Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 8
The speaker critiques using a father to win a point (like infant baptism) while ignoring the “sense of scale” in their broader concerns—formation, discipline, new creation; what would change in your theology or church life if you were forced to adopt the *whole* “scale” of a father you like to quote?
Another way to ask: If you had to take on the full set of concerns of a Church Father you often quote (not just one point), how might your beliefs or church practices change?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s point, adopting a father’s whole “scale” would push us beyond single-issue debates into a more complete vision of Christian life—formation, discipline, and the “new creation”—instead of using the father as an argument tool. It would likely expose places where we selectively listen because we are “preoccupied with our own need to be right.”
- He says the fathers have a “sense of scale,” meaning they address many interconnected concerns, not just one controversy.
- He lists examples of broader concerns: “formation,” “discipline formats of church life,” and “the new creation.”
- He critiques the tactic: “Oh, look, he agreed with me on that point,” while ignoring “his broader project.”
- He warns that rallying fathers just to “defend” a position can become “dogmatic” and can end up “silencing them.”
- He emphasizes respecting them as “big men in the room,” approached not “cavalierly,” which implies listening widely and patiently.