Surprisingly, here (1 Corinthians 14.20 REB) is a label we should welcome. Paul is arguing at some length the case for grown-up thinking, i.e. sensible, serious thought, The phrase ‘infants in evil’ comes in the course of Paul’s explanation of his preference for prophecy over ecstatic utterance. Infant or grown-up: which should it be? Answer: both.
Paul’s underlying concern is that we should be novices as far as wickedness is concerned. Niccolo Machiavelli was to become an exponent of effective, even if immoral, ways of getting things done. Politics has suffered damage in generation after generation as being a ruthless exploitation of people’s ignorance, apathy or unawareness. Seasoned manipulators take advantage of impressionable amateurs. Paul dismissed this kind of thinking. He had no time for those harbouring cunning and devious ruses.
We should none the less avoid the charge of being simpletons. Hoffmann’s Johnny Head in Air is no appropriate model. This is to go from one extreme to another. We have no right to be innocent, as Paul indicates in Ephesians 5.15. In 1 Timothy 5.12 being over-hasty is something to be avoided. We should be temperate, measured, balanced, judicious in our approach to problems.
Older women get a particular mention; they should not be scandal-mongers (Titus 2.3). If he were writing today, Paul would doubtless be ready to say that these words are of wider application. With that proviso, we – all of us – are not to think ad hominem. In other words, we are not to be naïve, not to jump to conclusions, not to indulge in schadenfreude, which is the malicious enjoyment of other people’s misfortunes.
If Paul is saying that we should know so little of evil intent that we are mere babes as far as evil is concerned, he is also saying that it is better to be grown-up in our thinking. Intuition and hunches are all very well but the hard thinking that weighs up possibilities and consequences has just as much place in Christian decision-making as in any other kind of choosing. The difference is that Christians look to be guided by the kind of considerations that we find in the Scriptures as well as common sense.
SOMEWHERE TO BELONG?
Visitors looking for somewhere to belong, or honest friendship, may find it at the two churches of the Redeemer, Blackburn. That is the offer on the church website. So is the experience of God speaking to those who open up the Bible with the congregation. The Vicar is Chris Anderton.
NOT EXACTLY
‘We recognise that different members of our congregation don’t believe exactly the same thing but we are united around the core belief … Holy Trinity.’ Sutton Coldfield parish church has this declaration on its website. Leading the ministry team is John Routh. One of the many active groups in the church is a film club. Members can vote for forthcoming films they prefer out of a given choice.
CROMER QUESTION
‘What is Christianity?’ is the question on the Cromer parish church, Norfolk website. An answer is given in a three-minute video. The Vicar is William Warren.
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