Nov 23, 2015 | Theology
Don Carson is Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in the Chicago area, an author of numerous books, and just a plain old brilliant guy. I’ve read several of his books, but recently came across a series of talks by him at Apologetics315 called, “The God Who is There,” a book he had written of the same name. The title may sound familiar because it is the same as a ground breaking book by Francis Schaeffer written almost 50 years ago. Dr. Carson does a spectacular job of giving a broad yet detailed overview of redemptive history, from Genesis to Revelation. Although a professor, his speaking style is anything but professorial. And his Reformed theological perspective is refreshing in an age when what we do for God seems more important than what God has done for us.
Nov 3, 2015 | Parents and Family, Theology
There is much talk in American culture about young Christians going off to college or into life and abandoning their faith. I’m sure there are many reasons why this is so, but I think one consistent reason is that teenagers see their parents and people in church live out a faith they simply cannot relate to. I came across an example in a piece about a young rap singer who grew up in a church where his father was a pastor, and while it doesn’t appear that he has completely abandoned the faith, he’s definitely abandoned the “religion” he was raised in. What exactly was it that alienated him? (more…)
Oct 31, 2015 | Theology, Uncategorized
But wait, I thought it was Halloween. Well, there would have been no Halloween with ghosts and ghouls and candy galore if not for Reformation Day. There is some argument among scholars as to whether Halloween has solely pagan or Christian roots. It is indisputable, though, that without the November 1 holiday (holy day) of All Saints Day (instituted by Pope Gregory III in the eighth century to honor all saints and martyrs), there would have been no Halloween. The day before came to be known over time as All Hallows Eve, and eventually become Halloween.
So how does Reformation Day come into the picture? On this day in 1517 Martin Luther, dismayed by what he considered some corrupt practices in the Catholic Church, penned what has come to be called the 95 Thesis. He then nailed it to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. What was a common means of entreating intellectual debate in the 16th Century, written in Latin and not the vernacular, ended up starting a Reformation that turned the Western world upside down.
A brief 5 Minutes in Church History by Stephen Nichols gives a concise explanation of why this day turned into Reformation Day.
Oct 9, 2015 | Theology
Most Christians know very little in the way of doctrine or theology or church history. For many these seem at best unnecessary, for others they are downright dangerous. I am familiar with such thoughts because I was born-again into the Christian faith among such Christians and such teaching. What really counted, what only counted, was my relationship with Jesus mediated through the Bible. Just me and God’s word supposedly illuminated by the Holy Spirit, and I was good to go. After several years I just could not be held in such a myopic box, and I was exposed to a Christianity that was rooted in history, and thus doctrine and theology took on a whole new meaning.
The term Christology means literally the study of Christ, just like any “ology” means the study of. Theology is the study of God, for example. If you want to know why Christology is so important, this piece by Timothy George at First Things is an excellent historical primer on the the role questions about the nature of Jesus played in early church history. Today we may take it for granted that there is a Trinity, and that Jesus is fully God and fully man, the second person of the Triune God, but in the early church this was no slam dunk. And these issues about the nature of Christ have profound implications for soteriology, or the nature of our salvation, but that is a topic for another blog post.
Every Christian should be familiar with Marcion and Arius because because it was their questions and assertions about the nature of Christ that the Church fathers had to wrestle with. In fact, heresy always forces the Church to grapple with fundamental issues about the nature and content of the Christian faith. We’re going through that today with questions about the nature of marriage. So I don’t think you could get a better, more concise overview of this critical period in Church history that led to a council in Nicea that gave us the creed by the same name we recite in church to this day.
Sep 5, 2015 | Theology
David Brooks is one of the token kind-of-conservatives at the New York Times, and I enjoy reading him because it is interesting to read someone who is not a committed conservative philosophically, but has something of a conservative temperament. He is also from what I understand an agnostic or atheist, probably more of the former, so as a Christian it is also interesting to see where he goes with his almost conservative thoughts. In a piece last week titled, “When ISIS Rapists Win,” he asked a typically modern question filled with Enlightenment, progressive assumptions when confronted with the horrific evil of ISIS:
The ISIS atrocities have descended like distant nightmares upon the numbed conscience of the world. The first beheadings of Americans had the power to shock, but since then there has been a steady barrage of inhumanity: mass executions of Christians and others, throwing gay men from rooftops, the destruction of ancient archaeological treasures, the routine use of poison gas.
Eve the recent reports in The Times about the Islamic State’s highly structured rape program have produced shock but barely a ripple of action.
And yet something bigger is going on. It’s as if some secret wormhole into a different historical epoch has been discovered and the knowledge of centuries is being unlearned. . . .
This wasn’t supposed to happen in the 21st century. Western experts have stared the thing in the face, trying to figure out the cause and significance of the moral disaster we are witnessing. (more…)
Jul 25, 2015 | Theology
I was asked to lead a book discussion at my church on the problem of evil, and I decided on this book mainly because I’ve loved the previous books I’d read by him, and also because of the Amazon reviews. After reading it closely and leading a discussion over four weeks, I wasn’t terribly impressed. Here is my Amazon review:
I hate to give the great David Bentley Hart two stars, but I’m afraid I must. I read two books by him previously, which prompted me to pick this book for a class discussion I was to lead at my church. He’s brilliant, and has a way with words that amazes me and often drives me to the dictionary, when I can even grasp the arguments he makes. As I like to say about a genius like him, he has a very big brain. But alas, being smart doesn’t mean you get everything right, and this book is a perfect example. (more…)
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