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Course 2 · Lesson 4.3

Testing teachers and online voices

10 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 2 outline

Module 1: What Solitude Is and Is Not

  1. Solitude, isolation, and withdrawal from responsibility
  2. A deliberate approach to Christian life
  3. Solitude without superiority

Module 2: The Long Tradition

  1. Anthony and the first hermits
  2. The Desert Mothers and the sayings of the elders
  3. From the desert to the monastery: Pachomius, Basil and Benedict
  4. Hermits and anchorites in the later church

Module 3: The Church and the Solitary Christian

  1. The church as the body of Christ
  2. What Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians say requires a church
  3. Fellowship without a congregation

Module 4: Independence and Its Limits

  1. Reading Scripture for yourself
  2. The limits of private interpretation
  3. Testing teachers and online voices

Module 5: Accountability and Humility

  1. Spiritual pride
  2. Self-deception and confirmation bias
  3. Finding real accountability

Module 6: Building Your Framework

  1. Private devotion and communal life
  2. Drafting your framework
  3. Review and revision

All courses

Program / Course 2: The Solitary Christian in Depth / Lesson 4.3

What you will learn

  • State the New Testament’s instructions for testing teachers and prophets.
  • Apply a consistent set of questions to any teacher, author or online voice, including ones you like.
  • Recognize patterns in online media that reward confidence over accuracy.
  • Describe how the traditions weigh credentials, ordination, fruit and agreement with the church.

The big idea

Christians have always been told to test what they hear. The New Testament says to try the spirits, to examine the Scriptures, and to look at the fruit of a teacher’s life. A person who studies alone depends heavily on books, videos and websites, and is in effect choosing teachers every day. This lesson offers a short list of questions that can be applied the same way to every voice, whether it agrees with you or not. Applying the same test to voices you like is the hard part.

Key terms

Discernment
The skill of telling truth from error and good from evil, especially in spiritual matters.
Credential
A formal sign of training or authority, such as a degree, an ordination or membership in a scholarly society.
Fruit
In Jesus’ teaching, the visible results of a life or a teaching over time (Matthew 7:16-20).
Echo chamber
A setting where you hear mostly voices that agree with you, so that your views are repeated back and seem more certain.
Algorithm
The rules that decide what a website or app shows you. Many are built to keep you watching, which can favor strong emotion over careful thought.
Primary source
An original text or document, such as a creed, a letter of a church father or the Bible itself, as opposed to someone’s account of it.

Background

The New Testament expects that false teachers will arise. Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15), and “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). John writes, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1). Paul foresees a time when people “will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3).

That last verse describes a danger that modern media has made easy. A person can choose teachers who say what he already wants to hear. A solitary Christian without a local pastor or a teaching community can be especially exposed, since there may be no one to say that a favorite voice is mistaken. The tests below do not depend on knowing the answer in advance. They are ways to look for warning signs.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: What the New Testament gives as tests

The Bible offers several tests. First, the content: does the teaching agree with what has been handed down? Paul tells the Galatians that even an angel who preaches another gospel is to be rejected (Galatians 1:8). John says the test of the spirits is whether they confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (1 John 4:2). Second, the life: Jesus says a good tree bears good fruit (Matthew 7:17). Paul lists qualities for those who oversee the church, among them sobriety, hospitality, gentleness and freedom from the love of money (1 Timothy 3:1-7). Third, the method: the Bereans “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). They did not take Paul’s word without checking.

The Didache, an early Christian manual, tells communities to test traveling prophets: one who stays too long, or asks for money, or does not live by what he teaches, is false (Didache 11-12). The early church thus had practical rules.

Step 2: A set of questions for any voice

Apply these questions to every teacher, including those you admire. Who is this person, and to whom does he answer? Is there an ordination, a church, a publisher, a board, or no one? Does he agree with the ancient creeds on central points? Does he quote Scripture and other sources accurately and in context? Does he state the best arguments against his own view? Does he admit what he does not know? Does he ever change his mind in public? How does he behave toward critics? How is he paid, and does his income depend on a certain conclusion? What do people who know him personally say about his life?

No one passes perfectly. The point is to notice patterns. A teacher who fails many of these tests deserves caution however moving his message.

Step 3: How the traditions weigh credentials

Catholic and Orthodox Christians place great weight on ordination and communion with a bishop, since the teaching office belongs to the church. They also honor saints and theologians who were never ordained, such as Catherine of Siena and, among the Orthodox, many lay theologians. Protestants generally look for a called and trained pastor and for agreement with Scripture and the confessions, and many also honor teachers who are not ordained. All three traditions agree that holding an office does not make a person correct, and that an unordained person can say true things.

Academic credentials show training, not wisdom. A degree in theology is a reason to listen, not a reason to stop checking. Likewise, a lack of degrees does not make a teacher wrong. Weigh both.

Step 4: The online setting

Online, some features work against careful testing. Platforms favor content that gets strong reactions, so dramatic claims travel farther than careful ones. Anonymous accounts cannot be held accountable. Clips are separated from context. Creators who depend on ads or donations are under pressure to keep an audience. You may follow a sequence of recommendations that leads steadily toward more extreme positions without noticing.

Practical safeguards include: look for the original source, not the clip; read the longer argument; search for criticism from serious people; prefer teachers who name their church and their real names; and take a break from any voice that leaves you angry or contemptuous.

Step 5: Test the voices you like

The hardest test is the one you apply to a favorite. Pick a teacher you trust and answer the questions in Step 2 for him or her in your notebook. Then pick a teacher you dislike, and answer the same questions. If your answers differ only because of your preference, the test has told you something about yourself.

  1. To whom does this teacher answer, and who can correct him?
  2. Does he quote Scripture and other sources accurately and in context?
  3. Does he give the strongest case against his own view?
  4. What does his life, as far as I can tell, show?
  5. What does it cost him to be wrong, and what does it gain him to be popular?
  6. Would I apply the same test to a voice I dislike?

Examples

The clip

A short video shows a preacher saying that a certain group is condemned. In the full sermon, the same preacher says it is a hypothetical case he rejects. The clip spreads widely. A careful viewer looks for the full talk before reacting. (A constructed example.)

The favorite author

A reader loves a popular author and never checks his claims. When she finally reads the primary source he cites, she finds that it says something different. She does not stop reading him, but she begins to check. (A constructed example.)

The traveling prophet

The Didache says that a visitor who orders a meal or asks for money in the Spirit’s name is a false prophet, and that a visiting apostle who stays three days is false. The principle that a teacher’s treatment of money and his accountability are tests is old.

Different perspectives

Catholic

Catholics test teaching against the faith of the church as expressed by the bishops in communion with the pope, the Catechism and the councils. Theologians need permission from the church to teach in its name. Catholic tradition also holds that teachers can be mistaken and that ordination does not guarantee accuracy in every matter.

Orthodox

The Orthodox test teaching against the consensus of the Fathers, the ecumenical councils and the liturgy. A teacher is known by whether he is in communion with the church and by the holiness of his life. A spiritual father is chosen with great care.

Protestant

Protestants test teaching against Scripture first. Many also appeal to creeds and confessions and to the character and calling of the teacher. The Bereans are a favorite model. Protestants differ about how much to rely on pastors, theologians and denominational authority.

Scholarly and secular observers

Researchers on media note that engagement-based platforms reward emotionally charged content, and that people tend to select sources that confirm their views. Standard advice includes checking original sources, looking for independent confirmation and distrusting claims that make you feel only anger or only flattery.

Why it matters

No one can verify everything, so everyone depends on teachers. The question is whether the dependence is chosen with care. A solitary student has fewer natural checks and so needs to build them in. A few steady questions, applied the same way to every voice, protect against both gullibility and cynicism.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: Testing a teacher is disrespect.

Correction: The New Testament commands it, and praises the Bereans for it. Good teachers expect to be tested.

Misunderstanding: A teacher with many followers must be reliable.

Correction: Popularity measures attention, not truth. The prophets of the Old Testament were often unpopular, and false teachers have often been admired.

Misunderstanding: Only credentials matter, or credentials do not matter at all.

Correction: Credentials show training. They are one piece of evidence. Content, character and accountability also count.

Misunderstanding: If I feel moved, the message must be true.

Correction: Feeling is not a reliable test, since persuasive speakers can produce strong feeling for any message. John tells believers to test the spirits (1 John 4:1).

Knowledge check

What three kinds of test does the New Testament give for teachers?

The content, whether it agrees with the apostolic gospel (Galatians 1:8; 1 John 4:2); the life, or fruit (Matthew 7:16-20; 1 Timothy 3); and the method, such as the Bereans checking the Scriptures (Acts 17:11).

What is a safeguard against the clip problem online?

Look for the full original talk or text, not just the clip, and read how the speaker handles the point in context. A clip can be accurate and still misleading.

Why should you apply the same test to teachers you like?

Because bias leads people to apply tests only to teachers they dislike. A test that protects against error must be used on every voice, especially a favorite, where a person is least likely to look.

How do the three traditions agree about credentials?

They agree that office or training does not guarantee correctness, and that an unordained person can speak truly. They differ about how much weight to place on ordination and communion with a church.

Think it through

  1. Which teacher do you rely on most, and how much do you actually know about their life and accountability?
  2. When did you last read a serious criticism of a voice you admire?
  3. Does your media diet include anyone who disagrees with you in a thoughtful way?
  4. What is your limit: at what point would you stop listening to a teacher?

Independent assignment

Two teachers, one test

Choose one teacher, author or channel you trust and one you distrust. In your own notebook, write 350 to 500 words. Answer the questions of Step 2 for each, using real evidence and not impressions. Say where the answers differ and whether the difference comes from the evidence or from your preference. State one change you will make to what you read or watch.

Further study