I continue to be astounded by posts like this on social media. It’s as if Dolly’s accusers think that someone must pass a theology test to be welcomed home as one of God’s own.
Now that Dolly has passed away, the online chattering class has decided to run out to the public square to have their say. It’s as if a bright light in the war with the merciless has been extinguished & now the roaches are free to roam free long enough to heckle Dolly, who herself is no longer here to defend herself.
Remember this?
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming (2 Thessalonians 2:7–8, ESV)
What Dolly’s accusers are peddling here is a classic example of that overarching principle.
Here are the fundamental objections to Dolly having arrived in heaven instead of hell:
Dolly’s theology wasn’t what an 80 year old female from East TN who grew up around Christians & Christianity doesn’t meet the standards set forth in Protestant churches in that part of the United States. She very likely would have made a low B or a C,& she even said things that we consider New Age (ish) ideas.
Answer: The Bible teaches we ought to know & understand the Bible well & that we have a moral obligation to God to know, believe, & understand the truth — but it does set a particular graded threshold. Besides that, anybody’s theology can be amended after they cross over.
A saving profession is between any one person & God. A credible profession is what we use to determine if someone should be a member of our local church. Something like the Westminster Confession or the First London Baptist Confession supplies the basis of the latter. What you personally have going on between yourself & God supplies the basis of the former.
In its most fundamental form, what is God’s paramount concern when we ask, “What must I do to be justified?” According to Romans 9:30 - 32, if we use our faith and/or works to justify ourselves or seek justification from Him, that’s a nonstarter. Paul observes that the majority opinion among the Jews in his time was that justification is a matter of faith & law keeping.
The Bible says very little about getting your theology right when considering whether or not you yourself or someone else is a born again believer.
Yes, we should all strive to be more doctrinally astute. As a teaching elder, one of the most important things I myself am responsible for is helping people understand what the Bible teaches when we let its own grammar & syntax speak.
That said, it’s also my responsibility to remind people that the Bible is big on ethics not just doctrine. What we must believe in order to be declared judicially righteous doesn’t include what we must believe about politics, LGBTQ issues, & the afterlife.
Pay attention to the way the Bible speaks about discerning if someone is “in” or “out” in God’s eyes. The tests in large part on resting in the LORD’s mercy & not our works righteousness. They also center on whether or not someone clings to the world & how we treat others, especially people who are marginalized & maligned, including those who we understand as people with major moral problems.
Instead of looking into our own hearts & minds for an evidential threshold that runs through a theology test, we ought to be asking ourselves what the LORD’s theology test for who is in & who is out.
Has anyone here taken a look at the biennial Lifeway Theology Survey lately? The tally is in & the grades aren’t very good. If passing a theology test is a litmus test for admission into heaven, then a substantial number of the people in the pews are hellbound too.
As a reminder, the proper object of saving faith is THE LORD — not a theology test.
Dolly wasn’t vocal enough in her statements about theological & ethical issues. In other words, she didn’t jump into the theo-political arena very much, & when she did, whether in word or in deed, she had to say disagreed with the litigious, liturgical philosophy @ work in Evangelical & Fundamentalist churches these days.
Answer: In other words Dolly didn’t sit in public judgment of people we ourselves view as detestable.
In 1 Corinthians 6, we learn that their people had decided to look to the secular world for justice while ignoring their multiple theological & ethical issues.
For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside (1 Corinthians 5:12–13, ESV)
God forbid Dolly sound like Paul.
Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew 7:6, ESV)
In other words, if you choose to throw your pearls of judgment in as bigoted a fashion at “swine” like the majority of the Sanhedrin, Zealots, & many a Romans were doing, then one day, they (the swine) are liable to trample over you.
All Dolly was doing was living out what the Bible teaches about the right & wrong way to sit in judgment of others. Her statements shine a light on the way you & others are peddling in the Judgment do exactly what the Bible forbids.
Dolly made it abundantly clear that she didn’t at all agree with the current party line on LGBTQ issues. She didn’t seek to oppress them, & she dared to remind us all that LGBTQ people & analogous enemies of the faith are also image bearers of God & deserve to be treated accordingly. She felt the same way about people of color too.
Answer: And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them. (Genesis 19:5–9, ESV)
She made people like her online accusers feel judged, & she did so not just by her words but also by her deeds. Hers was a living faith that took 80 years to grow, & she came from a pretty brutal brand of Christianity that was & in many places still is. She carried thaf with her, & that’s shaped her into a relatively potent individual who sat in judgment for & against many people.
So what if she didn’t measure up to Lifeway’s standards. The Bible’s threshold for what we must believe as to our personal salvation is pass/fail not A+ Overachiever.
She reminded us of the Sermon On The Mount in Matthew & the story of the Women Caught In Adultery, & we can’t have that now, can we?
She drew our attention to the chronic strife between a great many Evangelical Christians when it comes to LGBTQ people & People of Color. God forbid Dolly behave like Yeshua Himself.
What about other allegations about her that run through allegedly cultic imagery around her?
This is God’s temple in which His image is everywhere. Such symbols are to be taken from the hands of the enemy & repurposed to serve the LORD & us. That’s how inductive prophecies like sign acts works. Some of Dolly’s accusers need to learn a thing or two about that rather than placing yourself among the ranks of the Anti-Halloween & Christmas Tree people.
All we hear is the pride parade / lynch mob trying to batter down Lot’s door.
Dolly most certainly is in heaven right now awaiting her own resurrection, & she was & remains a bigger & better Christian than many of us.
This Is the Way! O LORD, Hear our prayer(s)!
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