Supposedly, when asked if apathy or ignorance was this country's greatest problem, someone said, "I don't know and I don't care!"

That describes the feeling of many people about doctrinal controversies in religion. They don't know what the Bible teaches on disputed issues, and neither do they care.

But the Bible emphasizes the importance of knowing the truth (John 8:32) and warns against believing error. The apostle John said, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

While some questions may not be worth contending over (like the one about how Cain got his wife), other controversies arise that affect people's salvation. If the point of contention is over the acceptable response of man for the remission of sins, or the worship that is honoring unto God, the person who says "it's just not that big of a deal" is guilty of making trivial that which is important to God.

Please, let us learn that ignorance and apathy can cost us our souls.

- Woodland Hills Weekly, Jan. 31, 1993