THE TYRANNY OF OPINIONISM

Believing an opinion never saved anyone. and disbelieving an opinion never damned anyone.—Alexander Campbell

That pungent quotation sets the stage for some things I want to say about opinion. I also want to make use of Campbell’s reference to “the tyranny of opinionism.”

It may appear at the outset that we are disparaging opinion, which, of course, we must not do since much of our presumed “knowledge” is opinion. Most of what we believe is really opinion, or so it would seem from Webster’s definition: “a belief not based on absolute certainty or positive knowledge but on what seems true.” How much do we believe or know with “absolute certainty”? Webster says that all else is opinion. He adds this to his definition: “opinion applies to a conclusion or judgment which, while it remains open to dispute, seems true or probable to one’s mind.”

Opinions are not tyrannical because they are opinions, but when they are elevated from “what seems true” to being “absolute certainty.” Tyranny is also due to an unyielding attitude of “You have to see it my way or else,” which makes tyranny of opinionism a behavioral problem more than a doctrinal problem. There is a big difference between having an opinion and being opinionated. Tyranny begins not with an opinion but with being pushy about an opinion.

Opinions grow out of facts. We will all agree that George Washington was the first president of the United States, for that is a matter of fact, what Webster calls absolute certainty. No opinion here, for we are dealing with a fact. But when one concludes that Washington was the greatest president he has drawn an opinion. He may be able to make a strong case for his conclusion, and he may be right, but he must realize that his conclusion is an opinion and not a fact, and therefore open to dispute. Others may believe that Lincoln or Jefferson was the greatest president, or someone else, and make just as strong a case.

Facts are truths, something said or done. Opinions are judgments drawn from facts. This means that opinions are necessary for the living of these days. It is in drawing opinions that make life work—deciding whom to marry, what career to pursue, what food to eat, clothes to wear, books to read, friends to make, and all the rest of life. We make the best “educated guess” we can, which is what a good opinion is, about a thousand things in life. We seldom have the luxury of dealing with what Webster calls “absolute certainty.” All else is opinion—deciding the best we can with the facts available to us.

Since opinions are not highly esteemed we sometimes call them by some euphemism, such as convictions. It is the other guy that has opinions, while we have convictions! But convictions are no more than deeply-held opinions. So with matters of faith or things we strongly believe. They are still matters of opinion—as distinguished from matters of fact (knowledge).

This means that theology and most all thinking about religion is opinion. That is why we have to give careful thought to the old motto that all parties accede to: “In matters of faith, unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; in all things, love.” While we all accept the merit of this motto, we cannot agree on what are matters of faith over against what are matters of opinion. What is a matter of faith to one is a matter of opinion to another. We might solve this dilemma by recognizing that most all of our thinking about religion is opinion.

That is why the motto would be better if it said: “In essentials (or matters of the faith), unity; in non-essentials (opinions, methods, and personal preferences), liberty; in all things, love.”

This implies that only the basic facts of the Christian faith are essential, which could be described as matters of the faith, as distinguished from matters of faith (scruples or opinions).

That Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Lord of glory is a fact of both Scripture and history. It is not an opinion. It is a statement of fact that one either accepts or does not accept. It is an essential part of the faith. To delve into the deeper dimensions of that proposition and draw deductions about the meaning of the Sonship and Lordship of Christ would be theology—opinion—which might or might not be true. Such theology is important and we should theologize. But we should not tyrannize!

There is a vast difference in the understanding of “Jesus is Lord” of a derelict off the street and a sophisticated theologian. But when both believe that proposition and take it to heart they believe the one essential thing. The derelict may never be able to theologize about Jesus Christ, except to share his faith in very simple terms, but he doesn’t have to. It is not essential. And yet we value the conclusions of the theologian, for he deepens our faith and improves our understanding. The basics of the faith are essential to being; theology and doctrine contribute to well-being.

Our pioneer father Thomas Campbell dealt with this distinction in his Declaration and Address. One proposition reads as follows:

That although inferences and deductions from Scripture premises, when fairly inferred, may be truly called the doctrine of God’s holy word, yet they are not formally binding upon the consciences of Christians farther than they perceive the connection, and evidently see that they are so; for their faith must not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

By inferences and deductions Campbell means opinions (theology!). He grants that such theological opinions may well be true, but even so they cannot be imposed upon others until they come to see for themselves that they are true.

Campbell goes on to say, “Therefore, no such deductions can be made terms of communion, but do properly belong to the after and progressive edification of the Church.”

This is the context in which Alexander Campbell came to refer to the tyranny of opinionism. It it tyrannical to bind our opinions upon others as terms of communion. But both men held that well -studied opinions or deductions have their place. They belong to the “after and progressive edification of the Church.” They are a matter of education in the school of Christ where those enrolled are in different grades. Our former derelict brother may not get beyond the first grade, and that is all right. No deduction or opinion of someone at an advanced level will be imposed upon him. That is Christian grace.

It remains to be said that in all our parties in the Churches of Christ/Christian Churches we have been less than faithful to Thomas Campbell’s charge. We have imposed our opinions upon others as tests of fellowship, whether in reference to such methods as missionary societies and instrumental music or such doctrinal issues as the millennium or inerrancy. Churches, like individuals, may differ in their opinions and preferences. We can have churches that support the agencies and those that do not; churches that have Sunday schools and those that do not; churches that have instrumental music and those that do not. Some may be premillennial and other amillennial. All these things are opinions on which we may and will differ. So long as we “hold forth the head who is Christ” we are united in the one basic essential.

This does not mean that a church or an individual might not hold a destructive opinion or practice, and that others should not be concerned when this is the case. But still we accept each other on the ground of general loyalty to Jesus Christ, and we deal with error within an atmosphere of love and acceptance.

Finally, we do well to remember that we can all agree on what the Scriptures actually say. We differ and come up with varying opinions over what we think the Bible means by what it says. That Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is within you” is a fact of Scripture, a truth that all believers can accept. Just what our Lord meant when he said that is a matter of interpretation, an opinion. Leo Tolstoy wrote an entire book on that one statement of Jesus. He might have been right in his interpretation or he might have been wrong, or partly right and partly wrong. We might agree or disagree with Tolstoy’s opinion, but we can all agree that our Lord did indeed say that the kingdom of God is within you. Facts or truths, therefore, are what the Bible actually says. Opinion is what we think it means by what it says. It is wrong for us to tyrannize people with what we think the Bible means by what it says, and thus form sects and factions.

So, Alexander Campbell was right when he said that believing an opinion never saved anybody, and disbelieving an opinion never damned anybody . We are saved by eternal truth, by a Person. The marvel of it is that when it comes to the great truths of the faith and to the fact of the Person of Christ we are more united than we are willing to admit.—the Editor