Wittenberg Gate

Controlling Personalities in the Church

Dory's series on Controlling Personalities in the Church can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Christian Carnival

Welcome to this week's Christian Carnival, a showcase of Christian thought in the blogosphere. Christian writers are invited to submit their best posts from the last week. If you would like to participate in or host future Christian Carnivals, please refer to our guidelines.

Book Reviews

Shawn Anthony of lofitribe sends us a review of The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch.

Weekend Fisher of Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength continues the Tolkien series wth a look at how Frodo looks at Gollum and sees himself in Christianity in Tolkien: Compassion and Redemptio

Christians Confronting Culture

The Journey sends us Exiles: Living Missioinally in a Post-Christian Culture. We live in a time when more followers of Jesus are living outside the church than ever before. People who are still very keen to follow Christ are giving up on going to church. What does that say about the people that are 'dropping out' and what does it say about the church?

Tantalizing if True  asks What Would Jesus Listen To?, "an unsatisfying attempt at scoring the
life of Jesus Christ with Christian radio music."

The Bloke ...in the outer... gives us a glimpse into his mind with Melodic Juxtaposition. What happens when a hip-hop rap group invades a Vienna Boys' Choir concert?

Beyond the Rim... shares Lent 07: Day 23 - The Comforting Cowardice of Atheism, thoughts on the phrase "the comforting cowardice of atheism", taken from a John Mark Reynolds article. The focus is on the difference between atheism's avoidance of consequences and God's total embrace of them through the agape of his nature.

Pseudo-Polymath sends us Behold? Cans, worms, and the Lid Ajar?  saying " I attempt to engage others in a modern discussion on race and gender, seen through the lens of Patristic Theological thought."

The Journey contributes Freemasonry Freemasonry has been a subject that has divided people for many years. Some church leaders have entered fully into Freemasonry while others have denounced it as evil. So what do Freemasons believe? Where did it all begin? Should we embrace Freemasonry or are there legitimate warnings we should heed?

Thoughts of a Gyrovague send us Man in all his extreme lunacy and passionate grace.  A posting encouraging us as citizens to ask ourselves the question "but at what cost" when doing anything from crafting social policy, to the every day workings ouf our everyday living.

Doctrine and Bible Study

Martin LaBar of Sun and Shield contributes What I Believe about Origins, which he says "is an attempt, for what it's worth, to set forth what I believe is true about how the universe, the earth, and living things came to be as they are."

Richard of dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos theophilos demonstrates how Jerusalem remains the center of action in Centrality of Jerusalem in Luke.

THEOdyssey  sends Orthodoxy – Part One: The Resurrection.

Amanda of Imago Dei contributes thoughts on one of my favorite topics in What is Grace?

Thinking Christian shares The Beauty of Explanation: The Human Condition. As in science, so in other fields, a simple, well-fitting solution often points toward reality. Thus it is with the Biblical explanation of the human condition.

Vons Takes contributes On Logic and Scriptural  Interpretation. We often say that something is 'Scriptural' or 'Unscriptural'.  How do we know?

The Participatory Bible Study Blog helps our Bible study along with  From Word to Study, continuing a series on word studies with some things that one CAN do without knowing Biblical languages.

The Parableman contributes Historical Inerrantists, a response to the claim that inerrancy is a relatively new doctrine in the history of the church.

Living the Life

What I Learned Teaching Sunday School send us Christians, Trials and Jesus.

Is Work Worship? On Glorifying God Through Studies and Other Efforts. Read the discussion at The Blog Of Dysfunction.

So what can a Christian learn from a Saturday night stand-up comic?  Find out in this post about laughter, gratitude, and service from John at Light Along the Journey.

The Trivium Pursuit Blog shares a word of encouragement from a Christian classic, The Desire of the Soul by Charles H. Spurgeon.

Church Hopping sends us Muscular Christianity.  A growing trend in the Church is a more manly Christianity.

Thought Renewal sends us Developing a Biblical PMA.

The Church

Shops being burned, believers being spat on, hit, beaten and arrested. We all could probably name countries where this is happening.  There is one country where this is happening that I'm not sure most people are aware of.  This post highlights that country and the trouble believers are having there. Veracity-The Way shares the story in Persecution.

What are the differences in the central fears that drive some different major theological branches of Christianity? I take that up at Brain Cramps for God in "What Do We Fear?"

Brian Russell from Real Meal Ministries has posted an essay, “Missional Leader as Sculptor of Ethos”, that sketches out a vision for Christian leadership for the 21^st century in the Western world.

Fish and Cans sends us Posts I've Appreciated This Week, "some posts I've blogspotted, plus some commentary on how churches treat their pastors.

 

Christian Carnival: Epiphany 2007

Welcome to the first Christian Carnival for the Year of Our Lord 2007! May God bless you all with a deeper love for Him and a surer faith as you grow in Christ this year.

Each week, Christian blog writers are invited to submit their best post of the week to the Christian Carnival. Enjoy this week's submissions from a variety of Christian perspectives and traditions.

Perhaps you've never celebrated Ephiphany.  Perhaps you don't even know what it is. Kim Anderson at Mother-Lode invites you to become students of the sky along with the Magi, in Trumpet Stars and Wise Men .  Explore God's signs and wonders at the birth and death of His Son using the speed and power of modern computers coupled with the witness of Biblical prophets and Roman and Jewish historians of the first century.

The blog What I Learned in Sunday School sends us Remember, a command often given to God's people.

Martin LaBar of Sun and Shield isn't impressed with Time's Person of the Year. He explains why and makes his own nomination for that title in Should I Be Person of the Year?

Jack Yoest of Reasoned Audacity sends us Eight Congregations Split from the Episcopal Church in Northern Virginia with the comment, "Causation or Correlation? Homosexuals are taking over the leadership of the Episcopal Church. And the main stream church is losing membership. Rodney Stark in The Victory of Reason reminds us that the Episcopal Church lost 55% of its membership from 1960 to 2000."

Laurie Bluedorn of Trivium Pursuit shares help for your Bible studies, General Principles for the Interpretation of Scripture.

Parental involvement in the tween years, by Dana of Principled Discovery, discusses parental involvement in a child's education.

Triggered by the death of Saddam Hussein, John of Brain Cramps for God is trying to kick up "A Higher Discussion on Capital Punishment".

Rev Bill has discovered that maybe he did not take the classes he needed in Seminary after all, as he shares this list of Classes Every Seminarian Should Take.

We all try to live a godly life, right?  But what else do we need besides godliness?  This week at Light Along the Journey John explores a familiar Bible passage in his post Gaining from Godliness.

Jeremy, the Parableman, sends us Goodness and Revelation, an argument that if God exists then we should expect the kind of revelation that Christians believe God has given in the Bible.

Continuing with apologetics, Pseudo-Polymath presents An Eastern Response to the Enlightenment?, "a look at an old argument where philosophy hits the pavement."

Participatory Bible Study Blog sends us Bible Study, Community, and Agendas, The Bible has often been used for very inappropriate things, such as to justify persecution or slavery.  How do we avoid applying the Bible in such inappropriate ways?

Annette of Fish and Cans wonders, So What Then What is the Real Order of Things? as she reads  the first two chapters of Genesis. Maybe you can help her to sort it all out!

Lo-Fi Tribe sends us Spong Joins Dawkins and Harris. Spong cites the recent militant atheist push by Dawkins and Harris as good for Christianity because it correctly address what he calls "Infantile" beliefs regarding God.

Don Bosch at The Evangelical Ecologist reviews An Inconvenient Truth and finds a surprising similarity and an important difference between Al Gore and the Apostle John.

Christian Carnival

For your reading pleasure, Wittenberg Gate presents the latest edition of the Christian Carnival, a collection of links to the week's best posts from a variety of Christian blogs. If you are a Christian who writes a blog and would like to contribute to future Christian Carnivals or host a Christian Carnival at your blog, find entry and hosting information here.

Apologetics

Jeremy Pierce at Parableman presents Muhammad in the Bible?, his response to the Muslim claim that Deuteronomy 18's prophet like Moses is Muhammad.

Mark Olson at Pseudo-Polymath presents Religion and Mythical Bugbear of Repeatability. This is the second (follow the links) in a short discussion with an an athiest over the nature of faith.

Mick at Romans 15:4 Project presents The (In)Humanity of Choice. "Choice" has become an idol of the humanist worldview. It relegates life and humanity to something to be controlled and eliminated at a whim. This is an exhortation to the Church to speak Truth against the idols of our day!

Bible Study and Theology

Codex: Resources for Biblical Studies Blogspot contributes The Strange New World of the Bible This post looks at the historical and cultural gulf between our world and the world of the Bible. Using the industrial revolution as an example, I argue that we need to do as much as we can as readers and interpreters to recognize the gulf between our world and the “strange new world within the Bible” so as to ensure we properly read and interpret and understand the biblical text.

PhilThreeten sends us And On the Eighth Day... What if creation was starting all over on the eighth day? Insights from a Protestant's reading of the Catholic Catechism that focus on creation and redemption.

Barbara at Tidbits And Treasures presents The Peace of God. The true, lasting peace comes only from God.

David Ker presents Welcome to the new Lingamish posted at Lingamish. David Ker's Lingamish Blog is now at a new home. In celebration, David is proposing a new series of posts called "Bible Puzzlers."

From the Anchor Hold sends us ....and the Lord will raise us up...... The Feast of the Dormition, alias the Assumption, is celebrated by all the ancient Christian Churches, and has been since before the Church fully emerged from Lydia's living room and Polycarp's tomb.  But
what does that seemingly small piece of early Christian history --- that Jesus' mommy died and what happened to her body --- have to do with us believers almost two millennia later, and why is it doctrine?

Fides et Veritas contributes The Fear of God. This is a post that explores what it means to fear God. It is meant to help dispel the myths about what it means to fear God.

Vons Takes sends Interpretations of Scripture and says, 'Catholics have their method of interpreting Scripture, and Protestants theirs; but there is a very popular third method nowadays, and it is blasphemous in its assumptions.'

Humor

Polly D. Boyette at Life is a Buffet presents Is it Hot in Here to You? What does being menopausal have to do with our Christian walk?

Christian Living

Patricia at A Better You blog presents The Big Picture. Patricia illustrates how God gives us strength in incredible ways to balance living happy, healthy, successful, and free.

Don Bosch over at The Evangelical Ecologist has some green thoughts on Jesus' parable of The Good Samaritan in a post titled "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Christian ecology is good samaritan sort of work. Obviously our attention is on restoring what has been abused (the land and the people and creatures living there) and bringing healing to the sick and injured by restoring the health of ecosystems and living conditions for people. With our growing knowledge of science and environmental technology and a lot of elbow grease we can redeem places that have been left for dead. Our relationship with God as stewards of his Creation is also restored. But it would be a shame if we stopped there."

Chasing the Wind shares The Meaning of Life. We only have this one life.  Don’t sit there, frozen by disaster.  Cast that bread upon the waters and reap the rewards of seeing others find the love of Christ. God calls us to plant and reap, not just sit there and observe life going by.

I have Another Long Answer at Brain Cramps for God to a question in another post about why Christians act in certain ways

What in the world is an "IMix" and what can it have to do with stillness of soul?  Find out this week at Light Along the Journey as John does one of his "Monday Media Meltdowns" on the topic Be Still My Soul.

Father David Jennings of Left of Calvary shares "Wanted: Bigger Faith or a Bigger Bumper" This post looks at the propensity Christian's have to use bumper-sticker like cliches when faced with the pain and hurt of another.

A Penitent Blogger shares a reflection on a woman of faith, Blessed is she that believed.

Wittenberg Gate contributes Advice When Facing Spiritual Abuse, a post by guest writer, the Rev. Reed DePace, who shares his scriptural insight on and personal experience with dealing with those who abuse church authority.

Family

Dana presents Preparing for the School Year posted at Principled Discovery. While preparing for the upcoming school year, I find something more I need to prepare: my own heart for God.

In On Walton's Mountain, Katie, from Sisters' Weblog, asks "Is it unrealistic to believe that the simplicity of life and love in a family could be like that which was found on Walton's mountain?"

Kim Anderson at Mother-Lode challenges us to seize the opportunities for strengthening Christian families that can be found in difficult marriages in her essay, No Victims Here.

News and Culture

Touring with Virgil sends us Good News for Christians! This post discusses a review of a new book by Philip Jenkins on the spread of Christianity in Asia and Africa, and the impact the new converts may have.

Jack Yoest presents What's Charmaine doin' with AmericaBlog's John Aravosis? posted at Jack Yoest.

Leslie Carbone at LeslieCarbone presents THANK YOU! to the heroic British intelligence personnel who thwarted the recent terrorist plot.

Reading

Semicolon guides us to literature's Best Conversions. After perusing Penguin's list of 100 Best Classics in 20 categories, she used some of their categories and made up some of her own for a series of posts. In this post she chose what she thought were the Five Best Conversion Stories in Literature.

Advice When Facing Spiritual Abuse

A pastor friend who has had to face the kind of church situation I write about in my Controlling Personalities in the Church series shares his wise advice for others who think they may be facing this too common problem.

Advice When Facing Spiritual Authority Abuse

by the Rev. Reed DePace, PCA

I found myself in an impossible position. A man in spiritual leadership, a man I looked up to for his wisdom, commitment and integrity, was asking me to defend him.

Now, I've defended people before. I recognize that in appropriate circumstances, such is the proper response for those who love the Lord and His righteousness.  At times, a shepherd is responsible to defend sheep from attacks. Yet this time ...

This time I didn't agree that this man had been attacked. In fact, I thought he was the one doing the attacking. His idea of defending him was to join him in spreading innuendo laden comments about others who confronted him. To defend my friend, I was being told I needed to participate in slanderous gossip about others.

My friend was telling me that the right thing, the godly thing for me to do was to defend him against those who would call him on his sin. He made it clear, If I didn't do this I would prove myself to be one of those unjust, evil men who were wickedly going after him.

Of course I couldn't do this. And when I went to him, to urge a friend to consider his ways, I was attacked.

The pressure I felt, the confusion, the self-doubt, the hurt and anguish. And through it all, the still, small voice of the Spirit whispering through the Bible continued calling me rest in my Redeemer.

I did. I lost my friend. I was attacked. I was drawn closer by Christ to His side. I was taught to rejoice while I wept. I was blessed.

I still love my friend. I still long for the Spirit to convict him that he might be restored. I also learned how to face such circumstances next time in greater faith and confidence.

Maybe what I learned can help you.

Religion and Politics in American Life Survey

A student project at the Political Science Department at SUNY Stony Brook involves The Religion and Politics in American Life Survey. To help with the project, follow the link and take a ten or fifteen minute survey. You can leave comments at the end of the survey form to clarify your opinions. I have provided this link as a courtesy to one of the students involved, and also agreed to not allow comments on it on the blog, so we don't influence one another's answers. Once the survey is over, I will open the post to comments.

Book Review: War of Words

War of Words: Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles by Paul David Tripp (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2000)

Christian books that deal with practical application issues are often little different than secular self-help books. Do this. Don't do that. Here's a five-step plan for success. Not so with Paul David Tripp's War of Words. This book takes a Christ-centered, gospel approach to considering the issue of communication. He deals with matters of the heart and asserts the only hope for heart change lies with God and the gospel of grace.

Tripp encourages Christians to remember that we are ambassadors of God. To every situation to which we bring our words, we are to bring them in accordance with the goal the One we represent has when He deals with people, that is redemption. That redemption is not just in the sense of judicial forgiveness for sin, but in the Spirit's day-to-day work in the life of a Christian to conform him or her more and more to the image of Christ. Rather than center our efforts on controlling others, punishing them for hurting us or making them do as we wish, Tripp encourages us to die to our own fleshly passions and consider how we can best be used redemptively by God in that person's life.

As Tripp guides the reader through how to think about our words, his advice is entirely Bible-based. It is not what Paul Tripp has found works for him, but rather what the Apostle Paul, and King Solomon, and the Apostle Peter wrote as divinely-inspired instruction.

I skimmed through this book before I read it. I encountered so many anecdotes that involved explosions of hot tempers, that I was tempted to think I didn't need this book. After all, I'm a mild-tempered member of a mild-tempered family. I was humbled as I read it, though, because it goes so much deeper than that and holds up a standard that even the most mature, self-controlled Christian does not keep. Yet, Tripp offers the hope and encouragement that comes from a right understanding of the grace and promises of God.

The writing is clear and engaging. The anecdotes are helpful in illustrating his points, helping Tripp to achieve an almost perfect balance of the theoretical and the practical.

I was going to say that every pastor and elder ought to read this book. Then I thought, well, fathers, too. And mothers. Teachers, of course. Certainly blog writers. And managers and employees. War of Words is for all of us.

Christian Carnival

After much technological ado, here is this week's Christian Carnival: delayed but not thwarted. Stephen McCaskill did most of the work; I just pasted in the links.

Update: This entry got lost in the shuffle. Read, and engage if you wish, with "To Judge or Not To Judge" at Brain Cramps for God

Michele continues looking at the context of the story of Samson and Delilah by examining the significance of the lion and the honey in Judges 14.

Northern ‘burbs blog offers a continuation on their series on their faith and politics, touching on environmental issues and their proper place being behind our love of God and our love of people - yet still important as we are stewards of creation.

Mark Olson wonders are Christian religious belief and science at odds? I happen to think not and take to task some other bloggers who disagree.

Welcome to the Fallout weighs in on the birth control debate.

A Penitent Blogger offers a reflection on the Incarnation, the Ascension, and the Holy Spirit.

Jeremy Pierce defends the consistency of complementarianism against an objection from Rebecca Merrill Groothuis.

Attention Span explores the temptation to be Two Places at One Time

NerdMom presents Nerd Family: What is Pat Robertson Thinking? posted at Nerd Family.

Matthew Smith presents sensible? i don’t think so posted at love without an agenda.

Surly Dave presents Church in Transition posted at Surly’s Soap Box.

Jack Yoest presents What Can You Get at Liberty University and Not At Harvard? posted at Jack Yoest.

Ryan Jones presents Will America lose her crown? posted at Jerusalem Watchman.

Fides et Veritas has a post about Memorial Day and the men and women who have served our country with valor and strength.

A Memorial Day post on behalf of some brothers in Christ serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, with a first-hand account of life there. Hope you will all be praying for these guys and their families.

Blogging the Bible is a story of a Jewish man who is blogging his journey through the Bible as he reads much of it for the very first time.

Thinking Christian wonders about the claim by philosphic community that the problem of evil has finally been solved.

Don Bosch at The Evangelical Ecologist highlights a survey released this week by Field and Stream. The poll indicates a large majority of hunters, fishermen, and other outdoorsmen who characterize themselves as evangelical conservatives think global warming is happening and that people are causing it. Links to poll questions and raw data too.

CrossBloggin.com wonders if there is hope after that all the Government Schools have not completely destroyed another generation. These students stood up for their rights and won handily.

An embedded clue leads to unraveling the Clergy Conspiracy in a Da Vinci Code inspired post by Mike at Faith At Work

In “On Icons” Kenny Pearce discusses the pros and cons of the use of images in Christian worship, arguing that, while the danger of idolatry is very serious, there are good reasons for the Church to engage the visual sense in its worship.

Disciple’s Journal has the last of four “checkups” on their impressions of the Emerging Church in the six months I’ve been blogging,

Wendy Boswell at Christian Music Fan presents Christian Artists that Support World Vision - Get Free Concert Tickets

Hammertime at Team Hammer’s Musings presents Bible Translations: Translation Philosophy

My Bubble Life presents You Have a Right to Be Angry, You Have the Choice to Control It

Sun and Shield’s post for the week is “Isn’t God a great artist? part 2.” In it, they muse about the beauty the God has made available to us.

Thoughts on a Gyrovague wonders what are the issues of today that makes a person truly a conservative?

This week at Light Along the Journey, John reflects on what it means to us to accept Christ’s offer of Living Water.

Beyond the Gate

Christian Carnival

This week's Christian Carnival was scheduled to be hosted by Stephen McCaskill at ChristWeb. He reports, however, that about 20 minutes after posting it, his site crashed. The database is wiped out and ChristWeb is no more. However, Stephen launched his new blog, Musings on Music, and posted the Christian Carnival there. So go on over there to read the Christian Carnival and see Stephen's new site.

UPDATE: The Christian Carnival was posted here at Wittenberg Gate due to continuing technological difficulties. (Stephen still did most of the work.)

Do Creeds Promote Unity or Division?

In a previous post, Emerging Enigma, I reacted to the statement by Emergent-US against the use of creeds. Carl Holmes, who writes the blog Thoughts of a Gyrovague, left a comment in which he asked some good questions. I felt my response was too much for the comment section, and so I'm making a separate post of them here. Thanks, Carl, for joining in the discussion.

Carl said:

I think that one reason we wish to pass on making a specific statement is that in the growth of the church creeds have been used to divide, not grow, the church.

I have heard similar claims in the past from people opposed to using creeds, and the Emergent-US statement hints at this as well. I have never seen the statement supported with examples, however, so it is not clear to me what kind of division is being condemned. Are we talking about dividing heretics from the church? If so, that's a good thing, isn't it? Especially when one looks at a basic, broad statement of faith such as the Apostles Creed or the Nicene Creed, I see no other possible division. Are we talking about keeping error and corruption from the church? If so, that's an important responsibility of the church's leadership, isn't it?

The basis of unity is agreement. People are united around an idea, a desired course of action, an understanding of truth.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11 - 16)

This passage from Ephesians links Christian unity with sound doctrine. It also clearly lays upon the leadership of the church the responsibility to teach the saints to equip them for good works by protecting them from "every wind of doctrine". The necessary prerequisite for Christian work is said to be "unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God."

Unity of doctrine, then, promotes unity of action. Unity of action is not accomplished by ignoring our differences and just deciding we should all get along. That sort of unity is a false one, in which every person sees the mission differently, and as they act on their own ideas, the body moves forward more like an amoeba than an army.

The statement of faith my denomination uses, the Westminster Confession of Faith, was crafted in an attempt to unify the various reformational churches of Britain. The result was a statement on which Presbyterians, Puritans, and Separatists could all agree. It avoided speaking to those doctrines upon which they did not agree. What was so divisive about that? English Baptists could not agree with the doctrine on infant baptism, but adopted an almost identical confession except for the chapter on baptism. Was this divisive? While it points out a difference of conscience in regards to baptism, it also set out many more similarities and allowed the Presbyterian and Baptist Christians to work together where they agreed. Even today, you will find many Presbyterian fans of the Baptist preacher C.H.Spurgeon, even though we differ with him on baptism.

Three confessions which came out of European Reformed churches are known as the "Three Forms of Unity." They delineated a consistent system of doctrine among the Dutch, Belgic, and German Reformed Churches. Again, this was unifying because they all knew where they stood with one another.

Did these creeds also divide? The Canons of Dordrecht, one of the Three Forms of Unity, for example, was written to refute a system of doctrine espoused by the followers of Jacob Arminius, today known as Arminianism. Arminianism, of course, is still a dividing issue in the church today. I would submit, however, that it was not the creeds and position papers on either side of the controversy that divided the church. The creeds merely reflected a division that already existed. What divided the church were human limitations in understanding and interpreting the Word of God, limitations that resulted in different people reading the same Word and coming away with different understandings of what it said.

I see creeds and confessions not as promoting division, but as promoting openness and honesty. Whether I am choosing a church for my family, deciding whether or not to volunteer for a para-church ministry, or deciding in which school to enroll my child, creeds, confessions, and statements of faith help me to make those decisions. They help me to work together with Christians with whom I don't agree on everything, because I know where we do agree. Would I enroll my child in a school that disagreed with my convictions on Arminian vs. Reformed theology? Probably not. Would I volunteer at a Crisis Pregnancy Center with people with the same differences? Yes, I would.

How can a group expect other Christians to work alongside them or join their movement if they won't tell us what they believe? How can we even know if they are genuinely Christian unless they will state at least their basic understanding of the Gospel? How can we be sure that they are free of serious errors that could harm the flock or our children? Carl said,

"YES use the gospel to decide who is going to be in the church and who is not. WHY add more to it. Plain and simple the bible is the lectio divina and if we believe it GREAT, if we do not, you are not the church."

Fine, but are you willing to state what the Gospel is and state that only those who believe it are in the Church? So far, I see no willingness to do even that. Many people say they believe the "Gospel." Mormons say they believe it, but clearly their understanding of it is different than mine. Of course, if such a statement was made, it would be a creed. It would be a simple creed, but a creed nonetheless.

Refusing to make a statement of belief only raises suspicions. It allows detractors to characterize your beliefs rather than stating it yourself. It promotes confusion. It causes people to take the statements of one person identifying himself with your group and applying it to all, because they have no other information to go on. If your group is unified on the Gospel alone and allows all variations of doctrine as long as the Gospel, as you define it, is agreed upon, then simply say so. That way when folks interact with your movement, its people and its literature, they know what they are getting.

Emerging Enigma

I smile when I hear folks say they believe the church should have, "no creed except the Bible," since that statement is in itself a creed. Of course as a Christian of the Reformed tradition, I like to have the essentials all spelled out. That way we know 1) What the essential doctrines are that will not be compromised by my church's leadership, and 2) What non-essentials are matters of Christian liberty and individual conscience: limited church government, in a sense.

Emergent US has now issued a statement that according to their faith, they have decided they don't need a statement of faith. I read the explanation by the "leading theologian," LeRon Shults, (There are a lot of leading theologians I have bever heard of, this one included.), on why this should be so. David Wayne at JollyBlogger and Dr. Andrew Jackson at SmartChristian.com are both scratching their heads about it, and frankly, so am I. Here's a snippet from Shults:

The writers of the New Testament were not obsessed with finding a final set of propositions the assent to which marks off true believers. Paul, Luke and John all talked much more about the mission to which we should commit ourselves than they did about the propositions to which we should assent.  

I am dumbfounded. For a moment, let's accept Shults' characterization of the writings of Paul, Luke and John for the sake of argument. (I'll address that below.) Isn't saying we should be committing ourselves to a mission a credal statement?  What mission is it? Can we commit to a mission we are unwilling to define? What form does this commitment take? The answers to all of these questions are statements of what we believe is true. They are statements of faith.

I was also surprised to see Paul first on this list of non-propositional, mission-minded writers. I think of Paul as the "King of the Therefore." Paul's writings are chapter after chapter of propositional statements and reasoning followed by a "therefore" after which he applies those propositions to ideas and actions. In other words, the propositional statements of Paul are the foundation upon which unity of thought and action (mission, as Shults puts it), within the church are based. I would like to see Shults' support for the assertion that Paul, of all people, did not write as much on propositional doctrinal statements  as he did statements about "commitment to a mission," whatever that means. As to John, the overriding theme of John's Gospel, in my opinion, is to answer the basic credal question of who Jesus is. Luke's Gospel and the Acts are narrative works, which are of course focused on actions and events, but not in the way Shults characterizes them.

Languages are culturally constructed symbol systems that enable humans to communicate by designating one finite reality in distinction from another. The truly infinite God of Christian faith is beyond all our linguistic grasping, as all the great theologians from Irenaeus to Calvin have insisted, and so the struggle to capture God in our finite propositional structures is nothing short of linguistic idolatry.

It is God who chose language to reveal Himself to us, is it not? The Son of God is called, "The Word," is He not? I agree that God is beyond our "linguistic grasping." He is beyond any sort of grasping we can do, and no one making statements of faith claims to have "captured" the infinite nature of God in them. But that does not mean we cannot grasp some part of the truth He has communicated. Why else would He bother to reveal it? Nor does this support the assertion that we are not to use language to propositionally communicate the truth He has revealed to us.

Does Shults suggest that Irenaeus and Calvin would not/did not make propositional statements about what is to be believed and what is not to be believed about God, the Church or the Faith? (My evidence to the contrary can be found by following the links on their names.) Obviously, whatever it is Irenaeus and Calvin believed about the limitations of language, it did not prevent them from using it extensively to define the doctrines of the true Faith and to define heresy. The beliefs of those men cannot logically be used to support a position that was entirely opposite to what they practiced, or to support Shults' charge that those practices are "linguistic idolatry."

This is not a complete analysis of Shults' arguments, just a few thoughts that struck me as I read his statement. I've love to see more discussion on this from all sides or to see a formal debate. Before you go after me on this, though, let me state a few things I believe about statements of belief (word play intended), so I am not misunderstood. I believe:

1. Statements of faith are always in subordination to the Scriptures and should not reflect any doctrine that is unbiblical or extra-biblical. They should not bind the consciences of men where the Scriptures do not.
2. Statements of faith that define those doctrines that are essential to true Christian faith are appropriate to be used to define the fellowship of believers, that is, who may or may not join the church, or who we may or may not consider a brother or sister in Christ. I am talking about very basic statements of the Gospel and the nature of God here, such as those based on 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 or John 14:6. The Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed would be examples.
3. Statements of faith beyond those essential doctrines are appropriate to be used in the administration of the church.They are useful for defining what will or will not be taught by the church's leaders. It is appropriate to use them to define the authority and limitations of church government and discipline.The Westminster Confession of Faith, the Augsburg Confession, and the London Baptist Confession are examples.
4. Statements of Faith can be abused to manipulate and control believers and can be used for unnecessary and counterproductive divisiveness. The same thing can be said of the Scriptures themselves. There are many things in life that are not evil in themselves, but can be used unwisely or with bad intent to evil ends. This, however does not mean they cannot or should not be used. It means they should be used with wisdom, love, humility and grace.

UPDATE: I answered comments on this post in another post: Do Creeds Promote Unity or Division?

Beyond the Gate

"The Man"
My little congregation is in the process of looking for a pastor right now, so I really appreciated Brad Hightower's thoughts on The Problem of Looking for "The Man", over at 21st Century Reformation. This post made me reconsider how biblical my ideas were on what sort of man we should be looking for, and what kinds of expectations I should have for a pastor.

Minuteman Blog
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps has a National Blog. Visit for the latest immigration and border security news, as well as reports from the field. I found the site because LaShawn Barber mentioned it on her blog.

BibleGateway.com
BibleGateway.com has added some Bible reading plans to the site. If you have not discovered this site yet, by the way, head on over there and poke around. You can search the Bible (many, many versions), for key words, by passage, or by topic. The search engine is excellent and flexible. You can narrow your search to selected books, for example. You can read the Scriptures on site. You can listen to them. You can subscribe (RSS) to a daily Bible passage. Good stuff, and it's all free.

He Used to Dance

My piano playing has a spotty history. The only thing consistent about it is my lack of accomplishment. I originally learned to play the organ, and played fairly well, but haven't had one of my own since I left my parents' house. We bought a second-hand piano a few years after we were married, and I set out to recover from several years without playing and to transition from organ to piano--something I have never actually accomplished. In time that old piano needed so much work that it was almost unplayable, and I gradually stopped playing.

Recently a friend got hold of some pianos that a school system was selling off and sold us one. It cost us more money to get the thing tuned and lubricated than the piano cost us. So I am back playing again. I pulled out the old book of sonatinas, and started working on them.

Yesterday I was playing one of those sonatinas, a rather jolly sounding thing, when I heard someone behind me coming down the stairs. In my peripheral vision I caught a glimpse of a man-sized figure and assumed it was my husband. It wasn't. It was my son. When I realized that, I was struck by a sudden memory.

He used to dance.

Was it so long ago? It seems only yesterday that I used to play that sonatina and my tow-headed toddler would gleefully bob and spin to its tune. Now he is a fifteen year-old, standing nearby, seemingly oblivious to the music, focused on putting his cell phone on the charger.

I stopped playing. "Do you remember when you used to dance to this?"

"Yeah."

"You do? You remember that?"

"Uh huh."

I felt a little better.

Christian Carnival Email List

The email list for The Christian Carnival has not been functioning, and I have had no success contacting the server. I have therefore started a Google Group list for the Christian Carnival. I have no access to the old membership list, so Christian Bloggers who want to be on the new list will need to visit the Christian Carnival Group site to join. For a short while, I will allow anyone to join without moderation. After the expected initial membership rush, I will begin moderating membership to discourage spammers. During this open membership period, all posts will be moderated for the same reason. As with the previous list, posts to this group should be for weekly entry reminders and posting announcements only.

Please spread the word of the new list on your blogs. I have no access to the old membership list, so we will be depending on word of mouth to get the information out.

Beyond the Gate

Christian Carnival CXIX is up at Brain Cramps for God. Be sure to stop over there and read some of this week's best Christian writing in the blogosphere.

Intectuelle has and interesting series going on the topic of women in the church. There's lots of good discussion going on.

JollyBlogger makes a real good point about The DaVinci Code. If you'd like to hear a great lecture on this topic by George Grant, follow this link. You can read James R. White's writing on DVC here.

Christian Carnival

Christian Carnival CXVIII, the Love Boat Edition, is up at Attention Span. Thanks, Ed, for hosting!

If you are interested in entering the Christian Carnival, you can find the instructions here. Writers must be Christian to qualify, though the topic of the post need not be religious.

Resurrection Day Roundup

I spent part of this afternoon visiting Christian blogs to read the messages they wrote for this holiest of holy days. There were so many wonderful things to read! I have linked below to some that I appreciated most.

The always eloquent JD Wetterling has written a must-read: O Holy Day!

LaShawn Barber re-posts a piece that deserves to be read again, "He Is Not Here; He Has Risen!"

Light Along the Journey has a short, simple piece, "I have seen the Lord."

Random Responses posts an insightful Spurgeon quote for Easter Sunday.

JollyBlogger reflects on the significance of the resurrection in An Easter Meditation.

Mark 10:17-27

Mark 10:17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" 20 And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" 27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God."  (ESV)

The pastor preached on these verses at my church this morning. This has always been one of my favorite passages. The events are described in three of the Gospels, the other two beginning at Luke 18:18 and Matthew 19:16. The version in Mark has always been my favorite, though, because of the information given in verse 21 that is not in the others. We are told "Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said..." Jesus loved this man. Though he walked away downcast and shaken from this encounter with the Lord, I am confident that Jesus' love would draw him in and call him to faith.

The man had come to Jesus to find out what he must do to earn eternal life. Interesting, isn't it, that he already knew to Whom he must go? Jesus zeroes in on that kernel of faith, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone." Jesus doesn't wait for an answer. He merely plants the seed. Another unasked question hangs in the air. "Why do you ask me? No one gives eternal life except God alone." The question is implied, though, as He begins His answer, "You know the commandments..." (The commandments God gave, yet you now want me to add something to them? No one adds to the Word of God except God alone.)

The man did know the commandments. At least he knew what they said. He was certain he had followed them, and yet something must have been gnawing at him. There must be more, and this Jesus must know what it is. What Jesus did was bring this man to the point where he realized that the Law of God was too high a thing, too perfect a thing for him to keep. Had Jesus been talking to you or me, He would have chosen a different thing to say to reach our hearts. What are those things we cling to, and no matter how hard we try, cannot lay down for the Lord? Is it a besetting sin? A possession? An idea? For this man, it was his wealth. And when he learned he must give up his wealth to follow Jesus, he was broken. This was a law he could not keep. At least not now. He had broken the first of the Ten Commandments, "You shall have no other gods before Me." And now he knew it.

After the man, whom Luke tells us is a rich young ruler, walks away, Jesus' disciples were astonished. They probably knew of this man, or at least his reputation. If he wasn't good enough to earn heaven, who was? Jesus answers, "With man it is impossible, but not with God." Who is good enough to gain eternal life for themselves? No one. But God can do it for him.

Yet Peter still doesn't quite get the point. He thinks he has met the requirement the rich man could not meet. "See, we have left everything and followed you." So Jesus addresses Peter with something different. It is something that will soon rear its ugly head among the disciples. The disciples will argue for position among themselves. Their pride will cause them to desire to be first among the disciples, first in the Kingdom. Jesus says, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

Resurrection Day

This is a repost from last year.

When I was growing up, Easter was my favorite holiday. The highlight of the day was the Sunrise Service. There in the church's garden, we sang hymns to the soft strumming of guitars in true 1960's style, as the sun rose, as if on cue, at just the right moment.

There in the dewy garden my imagination took me back to that garden where so long ago mourning women with tear-swollen eyes shuffled with baskets filled with spices to do the grim task the Sabbath's coming had prevented two evenings before. The coming of the Sabbath on Friday night had necessitated a hasty burial, without proper preparation of the body. Now as they approached the tomb they must have wondered how much more unpleasant this task was going to be after the thirty-six hour delay.

Then came the discovery of the empty tomb and the joyful chaos that followed. Dropped baskets. Running to get the men. Suddenly the Scriptures they had always known began to make sense. Of course! Why didn't we see? How could we have believed this was the end?

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices,
My flesh also will rest in hope.
For you will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption.
Psalm 16:9, 10

Yet when we had seen Him there, dying an agonizing death, we had our doubts. Why did God allow this? Insults were shouted but He did not answer. God did not defend Him. God must be smiting Him. Was all He had said to us a lie?

...Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:4

The tomb is empty! Now we see. (Why didn't we then?) Of course He had to die! The prophets had told us. He had to die so we could be healed! He is the sacrifice that all the blood of bulls and goats for centuries were only a dim, ineffectual shadow.

"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me?" says the LORD.
"I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or goats."

The sacrifices were a powerless symbol. A tutor made to teach us. He was the real thing. It all makes sense now. Our sin was not upon the scapegoat, it was upon the Son of God. He, not the goats, bulls, or lambs, had to die to satisfy the just wrath of God.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement of our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

He was the Redeemer promised to Adam and Eve.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.
Genesis 3:15

The Redeemer Job expected to see.

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God...
Job 19:25, 26

All the shame of these last few days are forgiven. The denials. The hiding. The cowardice. Our weakness and iniquity were manifest. Yet He has conquered death for us. Not because we were faithful, but because He was faithful.

I will ransom them from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
O Death, I will be your plagues!
O Grave, I will be your destruction!
Pity is hidden from My eyes.
Hosea 13:14

I stood in the church garden, remembering that garden, and as the sun rose, I remembered that the Son rose, too. As I bathed in the morning Sonlight, I was overcome with a sense of forgiveness. And gratitude. And peace.

Now, all these years later, Resurrection Day is still my favorite holiday. Just as I did then, I bathe in His forgiveness and His love, because my Friend has first loved me.

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends.
John 15:13
========================================

Read The Last Words of Judas Iscariot by our friend J. D. Wetterling.

See also, Are You Bad Enough to be a Christian?

This is a repost from last year.

When I was growing up, Easter was my favorite holiday. The highlight of the day was the Sunrise Service. There in the church's garden, we sang hymns to the soft strumming of guitars in true 1960's style, as the sun rose, as if on cue, at just the right moment.

There in the dewy garden my imagination took me back to that garden where so long ago mourning women with tear-swollen eyes shuffled with baskets filled with spices to do the grim task the Sabbath's coming had prevented two evenings before. The coming of the Sabbath on Friday night had necessitated a hasty burial, without proper preparation of the body. Now as they approached the tomb they must have wondered how much more unpleasant this task was going to be after the thirty-six hour delay.

Then came the discovery of the empty tomb and the joyful chaos that followed. Dropped baskets. Running to get the men. Suddenly the Scriptures they had always known began to make sense. Of course! Why didn't we see? How could we have believed this was the end?

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices,
My flesh also will rest in hope.
For you will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption.
Psalm 16:9, 10

Yet when we had seen Him there, dying an agonizing death, we had our doubts. Why did God allow this? Insults were shouted but He did not answer. God did not defend Him. God must be smiting Him. Was all He had said to us a lie?

...Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:4

The tomb is empty! Now we see. (Why didn't we then?) Of course He had to die! The prophets had told us. He had to die so we could be healed! He is the sacrifice that all the blood of bulls and goats for centuries were only a dim, ineffectual shadow.

"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me?" says the LORD.
"I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or goats."

The sacrifices were a powerless symbol. A tutor made to teach us. He was the real thing. It all makes sense now. Our sin was not upon the scapegoat, it was upon the Son of God. He, not the goats, bulls, or lambs, had to die to satisfy the just wrath of God.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement of our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

He was the Redeemer promised to Adam and Eve.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.
Genesis 3:15

The Redeemer Job expected to see.

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God...
Job 19:25, 26

All the shame of these last few days are forgiven. The denials. The hiding. The cowardice. Our weakness and iniquity were manifest. Yet He has conquered death for us. Not because we were faithful, but because He was faithful.

I will ransom them from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
O Death, I will be your plagues!
O Grave, I will be your destruction!
Pity is hidden from My eyes.
Hosea 13:14

I stood in the church garden, remembering that garden, and as the sun rose, I remembered that the Son rose, too. As I bathed in the morning Sonlight, I was overcome with a sense of forgiveness. And gratitude. And peace.

Now, all these years later, Resurrection Day is still my favorite holiday. Just as I did then, I bathe in His forgiveness and His love, because my Friend has first loved me.

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends.
John 15:13
========================================

Read The Last Words of Judas Iscariot by our friend J. D. Wetterling.

See also, Are You Bad Enough to be a Christian?

Christina and Her Brother (A Good Friday Gospel Presentation for Children)

Christina had been a very bad little girl. She sat on her bed and hugged her pillow. She was in big trouble and she knew it. What she had done was so bad that I will not mention it. Just think of the worst thing you have ever done, then double it, and you will have some idea.

Christina had been planning on having a great weekend. Do you know how it is when you have your mother or father all to yourself and you can just talk--about anything--for a really long time? Christina was looking forward to a time like that. Her mother was going to visit her sister, Christina's Aunt Lizzie, in another town. Aunt Lizzie had a daughter, Molly, who was Christina's age. Christina loved playing with her cousin Mollie. On the long car ride to Aunt Lizzie's house, Christina and her mother would talk and talk.

Mother would be angry with Christina now, though, and that car ride would not be very nice at all. Maybe her mother wouldn't even let her go. She would surely be punished. Christina didn't even want to look at her mother, because she knew what she had done would hurt her. She just wanted to hide. She was so ashamed of herself. She hugged her pillow tighter and began to cry.

"What's wrong, Chris?" Christina's brother walked into the room. "Are you sick?"

Christina told her brother all about what she had done. She told him how she had been looking forward to the weekend with Mom, but now she would surely be punished. Maybe she wouldn't be able to go at all.

"I'll tell you what," said her brother. "I will take your punishment for you. Then Mom will be angry at me and I will take the punishment, and you can stop feeling guilty and enjoy Mom's company, and go on your trip."

"What are you saying? How could that work?" asked Christina.

"I will work it out with Mom. She will agree, and you will be free."

"Why would you do that?" Christina asked.

"Because I love you, and I want you to enjoy your time with Mom." Her brother patted her on the head.

"How can I pay you back? she asked.

"You don't have anything I'd want," he laughed. "Just call it grace. Just love me back." Her brother left the room and went to find their mother.

Christina did love her brother, but this was too good to be true. How could one person take punishment for another person?

Christina and her mother did go on the trip that weekend. When Christina saw her mother, she said how sorry she was for what she had done. Mother was cheerful. "That's already taken care of," she said. "I am glad you're sorry, but we needn't worry about that any more." She smiled. "Where do you think we should stop for lunch?"

Christina soon felt easy again. She and her mother talked and talked about just about everything.

Don't you think Christina had a wonderful brother? He always wanted the best for Christina, and he wanted her to have a good relationship with her mother, too. He was willing to do whatever had to be done to make things right for Christina.

This story about Christina is a picture of what Jesus does for His people. Jesus is God the Son and He wants us to have a good relationship with God the Father, but our sin gets in the way. If I asked everyone who had never done anything wrong to raise their hands, the only people who would raise their hands would be liars, because everyone has done wrong! Of course, God is perfectly good, and He cannot just excuse our sin. He has to punish us for it. Jesus loves His people so much, that He was willing to do whatever had to be done to save us from our punishment and set us free to enjoy God.

Today we celebrate a holiday we call Good Friday. On that day we remember the Friday when Jesus died. You might wonder why we would call the Friday Jesus died good. What could be so good about that? When Jesus died, He was taking punishment for other people. He was whipped and beaten and accused of many bad things. Then He was nailed to a cross as punishment, and there He died. What is so good about that is that now His people are free! We don't have to be ashamed any more. We don't have to hide from God. We can enjoy Him forever.

Of course we have trouble believing that. We think that we have to do something to deserve such a gift, but we cannot pay Jesus back. We can only love Him.

This story has even a better ending, because two days after Jesus died, He came alive again! He rose up, came out of His tomb, and visited many people He had known. This is what we remember when we celebrate Easter.  We remember how Jesus came alive again after He was dead. Then, one day, Jesus rose up and went to heaven. That is where He is now. He is with God the Father and He prays for us. He also sends the Holy Spirit of God to be with us and to help us. The Holy Spirit helps us to love God and to do a better job of obeying Him. You might say He gives us a new heart. We can never learn all there is to know about God, but He did give us a book, the Bible, that tells us many things. The Holy Spirit that Jesus sends can help us to understand the Bible, too.

When God looks at us now, He does not see our sin. That is already taken care of, because Jesus took the punishment for us. He sees us as good. We can pray to God and talk about anything. We can tell Him when we are sorry. We can tell Him when we are happy or sad, and we can ask Him for the things we need. We can ask Him to help us to be good.

One day Jesus will come back again. Then there will be a new heaven and a new earth and God and His people will all live together in peace. Then we will be able to live without ever doing anything wrong. Won't that be wonderful?

So what can we do to pay Jesus back for doing all these things? We cannot pay Him back. We can only love Him.