What? If the title of this piece raises your eyebrows, I think you've spent too much time listening to talk radio. Anyone who has heard Rush Limbaugh excoriate the moderate political position as basically no position at all, as a spineless refusal to take a position, will not understand why middle-of-the-road theology has God's blessing. Stop taking your cues from Rush and start listening to the Word of the Lord: “So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left (Deut 5:32).” “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go (Joshua 1:7).” “"Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left (Joshua 23:6).”

How would left-of-center or right-of-center theology be characterized? Assigning the directions “left” or “right” is arbitrary, but departing in either direction from God's Word means that either one adds to God's Word or subtracts from it. As an example, one might consider the consumption of alcoholic beverages. One departure from God's Word considers all consumption of alcoholic beverages sinful. This is adding to the Word of God, for Scripture only condemns drunkenness. While few would argue against abstinence for those struggling with alcoholism, that solution is not a command from God for all people. The other departure from God's Word considers that drunkenness is no sin at all. At worst, it is only an illness for which there is no cure. The middle-of-the-road position is Scriptural – beer and wine are perfectly acceptable as long as they are consumed in moderation. If one cannot do that without slipping into drunkenness, then he or she should abstain.

Another example is the various responses to the matter of homosexuality. The one departure from the Word of God says homosexuality is simply an alternative lifestyle for which no repentance is necessary. The other departure makes homosexuality the unforgivable sin. Middle-of-the-road theology echoes God's Word that it is sinful behavior, but it is no greater or less than other sinful behaviors against which people struggle daily, and most importantly, it is forgiven by the blood of Christ.

Even in the matter of salvation itself, one finds those who veer to the left or to the right. Some disregard Scripture and hold to universalism, which says everyone will wind up OK in the end. Others disregard Scripture and believe that one is saved by faith in Christ AND by holy living. As with all other sins, departing from the middle-of-the-road to either left or right of center is a manifestation of our human desire to be gods. Whether you wish to add or subtract from God's Word, you are listening to the ancient voice that once whispered, “Has God really said...?” Even from that first encounter, Eve veered off the middle-of-the-road by replying to the serpent, “not only are we not to eat of it, we can't even touch it.” Jesus faced those same kind of people in his day. They were called Sadducees and Pharisees.

The best preventative antidote is to ask yourself about your belief on a particular issue, “Where is this written?” St Paul counseled the Corinthians, “Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written (1 Cor 4:6)." Only if there is no clear Scriptural directive or answer are we free to depart from the middle-of-the-road. And yet even there, some would maintain that one can depart from the middle only in their preferred direction, for instance, condemning others because they use either high or low church styles of worship, or use more or fewer customs.

What if you discover that you have veered off the middle-of-the-road? As with all sins, return to the Lord your God! His history as recorded in Scripture says that He is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”