I recently had to write an essay for school discussing the signifiance of a Trinitarian theology for the life and mission of the Church. I thought I would include it here for all to read.
Yearly archive: 2005
A Splendid and Worthwhile Engagement
| Far back in the midst of modern time, long before the dawn of The Next Reformation, in the great and glorious days of enlightenment thinking, life was wild, rich, and on the whole, foundationalist. In those days, caramels were sweet, wine was cheap, boys were real boys, girls were real girls, and people, as a whole, were far more committed to talking about relationships than to doing them. |  |
In those enlightened days, there were two remarkably peculiar, highly analytical, philosophically-minded good friends who, based on the not-so-bold assertion that they were indeed alike in every way, endearingly referred to themselves as two peas in a pod. Having claimed absolute equality regarding their thoughts and feelings about life, the universe, and everything, they embarked on a journey to discover the most ultimate question of all, the question that would tease their intellects for many long days to come. The question, of course, was, “What was the true meaning of love? Had they found it? And if they had, what was to become of it, if anything at all?” And thus began the quest for the ultimate answer to the ultimate question of life, love, and everything.
Fortunately, for those short-winded readers of this long-winded narrative, the story shall be summed as follows:
These two did, in fact, begin to discover the true meaning of love and found themselves wonderfully wrapped up in it. What became of this whole ordeal was, indeed, a very splendid and worthwhile engagement!
Walking by Faith
Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the word of his servant?
Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light,
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.But now, all you who light fires
and provide yourselves with flaming torches,
go, walk in the light of your fires
and the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:
You will lie down in torment.
Isaiah 50:10-11
Today we talked in class about non-foundationalist epistemology, particularly the way modernism paved the way for the Church to embrace a foundationalist theory of knowledge. The Church decided to buy into the world’s philosophy of how to know what we know, and out came many doctrines, theologies, and sometimes false teachings.
What has been increasingly clear to me is the way many Christians have been lighting fires (in the imagery of the passage above) in order to find their way, to prove their correct teachings. Fearing the Lord was assumed, and so a man-made pursuit of knowing took center stage. Or perhaps nobody really feared the Lord, because we had discovered the “right way to interpret” or the “correct theology to hold on to.”
It is humbling to read Scripture, because it refreshes us not only by invigorating our souls, but also by convicting us and drawing us back toward God. My professor spoke tonight of a person who ended up believing that his hermeneutic drove him to believe that Jesus did not really fulfill the OT prophecies of the Messiah. He was asked by some of the people who were concerned with this person who had left the faith, and my professor responded: “Find a hermeneutic that will drive you to Jesus!” His point was simply this: the hermeneutic is not the foundation of our faith, but rather what should drive us to God. I have often said that many well-meaning Christians, in an attempt to find the real meaning of the Scriptures, have made a god out of their hermeneutic. Unless God has spoken to us in the way they believe God will communicate (literally, historically, grammatically, etc.), we can’t really hear from God. Of course, there is room for metaphor and symbolism, but the importance placed on hermeneutic is quite clear: get it straight, and your theology will be straight as well.
I think I’d rather fear the Lord and rely on him, rather than on my proper method of interpretation. Because even that is man-made. God, however, is not.
The Restoration of God’s Rule
Growing up in a highly conservative church, one that preached that salvation was about getting individual souls into heaven, I was perplexed to discover that the main thrust of what was understood by the word “salvation” in the New Testament is, in fact, not merely an escape from this world into another (heaven).
Upon reading a book
Salvation is not an escape from creational life into “spiritual” existence: it is the restoration of God’s rule over all of creation and all of human life. Neither is salvation merely the restoration of a personal relationship with God, important as that is. Salvation goes further: it is the restoration of the whole life of humankind and ultimately of teh nonhuman creation as well. This is the scope of biblical salvation.
The Story of Scripture
For my class at seminary, I had to write both a biblical plotline paper and a paper on how to properly interpret Scripture.
I’ve uploaded them for public viewing:
- Biblical Plotline Paper (112 KB)
- Biblical Interpretation Paper (136 KB)
Sweet Eternal Truths
I opened up the Psalms this evening and stumbled on a verse that I decided to adopt as a life verse. Psalm 25:14 says, “The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”
When I read this verse, I feel marvelously special to God. He CONFIDES in me when I fear him. It gives me goosebumps to think of him whispering sweet eternal truths into my awe-struck ear. It makes the “sweet nothings” of romantic love seem trite (though admittedly, they are indeed fantastically fun).
God CONFIDES in his people. That’s what the written word is all about. Over the weekend, I confessed to my dearest friend that I had been squelching the Spirit because I had not feasted on the Word. Oh, how I long for him to confide in me. Oh, how I long for his intimate touch. Yet, I fail to invite the breath of his Spirit by opening his Word.
My friend encouraged me to open the Word today, and I did. How blessed I was. My God confided in me. He told me that when I stay close, He shares himself with me. I got blessed!
Waiting for the Harvest
During the trials of life, the pain and tragedy we each go through, no matter how costly, develops in us longings for the pain to be over, for the perseverance to pay off. The Apostle Paul calls it harvest time, the time when we reap what we’ve sown, and if we’ve sown good, and do not give up and lose heart, we will reap a harvest.
But even awaiting the harvest has its rainy days, the days when we just want to go to sleep and be awakened when the pain is over. Or the days when we wake up early in the morning, and we hear the rain outside and think, Wake me up tomorrow, for tomorrow could be a better day.
This is what I like about non-Christian music artists. They know life, they understand the weary nature of life and its degenerative trajectory. While they may as of yet have no hope in Jesus, their expression is still accurate, not to mention an authentic portrayal of our own lives.
The following song, “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” is an artistic portrayal of the feelings in my heart lately. I’m sure much could be read into it, but for about three months this song has been in my head, and during this time many applications could be made. There is no single reason for this being part of my feelings. It just is. Unfortunately, I can only reprint the lyrics here (click below for full entry), but you can go to the iTunes Music Store and download the song for 99 cents.
summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when september endslike my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when september endshere comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we areas my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september endssummer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when september endsring out the bells again
like we did when spring began
wake me up when september endshere comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we areas my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september endsSummer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september endslike my father’s come to pass
twenty years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends
Half Day of Prayer
For my ministry development class at Biblical Seminary, I had to spend a half day in prayer (defined as a four-hour block of time). We were also required to write a 2-3 page summary and response to what we did.
I decided I’d like to share some of the more significant papers I will have to write for school. This is one of them.
Facing an task such as a four-hour block of time just for prayer was a bit daunting at first, but knowing from the beginning that it would a great discipline for me to hear from the Lord, I was excited to be able to do it. My best friend often has spent hours in prayer, has gone on silent retreats, and has fasted often, and so many ideas were afloat in my mind as to what I could do during my four-hour block of time.
I began by simply sitting in silence, petitioning the Lord for clarity of thought, for direction in what I sought, and for inner peace in my heart. After about twenty minutes or so of that, I felt prompted to review a chapter in John Piper’s book, When I Don’t Desire God, on prayer. After about two pages, I was weeping (more on this later). When I was finished reading (which took about fifteen minutes), I read through some Psalms just to read how David cried out to the Lord. When I started to actually pray, I wrote my prayer in order to stay focused on what I was doing. Being easily distracted, this proved quite helpful to me while praying. Oftentimes I would stop and cry out to God things I couldn’t write fast enough, but mostly my prayer was written. I then went on my typical walk in order to just talk to the Lord (this is a regular practice). Once I returned, I listened to a couple worship songs that have meant much to me in the past, and I continued to finish my written prayer to God.
I often wondered what the purpose of spending time in prayer is about. “Prayer is talking to God, reading the Word is God talking to you,†has always been the typical description of prayer. Yet I find Christians who simply “sit and listen†to the Lord really find his heart during those times, and it scares me. How do they hear? I thought the Scriptures is solely where God speaks? What can I do to hear God on that level? I often feel discouraged because, as a generally fidgety person, sitting listening for any length of time proves difficult. I often need to be doing something else while listening. Driving is a good case in point – I can easily shut off all music and talk radio, and hear. But to simply listen in silence frightens me.
There are some personal things going on in my life that are being dealt with during this class time. Personal growth and maturity is a big desire of my heart, for many reasons, and I have come to painful terms with my own personal growth. And hearing from the Lord oftentimes means giving up something that is near and dear to our hearts.
I started weeping before I began praying because I realized that my heart’s desire was not God’s glory being shown in the world, at least not primarily. I’ve always wanted that, and every Christian would claim that as a desire. But if what we pray for is an indication of where our heart is, then my heart was not truly there – it was elsewhere.
To spend four hours straight with the Lord was refreshing, yet it also stirred a longing in me to really seek extra time with the Lord each week, rather than just settling for a few moments I can grab here and there. I spend much of my time throughout the day in prayer, but to spend a “quiet time†with God is next to non-existent in my life.
Full cup
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It is amazing to me how full my “cup” can become when I pursue what I know the Lord’s best is for me. Even fasting from things I love will fill my cup, sometimes to overflowing. As always, though, some secrets in my heart are only known by the one closest to me. |
In a Different Light
Lots of new discoveries lately, many of which are poetically described by the song, “So We Never Got to Paris” by Out of the Grey. The last stanza is below (full song lyrics here):
| We may never get to Paris And find the café of our dreams But our table still will hold a world of memories If we never get to Venice And roam the streets alone We’ll hold our worlds together and we’ll keep the best of both |
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Here’s to You
| Like the depths of my heart, some things can only be understood by the special few who know me well. |  |
Beautiful Imagery
I recently came across a Q&A with Bishop Tom Wright. I found the imagery described in the first question to be beautiful in regards to atonement theories. I believe the same imagery can apply to many areas of belief and dogma. I’ve only included the imagery he uses, but the full answer can be read here.
QUESTION: There has been some recent debate over a controversial book by Steve Chalke which you have endorsed. Chalke has warned that some versions of penal substitution can reduce God to a “cosmic child abuser.†Would you agree with his analysis and do you see that as a danger?
ANSWER: Think of it like this. In a musical chord, the ‘third’ (in a chord of C major, this would be the note E) is the critical one that tells you many things, e.g. whether the music is major or minor, happy or sad. That E is vital if the music is to make the sense it does. But if the player plays the E and nothing else, the E no longer means what it’s meant to mean. Likewise, substitutionary atonement is a vital element in the gospel. Miss it out, and the music of the gospel is no longer what it should be. But if you only play that note you are in danger of setting up a different harmony altogether…
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