Onions or Opinions?

I just read a fantastic post by my buddy and relative John regarding what could best be described as handling "COC Doctrine".

We have all of these questions about the Bible and why some churches do things different. We say "well, we take the Lord's supper everyday because...." and then we list a bunch of facts, some biblical, some just traditional. Then the other person responds..."well we dont' do it as often because...." and it seems like the discussion never ends.

Here's a question I want to ask. If you want it to be rhetorical, then it'll be rhetorical. If you don't want it to be and want to chime in on something, then that's great too. But...here's the question:

At what point to church doctrine questions simply become opinions?

Can it be that in some people's opinion, it is rebuking authority for a woman to preach, and in other people's opinion it doesn't give the woman any more authority than men? Could it be that in some people's opinion, using a greek word in sermons is speaking in tongues and in other people's opinion it isn't? And can it be just a mere opinion if we think sugar free grape juice from concentrate is not authentic fruit of the vine?

When we turn to a scripture to argue our point...are we using the scripture to state a fact about our church or are we using the scripture to support our opinions?

What is it about opinions that make life so difficult?

Hold that thought/question, and let's talk about baseball statistics for a second (wow, I just love those posts where I talk about the Bible and Baseball AT THE SAME TIME!!!). I don't really consider myself a stat head, but nor would I say I never use those "advanced stats". Some of them I absolutely can't stand (park factors, defensive measurements), some I love and use all the time (OPS+ and ERA+), and some of them I'm kind of neutral towards (pythagorean record, WPA). I guess how I feel towards them just depends on how conclusive they are. Anyways, stats are becoming more and more advanced and so is what we use these stats for.

For example, there are a number of stats to sort by to determine the "best hitter". In the old days, we would sort by average, on base percentage, homers, RBI's, slugging %, etc, to determine the "best hitter". However, times have changed. We no longer have to sort through 6-7 stats. A few people have developed their own "one stat" that determines how good someone really is. With just a few clicks you can see who is the highest above league average in total offense or you can see how many wins one player has provided for your team. Simply just click sort above that stat labeled "awesomeness" and it will sort from overall best to overall worst.

But here is where I am going with all of this...why must statheads try to turn opinions into facts? Isn't the "best hitter" supposed to be an opinion? Yet why does that very question (best hitter) seem more and more like a fact with every new stat I learn of? (By the way, no offense to you statheads. I know there are 3-4 that read this blog. FYI I find what you do very interesting and wish I was smart enough to do it myself). I mean, why don't I hire my own stathead to help me figure out which one is better tasting, BBQ ribs or lasagna?

Answer: because it is an opinion.

I think we, including myself need to sit back on ponder exactly what is and isn't an opinion. That will make life much easier and less confusing (or maybe more confusing, depending on the opinion).

Ministry is messy. This Monday I will have been a minister for a year. I wish I can put into words where my emotions have taken me this past year, but i'm just not that aesthetic. I love the Church of Christ affiliation. But I don't think we are perfect....I don't think there is a single organization/denomination/whatever your word for it is/affiliationthat is perfect simply because they are all made up of humans. I love CoC and plan on staying with them till the end. We all have our different beliefs and opinions. A lot of us have them so beat into our hearts that we aren't even aware that they are opinions...we think they are facts.

Discerning facts and opinions is something that I will always have to deal with...something that is very hard...but that is just another one of those stinking opinions.