I have been struck by the recent commentary concerning the death of Apple founder, Steve Jobs. Most of the commentary I have read affirmed the tragic nature of his death and the amazing manner in which this man, through his genius, changed the world in which we live. Even more interesting to me, as a Christian, was the response of other Christians to Mr. Jobs’ death. What I observed even among professing Christians was an almost cult-like following and admiration for Mr. Jobs. I got the sense that such admiration reached an almost feverish level as the stories of Mr. Jobs’ death and contributions circulated throughout the virtual, electronic world of sites, blogs, and social media forums. Yet, as a Christian, such fervor struck me as odd.

“I was talking to my sister and she raised an issue about Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 that I had no way to answer,” said my friend. “My sister said that Genesis has two creation stories and that was one reason why she is skeptical of scripture. I read the accounts and knew there was an answer for such, but I just did not know how to answer.”

Why does it matter? Why are you always pushing the envelope? Why do you push so hard for what you think is right and what you believe? What difference does it make about the theology that is being advocated? Why can’t you just let things go? Just let it ride! Why is absolute truth necessary in the theology that is advocated in our churches? Hey, one is just as good as the others, right? These are some of the questions that I routinely hear.
The quick answer is because truth matters! Without it, our theology and our faith become relative. Without truth in our theology, any belief becomes ok. When one looks back over the history of the faith, he will see that it is replete with “new theologies” attempting to take over the church. Maybe some advocated such things maliciously- the wolves that will devour the sheep that scripture addresses. These folks were attempting to purposely teach false doctrine and theology to destroy the faith. Maybe others were not acting maliciously, but simply thought that they had a new way of looking at the tenets of the faith. They thought they had the new and more enlightened approach to the faith.