Will the Theologians Please Sit Down: Review
by Mike Atnip
published in The Heartbeat of the Remnant magazine, Jan.-Feb., 2010
Imagine a sizable group of neighborhood bullies gathered in the shadows of a dark alley, just “hanging out” and practicing their aim by throwing big rocks at an empty dumpster. Bang! Crash!
The neighbors are irked, but none dare stick their heads out the window to tell the troublemakers to be respectable and let everyone rest in peace. No, those bullies would probably chuck a rock or two at the window from where the voice came.
Suddenly, a squat, slightly balding old man steps into the alley. Sizing up the situation, he calmly walks up to the gang of bullies, and with a firm but calm voice, commands them: “Sit down, boys! You need to learn a few things.”
The daunting courage of the old man throws them off guard for a few seconds, but on recovering they look at each other with quirky smiles. One of them takes a step forward and blurts out, “And just who do you think you are to tell us what…”
His voice abruptly breaks off as the old man grabs him by the shoulders, picks him off his feet, and sits him down with a plop on the pavement. Thoroughly shaken by the strange turn of events, the rest of the bullies stare blankly. But the old man is not through. “Did you hear me? I said sit down!”
When their obedience still does not manifest itself promptly, the invader calmly grabs another punk and repeats his former actions. Realizing by now that the old man means business, the rest meekly take their seats.
Meet David Bercot, the brave “old man” who sits the bullies down in his latest book—aptly entitled Will the Theologians Please Sit Down.
Bercot actually entitles one of the chapters “Learning to Stand Up to Theological Bullies.” With a righteous passion that springs from a deep love for the children of the kingdom, Bercot says: “In the end, the theological bullies have largely had their way. From what I’ve observed, we kingdom Christians often are weak when it comes to evangelism. That’s because keeping quiet has been deeply etched into our collective psyche. We’ve thrown out the bulk of our forefather’s teachings and replaced them with the doctrines of those who have bullied us. When a person reads the typical doctrinal textbooks of today’s Anabaptists, Moravians, Brethren, and other kingdom Christians, he or she finds that they basically teach the doctrines of Athanasius, Augustine, Luther, and Calvin—with mere additions of nonresistance, free will, and the head covering.”
Do you grasp now what I said about Bercot being the brave “old man:”? How many folks will stand up to such “big-name” theologians as Augustine, Luther, and Calvin? How many will walk up to them and say calmly but firmly, “Will you please sit down?” Inferring, of course—“and be quiet.”
… Perhaps you may be wondering, “If Bercot seems so intent on tearing down popular theology, just what theology is he promoting?” Actually, if you are looking for a book that expounds correct Christian theology, this one will be a disappointment to you. While the author does bring out a few examples of false theology and poor hermeneutics, he really doesn’t seem intent on making you believe this or that. His point is … well, let me say it this way:
Imagine Jesus sitting on a Galilean hillside, amidst a group of noisy theologians disputing about correct soteriology. David Bercot enters the scene, and begins to ask all the theologians to just sit down. After asking them to—or making them—take a seat, he does not step up on a rock to set everyone straight on the proper view of salvation. Instead, he also meekly takes a seat the the feet of the Teacher.
The Teacher, once the group has quieted down, begin His class by saying, “Welcome to Soteriology 101. Today we are going to do a thorough review as to how a person gets saved.”
Then, rising to His feet, the Teacher looks around at the students and say, “Follow Me.” With that, He turns on His heels and walks away, heading for the closest village to spend the day visiting the sick, speaking kind words to the weary, visiting those in prison, and offering hope to the downtrodden.
If the above scene rings true to you and a “Hallelujah!” erupts from your soul, Will the Theologians Please Sit Down will be a fresh breath of air for you.
