Caution About Religious Controversies

Richard Baxter cautions against excessive involvement in religious controversies, advising to prioritize essential, biblical truths over divisive debates and unprofitable questions. He warns that premature engagement in controversies can divert one’s attention from greater spiritual needs, corrupt the mind, and lead to pride and erroneous beliefs. Baxter stresses the continual focus on fundamental religious truths as the foundation for spiritual growth.… Read More Caution About Religious Controversies

How To Avoid The Cage Stage

Having made up your minds, upon evidence, as to what is truth, then have as little to do with religious controversy as you can. Seek a practical religion, rather than a polemical religion. Treat it as a something rather to be done than to be talked about. Be not fond of disputation. Be no religious knight-errant, fighting against every one who differs from you. A pugnacious disposition, whether it be from natural combativeness, or prevailing vanity—is a dangerous thing to piety, which, like the dew, falls only in a still atmosphere, and lies longest in the shade. Be too much taken up with adding “to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity” (2 Pet. 1:5-7), to have much time for strife and contention.… Read More How To Avoid The Cage Stage