The Confessing Movement is needed because the need for normativeness never ceases. Once, however, any group assumes the role of advocate, it opens itself up to critique. This is true of the radical liberals as well as the evangelical groups that have surfaced in recent months. To stand for something is to face those who stand for something else. The issue is not critique, but rather the avoidance of caricature in critique.
Theological dialog implies the inevitability of critique.
It also calls for the responsibility of critique. The Confessing Movement seeks to be a responsible advocate of orthodoxy. The challenge is to engage in such activity in ways that do not treat antagonists inaccurately or unjustly. The history of theological debate reveals the difficulty of this task and the tendency of all sides to violate the ideal along the way. The Confessing Movement is needed at this time to insure that the orthodox position is accurately advocated, and that caricatures by others do not go unaddressed.