Charismatic Clarity: On Meat and Bones

In the bits of the Church that I spend time in, there are many phrases and truisms, some good and some bad, which roll around from time to time. Today I want to focus on briefly on one which is particularly pertinent when talking about the merits or otherwise of a theology, book or position, or the merits or otherwise of a teacher or leader. I'm wary about tying what someone believes directly to what we might think about them - though certainly that is appropriate in some cases, I think - but want to focus on this phrase, this concept, of separating the meat from the bones. I often hear phrases like 'we are called to eat the meat and spit out the bones'. By this, people tend to mean the practice of discerning things, but in my experience it is often used to stop criticism of some ideas, or to avoid thinking too hard about the uncomfortable elements of a theological position.

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