Controversy is Essential and Deadly Let me begin today with a brief introductory word about controversy. The main thing I want to say is that doctrinal controversy is essential and deadly. And the attitude toward controversy in various groups of Christians depends largely on which of these two they feel most strongly. My plea is that at Bethlehem we believe and feel both of these.
Controversy is essential where precious truth is rejected or distorted.
And controversy is deadly where disputation about truth dominates exultation in truth. The reason controversy is essential in the face of rejection and distortion is that God has ordained that the truth be maintained in the world partly by human defense. So the preservation and transmission of precious truth from person to person and generation and generation may require controversy where truth is rejected or distorted. It's deadly also because it focuses on the reasons for truth rather than the reality behind truth, and so tends to replace exultation in the truth with disputation about the truth. Controversy tends to threaten both love and praise.