In Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, the opening line is, “to be or not to be, that is the question”. This was brought to mind when comments were received about our weekly Updates. The reader appreciated some valid statements. However, he felt that there was too much emphasis on the “end time”. Whilst he conceded that the Q&A’s were often genuinely educational, he criticized that they were sometimes too dogmatic.
The weekly Update is to keep all readers apprised of what is going on in the world and often quotes sources that we normally wouldn’t have access to, or come across. Matthew 24:42 tells us to “watch”, as do other Scriptures, and we cannot be watching if we ignore all that is going on in the world. What else would we put in our “Update”? The very word means “the latest information about something” (compare “The Oxford Dictionary of English”), and what could be more important than world news that is leading to the collapse of this civilisation and the ushering in of the World Tomorrow?
Should we be dogmatic in our Q&A section? Again, “The Oxford Dictionary of English” defines dogmatic as being an adjective that “is inclined to lay down principles as undeniably true”. As we prove the question from the Bible, why should we be anything other than dogmatic? To be otherwise would show that we are not sure about our answer, and that would be wrong. We see a world where “diplomacy” can rule and where answers are given that can be taken either way, thus satisfying both or all parties. We take no such stance.
If we have biblical proof on a particular subject, we feel obliged to be dogmatic about it. God says in Isaiah 58:1 that his servants are to “Cry aloud, spare not”, and whilst this is about telling “My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins”, the same principle applies to answering questions about God’s Word. We are not to hold back when the answer is in the Bible. If we don’t know the answer, or are unsure about a matter, then we will say so.
Our gentle critic perhaps might like us to be less sure of what God’s Word says. That is not what we will do in the future. Our Update which comprises, amongst other things, world news, editorials and the weekly Q&A’s, is posted or e-mailed, free of charge, to all who wish to receive it. And all who do receive it are left in no doubt as to the gravity of world conditions and of answers to biblical questions which are “undeniably true”.
To be or not to be… dogmatic? Yes, we must be dogmatic, because the sure foundation of our answers on biblical questions is always the Word of God.
