Breakfast Cereal and Diddly-Poo

When people apply radically different standards to things that are essentially the same, that's usually a good indication that  those people have gone cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.  For example:

You need a prescription for the birth control pill.  But you can buy the morning after pill (which is just a stronger dose of the birth control pill) over the counter.  You can't, however, get any other drugs over the counter that are stronger doses of prescription drugs.  Since the medical standards for prescription strength and dosage for every other drug in the world don't apply to the morning after pill, I think it's reasonably fair to assert that people are full of diddly-poo if they claim that this exception was based on the principle of "do no harm."

Likewise, I think it's also fair to point out that theologians are full of diddly-poo when they argue in ways that they'd never argue in any other subject, but still claim to be interested in the pursuit of truth.  For example, if Bill were interested in the pursuit of mathematical truth, he would never have the following  conversation with Bob:

Bill: I had ten dollars.  Then I spent three dollars.  After that, I had nine dollars.

Bob: No, Bill.  You had seven dollars.  Ten minus three is seven.

Bill: Well, I think this is really a matter of semantics.  Besides, the most important thing is that I love people when I engage in commerce with them, regardless of how many dollars I have.

If we were Bob, we would never buy it if Bill said he was legitimately interested in pursuing mathematical truth.  But, for some reason, when people make the same argument when it comes to theology, we don't always call them on their diddly-poo.  We don't always tell Bill he's gone cuckoo for  Cocoa Puffs when he engages in the following conversation:

Bill: I think sin is just a kind of weakness and doesn't really separate us from God.

Bob: No, sin is murderous and enslaving.  It places us into the hands of the devil.  That's what God says in Genesis 2.  And John 8.  And Romans 6.  And Ephesians 2.  And 1 John 3.  Should I keep going?

Bill:  Well, I think this is really a matter of semantics.  Besides, the most important thing is that I love people when I preach to them, regardless of what I preach.

Bill, you are not interested in theological truth.  You are interested in you.  You have gone cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs and you are full of diddly-poo.

My name is Pastor Hans Fiene.  Thanks for reading.