Threads from Henry's Web

Author: henry

  • Could We Have a Passionate Progressive Christian Revival?

    In a guest post at Bob Cornwall’s Ponderings on a Faith Journey blog, Dr. Bruce Epperly of Lancaster Theological Seminary suggests just that. As a sample, he speaks of the conviction (nice evangelical word) he received from some words in a conversation:

    …we are involved in a type of spiritual warfare and that we, as progressives, haven’t yet gathered a strong team of peaceful warriors to get our message out in the theological, spiritual, political, and public sphere. We seem content with slow decline, when we should be moving forward to take a central place in North America’s future spiritual landscape.

    I think that after reading his points, there is a reason that I think “passionate moderate” is a better description for me than liberal, even though I have been dubbed a “liberal charismatic.” Nonetheless, I think that mainline Christianity has lost most not in doctrinal content, but in passion.

    My tendency is always to say, “Let’s start a discussion around that!” But the fact is that it might be better to say, as does Dr. Epperly, “That will preach” and then go preach it.

  • Worldview Weekend on John Piper and Rick Warren

    John Piper is a Calvinist, and I am so totally not, but I have a deep respect for him, in spite of many disagreements. That respect has been increased lately by his actions, both in taking a leave from his ministry and in inviting Rick Warren to speak at the Desiring God conference.

    It happens I disagree with Rick Warren on a number of things as well, so why does this increase my respect? Let me put in simply (and briefly, which is nearly miraculous for me): Any faith or theological system that must be protected by not listening to other voices is both weak, and in danger of losing its way.

    Listening doesn’t mean one must agree. Listening is listening.

    Brannon Howse, of Worldview Weekend, doesn’t agree:

    … I think it is a VERY bad idea for John Piper to invite Rick Warren to speak at his Desiring God conference. Piper is showing a serious lack of discernment in this decision. I think Piper was taken in by the Warren personality and not the facts.

    I seriously doubt if John Piper has been “taken in.” Rather, I think he will listen and then do some discernment. Perhaps, as shocking as it may be to some, he will trust those who attend his conference to do some of their own discerning.

    Kudos to him!

  • Kingdom Christians

    Dave Black has a new essay titled Are You a Kingdom Christian?. This is something that is dear to my heart. I’ve written about it before from a different angle.

    He says:

    … For us, the human organization is somewhat arbitrary. I say this as a committed Baptist. Baptists are not the only true expression of God’s kingdom. I know that some will call me a heretic for saying this, but I believe it is what the Scriptures teach. “There will be one flock and one Shepherd,” said Jesus (John 10:16). This flock is comprised of all obedient followers of Jesus. Out ultimate allegiance must be to Him. This loyalty surpasses even our (legitimate) loyalty to our denominations. In the kingdom, moreover, there are no barriers to fellowship — racial, cultural, tribal, or national. Jesus’ kingdom has no national boundaries, no military forces, no earthly king, no passports.

    All I’d need to do is substitute “Methodist” for “Baptist” and I could sign it.

    Again:

    Thus, in the kingdom of God, what matters is obedience. The essence of the Christian faith lies in our willingness to walk in the way of Jesus. Paul writes, “The kingdom of God is not in word but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). In other words, the essence of the kingdom is not theology (word) but practice (deed). …

    You need to read the whole essay to see clearly that he is not denying salvation by faith (nor am I!), but what he’s saying here is very scriptural. In fact, I think it is one of the most consistent themes in scripture. When we read Paul otherwise (which happens when we read Galatians 1-4, but skip 5 & 6, or get through about Romans 8 as my seminary class did, but don’t spend time in 2 Corinthians, Philippians, or the pastorals), we place him in contrast to Jesus and to the God of the Old Testament … which is not good.

  • A Little Reconstruction

    I’ve gone out on a limb and upgraded to WordPress 3.0 Beta 1, after trying it on a couple of test sites.  It’s really working quite well.  I’m rearranging some of the pieces of the blog.

    Everything should be working in the meantime, except that a few sidebar items may be missing.

     

  • Another Biblioblogger List

    This time it’s from J. K. Gayle at Aristotle’s Feminist Subject.  I’m not getting into this debate.  In general, I’m going to link to any list that has me on it (it’s a nice thank you, I think), and to any list that I find interesting (that’s a service to my readers).

    I’m honestly not that sure this should be called a biblioblog anyhow.  I don’t post things for scholars, generally.  I actually set the blog up to allow me to write on topics I’m teaching on in various Sunday School classes, and to separate musings about particular texts from more general “opinion” blogging.  When I wasn’t listed on the old biblioblog top 50, which was right up until the last couple of months, it seemed appropriate.

    On the other hand, I appreciate Jeremy doing all that work.  Jeremy – the cowbell idea is a winner!

  • Journalism vs Blogging

    I haven’t linked to Laura at Pursuing Holiness in some time, but this post regarding Helen Thomas’s comments on blogging got my attention.

    Whether one agrees on precisely how much bias there is in media and what the bias is–I happen to think the largest bias is to stupidity–one will surely note the concern that traditional journalists have with blogging and other means of public information exchange.

    Now doubtless bloggers do irresponsible and stupid things. People with cell phone cameras get pictures that might not be up to standards. Sometimes people can get the wrong impression. Journalists in the mainstream media point to this sort of thing as a good reason to lament the fading of “real” journalism and the rise of citizen reporting and commentary.

    That line runs into a problem. As I like to point out in Bible classes, if you read just one position, it will often sound convincing. Why? Because the author has presented the positive points. You won’t have the full picture until you look at the negative points. Usually I’m illustrating this with presentation of two competing interpretations of a text. After students have heard one, complete with references to well-known, credible interpreters who espouse it, they will be ready to settle down and go on to the next text. Then I present the second (or third or fourth) view, complete with similar references. Now the first view doesn’t look quite a unsullied.

    What journalists are trying to do here is to make themselves look good by running down bloggers. There’s plenty of fodder for them to use in this task. The blogosphere will provide you with examples of just about any sort of bad behavior you might find in writing or photography. The problem is that the journalists think that somehow this should make us revert to the default, their default.

    But you can also find examples of just about every lousy journalistic practice in the mainstream media as well.

    Well, someone objects, but there are less of them. OK, let’s make that assumption for a moment. If the mainstream media misbehaves what do I do? I can complain. I can sue. I can hope that some other media outlet will pick up the other side(s) of the story. But really, I have very little power as an individual reader or viewer.

    In the blogosphere I can get my keyboard in position and bat out a piece properly skewering whatever person committed the misbehavior. Does this solve all problems? No, it doesn’t. But if we’re looking for something approaching the ideal, then neither the blogosphere nor mainstream journalism is going to make the grade.

    I think there would be a great place in society for journalism–if we had real journalism. But that’s not what our newspapers and media are feeding us.

    For example:

    1. There are not just two sides to every issue
    2. If you get a Republican and a Democrat to comment, you have not necessarily covered the field
    3. Not everyone who provides a sound bite is an expert
    4. Reading press releases is not journalism
    5. The value of balance depends on what you’re balancing
    6. Just because a question is rude, doesn’t mean it’s penetrating

    … and many more.

    If journalists actually sought for information, researched their material, sifted it carefully, and the presented it logically and completely, there would be a point in paying more for it. In such journalism, accuracy of the data would be more important than the reporter’s personal biases. I’m willing to adjust for bias myself, if the information is accurate. As it is, too often news reports are actually less in-depth than blog posts about the same news. At least bloggers know how to read multiple stories on the same topic before they write.

    (Note: The material here tracks back through NewsBusters to The Daily Beast, where Lloyd Grove reports on Helen Thomas’s remarks to him.)

  • Michael Spencer – Internet Monk – Farewell!

    A leading light in Christian blogging, with a challenging and varied blog, has gone on to glory after a battle with cancer. Chaplain Mike provides the news at the Internet Monk.

  • Free CEB New Testament

    You can sign up.  (Corrected Link for sign up.) They are only guaranteeing delivery for shipping addresses in the United States, but are working on others, and list a number of countries to which they should be able to ship as well.  You can also still download a free copy of Matthew.  I hope to get around to writing a brief review of that soon.

    (HT:  Wesley Report)

  • The Nephilim have NOT been Found

    Michael Patton blogs today about another way not to do apologetics, in this case responding to an e-mail he received claiming that giants had been found in Greece.  The e-mail associated these giants with the Nephilim of scripture and claimed that the photos proved that the Bible was accurate.

    It shouldn’t be necessary to say that no giants were dug up in Greece, and that these giants that were not dug up do not somehow prove the Bible.  But there are an unfortunate number of Christians who believe these things uncritically.  I receive similar e-mails quite frequently, though I haven’t (yet) received one about the giants.

    In case you wanted to know just how the pictures involved in the e-mail (some of which are duplicated on Dr. Patton’s site), you can check this page from Snopes.  The discussion on Snopes illustrates some points about such hoaxes.  First, they are recycled over and over again with different stories.  This one originated in 2004.  Second, it’s usually easy to find out what happened.  In this case the folks over at snopes.com already did the work.  Third, none of this will make much difference.  People will keep forwarding the e-mail.  Doubtless new stories will be written about it.

  • Experiencing Resurrection

    Adrian Warnock issued a 10 day empty grave challenge, asking Christian bloggers to write about the resurrection at some point before Easter. Even though I have yet to read his book (I’ll get to it sometime!), I thought I’d take him up on his challenge.

    Now the fact is that my experience differs from Adrian’s in that I have found that most churches I have attended tend to be pretty happy about the resurrection, but much more likely to neglect the cross. They have generally been quite happy to discuss the resurrection without any concern for why it was necessary. Unfortunately, however, I believe that if one neglects the cross one can hardly fully understand the resurrection.

    A song from my youth, Henry de Fluiter’s Homesick for Heaven:

    I’m homesick for heaven, seems I cannot wait,
    Yearning to enter Zion’s pearly gate;
    There never a heartache, never a care,
    I long for my home over there.

    I may seem to be deviating from the topic, but I grew up with this concept. A desire for the coming of God’s kingdom is a kind of standard in Christian discourse. We want to go to heaven, with the obvious subtext “not too soon.”

    Now I had always thought that I really was homesick for heaven. But it took the time when my son was sick and death was threatening to teach my what homesickness really meant. I am aware that I bring up this one incident constantly in discussing, but living through the death of a child is an event that will change your life for better or worse.

    But the experience that I relate to the resurrection is not death, but an earlier time in our experience. James had gone through surgery to remove one lung, and was in intensive care. Prior to the surgery I had committed to teach a series each Sunday for a month at a church about 2 1/2 hours away, at least as I drive. The pastor told me he’d understand if I canceled, but he wasn’t going to withdraw the invitation.

    Saturday night I stood by James’s bed side and dithered as to whether I could make it. James was trying to say something to me, but was muffled by the tubes, so I came closer so I could hear. He said one word to me: “Go!”

    I went. On those trips I was sustained by the music of the kingdom. I recall in particular one song, “Singing with the Saints” —

    I’ll be be sitting at the throne with an angel band,
    Shoutin’ hallelujahs to the great I am
    If you think it’s a dream, well it ain’t
    I’ll be singing with the saints.

    I played that music loudly all the way. One of those Sundays–I don’t think it was that first one because James was able to talk to me–my wife Jody tried to call me on the cell phone as I drove and I didn’t hear it ring. When I did notice the call and called back they were shocked that I had missed the call due to the music. You see, I very rarely listen to music that loudly.

    But in that experience there were moments when I sensed I could feel the grass of the fields of heaven. I felt a homesickness for that land that I had never felt before. I understand that others whose view of life and whose faith (or lack of it) differs from mine. I know that they too endure great difficulties and come through them. But for myself, it was that part of my faith, not particularly the future hope, but the moments experiencing eternity here and now that sustained me. I realized that I was a native of that kingdom for just a moment. As St. John Chrysostom said of the patriarchs:

    What then? Did they mean that they were “strangers” from the land that is in Palestine? By no means: but in respect of the whole world: and with reason; for they saw therein none of the things which they wished for, but everything foreign and strange.

    Before that I only thought I was homesick.

    I’m reminded of a quote from Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, p. 37:

    …The Eucharist has so often been explained with reference to the gifts alone: what “happens” to bread and wine, and why, and when it happens! But we must understand that what “happens” to bread and wine happens because something has, first of all, happened to us, to the Church. It is because we have “constituted” the Church, and this means we have followed Christ in His ascension; because He has accepted us at His table in His Kingdom; because, in terms of theology, we have entered the Eschaton, and are now standing beyond time and space; it is because all this has first happened to us that something will happen to bread and wine.

    In worship we are not merely commemorating historical events, or looking forward to future events, but we are experiencing our true homeland. When we truly get a taste of that true homeland it changes who we are and the way we look at the world.

    When we study and meditate on the resurrection, I believe it should take us through that journey. We cannot do so without Good Friday and Silent Saturday. The first reminds us of the nature of evil and of the hardships we all encounter. It reminds us of the price of the kingdom. Silent Saturday is that time of waiting. Victory doesn’t come in an instant, but requires patience and determination. Easter Sunday is the victory of the kingdom.