Jude 2

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

~ Theodore Roosevelt

Since this is posted on a generally religious board I have to ask: Is this a rather fanciful appeal to the "touch not the annointed" mantra??

Does it REALLY extend to the false teachers of Chrsitianity? THose "strong men" and "doers of deeds" that lead thousands astray should never be criticized?

How DOES it apply to the Christian Realm?

How does it apply to the ONE prophet who stood up and contradicted the dozens and dozens who prophesied falsely to the KIng in scripture?

Is not the thinking "I am a strong man and doer of deed so I should Never be critiicized" the first (or even last) step to a delusion of grandeur??

Gerald wrote:Since this is posted on a generally religious board I have to ask: Is this a rather fanciful appeal to the "touch not the annointed" mantra??
...

Is not the thinking "I am a strong man and doer of deed so I should Never be critiicized" the first (or even last) step to a delusion of grandeur??

There's always been a distinction between the critic and the doer. The doer is subject to criticism (how can he not be; who's to stop anyone?). The doer usually criticises his own work, actually. That's one reason he continues to do because he evaluates and gets evaluated and keeps doing.

The critic in the TR quote is the critic who doesn't do. His chief aim is criticism for its own sake. They are the ones who either sulk alone or who have some knack or charisma that attracts a little attention to fuel the criticism. The most successful critics that have some element of "doing" produce, I don't know, Occupy Wall Street. We know how that's turned out.

Then, there is the prophetic voice. The prophet warns. The prophet calls for repentance. The prophet pleads. The prophet -- if God has communicated to him a point in time of no return -- pronounces judgment. There are prophetic voices on these issues, although the ones I have read/heard are not within the small circle of activity you've specifically addressed (COGOP or even Pentecostalism). They warn. They plead. They call for a change of direction.

There is also the voice of false prophecy. It distracts. It satisfies a fleshly desire of some sort (attention, pride). It is of no more use to the Body than, say, a song droning on about the rhythm of heaven. It has a ring of spirituality to it, but is just so much moving of lips.

If any man think that he stands, let him take heed, lest he fall. There is a subtle and deceitful manner about today regarding worship. It masks itself well. The same subtilty manipulates the pastoral teaching, the prophetic word, the helps within the church. If I might, the doer is the one who does not become distracted by the subtleties for so long or to such a degree that his aim serves some other purpose than Christ alone. The critic is the one who fails to guard against that distraction.

Spoken by a natural-born critic.

Thanks Dolfan for your insight.

Who judges how much WORK qualifies one as a DOER?

DO I have to trot out years of Sunday School work, teaching in Youth Camp, teaching adults on Wed nights to qualify myself FOR the right of criticising things going on in church?

How many criticisms do I earn a year? Can I get two barbed loaded comments for One criticism?

DO I have to write worship songs in order to criticise current trends in Worship Songs?? If I hear a writer of worship songs criticising worship songs (which I have) does that grant a special endowment for criticism?

IN the political world I FEAR those who think they are above criticism,
in the religious realm the FEAR is even more pronounced.

Gerald wrote:Who judges how much WORK qualifies one as a DOER?

Bam! This magical goal post constantly moves. Beautifully illustrated in your single comment.