Unity and Doctrinal Diversity
“This helpful book will encourage Christians to hold their convictions with greater irenicism, humility, awareness, and wisdom.” –Gavin Ortlund, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Ojai; author, Finding the Right Hills to Die On
As evangelicals, we desire to be biblical-we want our doctrine to be rooted in the Bible, our lives to be guided by the Bible, and our disagreements to be resolved by the Bible. And yet, conflicts within our church communities continue to appear and seemingly multiply with time. Interpretations of the Bible and deeply held convictions often put Christians at odds. Encouraging us toward grace in disagreement and firmness in truth, Rhyne Putman reflects on how Christians can maintain the biblical call for unity despite having genuine disagreements.
320 pages
View an excerpt here.
“Many have wondered how Christians who read the same Bible can come to such different conclusions about what it means. Rhyne Putman not only provides a thorough answer to that question; he also helps us live more peaceably and fruitfully amidst our differences. This helpful book will encourage Christians to hold their convictions with greater irenicism, humility, awareness, and wisdom.”
— Gavin Ortlund, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Ojai; author, Finding the Right Hills to Die On
Introduction: When Doctrine Divides the People of God
Part 1: Why We Disagree About Doctrine
1. We Read Imperfectly: General Hermeneutics and the Clarity of Scripture
2. We Read Differently: The Contribution of Exegesis and Hermeneutics to Theological Diversity
3. We Reason Differently: The Role of Guesswork in Interpretation
4. We Feel Differently: The Role of Emotion in Theological Diversity
5. We Have Different Biases: Tradition, Belief, and Confirmation Bias
Part 2: What We Should Do About Doctrinal Disagreement
6. When Should We Change Our Minds? Insights from the Epistemology of Disagreement
7. When Should Doctrine Divide Us? On Theological Boundary-Making
8. How Then Shall We Disagree? Lessons from Whitefield and Wesley
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Bibliography
