So why did I choose Tipping Sacred Cow as my home?  The answer to that goes back to when I was a child.  My parents introduced me to God at an early age.  It wasn’t a saving knowledge, but it was an understanding that started me on my journey to Christ.

One Bible story that struck me as odd was the account of Israel’s idolatry with the golden calf.  How could they switch teams so fast, and for what, a golden cow?  I grew up around farms and to someone acquainted with cows it made absolutely no sense to worship one.  To my further childhood surprise I was to find out that the Israelites were not alone in their bovine worship.  I was to discover that cows were revered and inviolable in the Hindu religion.  Thus was the beginning of my understanding of sacred cows.

As I matured I discovered that sacred cows existed in more than just India. The term sacred cow no longer described the almost 140 species of cloven-hoofed ruminant mammals which one might deem hallowed.  Instead it described something or someone  that was beyond criticism or questioning.  With this new understanding it became evident to me that we had herds of sacred cows taking up residence in our lives, and especially in our churches.

Every Christian community has its own subculture of customs, traditions and beliefs.  Given that we are human and more than fallible, we are likely going to add elements to the apostolic tradition that run contrary to sound biblical doctrine.  It happened in the past (read Galatians people) and it happens today.  You can likely guess that when I ran into such things as a child I asked questions, and questions did get me in trouble.

Should our traditions, customs, and beliefs be exempt from criticism and questions?  I should hope not.  Our traditions and customs can be difficult to overcome and abandon.  Yet it remains our task in every generation to critically examine our own to ensure that they are consistent with sound biblical doctrine.  It is with this understanding that I began to examine my own customs, traditions and beliefs under the microscope of the scriptures.  I found many to be sound and scriptural, but for the few that could not be found in scripture, they were cows worth tipping.