Oft repeated error

No doubt we all have been, at one point or another, encouraged to consider "challenges" or "obstacles" or "problems" as "opportunities". After all, it is a real upside to making a mistake when we are presented with a way to mature through the correction of the mistake or simply in dealing with the aftermath of a particular problem. We may not enjoy what is sometimes a painful process of growth, but hopefully somewhere down deep inside us, we all really do want to have our errors corrected; we all want to avoid mistake X, Y, or Z in the future.

Sadly, there are occasions when (for a wide variety of possible reasons) we don't recognize an error as such, and we continue to commit it so frequently and for so long that we develop a vested interest in not being corrected. So that when someone confronts us, we bristle and stiff-arm so as not to face that painful process of turning away from an error and embracing growth.

This can be the case with religious beliefs and practices. If we find ourselves in a religious environment where (implicitly or explicitly) our ultimate appeal for knowing right from wrong is our own personal assessment of truth, then we are likely to repeat our errors often and defend ourselves vigorously. We do after all have a very strong allegiance to...our own personal judgment. If we believe that there is no objective point of reference to which we can appeal for correction and clarity, then our unfailing trust of self will lead us to pull out all the stops to try and hold on to our rightness.

If we happen to hold to an old and oft repeated error in belief or practice, one advantage we have (again, if we deny that there is an objective point of reference) is that we can pull up quotes from "respected" people in history who have also believed or practiced as we do. The fact that other people have done what we do is a clear establishment of truth, don't you know.

As for me and my house, we believe that Christ intended for His people to have an objective point of reference, and we believe that the many divisions and rifts among people who claim the name of Christianity in the world today demonstrate the need for a chief, authoritative visible representative of Christ on earth.