OK, I admit it. Sometimes I watch TBN. For several reasons:
1. It's just flat out entertaining. Folks with way too much makeup, gaudy sets, and crazy hair-dos with hands raised to the ceiling, praising God, pronouncin' blessing, and claimin' the anointin' of the Holy Ghost. And, I gotta admit: Watching Rod Parsley and "Bishop" TD Jakes is incedible. I mean, I think Rod's prosperity theology is waaaay wacked, and TD has some questionable doctrinal areas too, but the dudes are used of God, changing their communities, and bringing people to love Jesus (can I get an Amen?). And they are just flat-out dynamic, quirky, and fun to watch. It's all a freak show... and it reminds me that Jesus LOVES freaks!
2006-03-27
2006-03-25
On using political-economic power to convert people to "Gospel Values"
My buddy Matt over at Two Cities Blog has written a great article on whether Christians should boycott "Brokeback Mountain" to send a "message to Hollywood" supporting Gospel Values. I think this article highlights an implicit tension and contradiction in Christian mission and social action: Christians using coercive power to "make" people change into "good" people.
Specifically, is it ever effective or right to use coercive power to make people "convert" to the values of the Gospel? Let me explain:
Specifically, is it ever effective or right to use coercive power to make people "convert" to the values of the Gospel? Let me explain:
2006-03-20
What is Truth? On the evaluation of the Truth of Doctrinal Systems
My buddy Matt, who I write on "Two Cities" Blog with recently wrote a great article on being Ecumenical. He is Church of Christ, I am Anglican, and we have a whole bunch of discussions about this kind of stuff. His article is posted here.
During the discussion, I wrote a reply about how we should evaluate the truth of doctrinal systems. I want to share that here:
During the discussion, I wrote a reply about how we should evaluate the truth of doctrinal systems. I want to share that here:
2006-03-10
New Wineskins and New Cloth
I got a good question from Lori I thought I would share:
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Today, I was reading the lessons for today, and I have always been confused by these 2 verses (21-22). I don't understand how they go with the previous verses. Do you know how they go together?
Mark 2:18-22
Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?" Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."
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There are a couple of different takes on those verses, but I don't have time to tell you all of them... So I will just tell you my take...
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Today, I was reading the lessons for today, and I have always been confused by these 2 verses (21-22). I don't understand how they go with the previous verses. Do you know how they go together?
Mark 2:18-22
Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?" Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."
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There are a couple of different takes on those verses, but I don't have time to tell you all of them... So I will just tell you my take...
2006-03-09
Just what was the philosophical justification of splitting the Church in the Reformation?
In response to my last post, Matt asks a great question:
I have one question: You mentioned that if the Catholic Church would have listened to Aquinas, Augustine and others the Reformation may have been avoided. However, many Protestants believe that a major part of what sparked the Reformation was the scholastic synthesis of faith and reason achieved by Aquinas and exaggerated by Averroes and Ockam. Some believe that the problem of the Reformation was caused by Aquinas's "secularization" of faith. What would you say about that? Just curious.
In response to Matt:
I have one question: You mentioned that if the Catholic Church would have listened to Aquinas, Augustine and others the Reformation may have been avoided. However, many Protestants believe that a major part of what sparked the Reformation was the scholastic synthesis of faith and reason achieved by Aquinas and exaggerated by Averroes and Ockam. Some believe that the problem of the Reformation was caused by Aquinas's "secularization" of faith. What would you say about that? Just curious.
In response to Matt:
2006-03-06
We fixed the wedding, now let's work on the marriage
Isaiah 62:5 ...As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
After a decade of self-study in historical and systematic theology, a year of graduate study of Christian history, and another year of graduate study in the history of doctrine, a thought has crystallized in my mind: The Protestant reformation largely fixed the problems of our "wedding" with Christ, but it is not sufficient to fix the marriage. Let me explain...
After a decade of self-study in historical and systematic theology, a year of graduate study of Christian history, and another year of graduate study in the history of doctrine, a thought has crystallized in my mind: The Protestant reformation largely fixed the problems of our "wedding" with Christ, but it is not sufficient to fix the marriage. Let me explain...
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