I think this is an important doctrine to recover.
John Calvin didn’t like the concept of hotels. And I think he is on to something.
Why Doesn’t Mark Say Anything About the Virgin Birth?
Great treatment of this question.
Why Twitter’s Dying (And What You Can Learn From It)
I agree. This also is a great illustration of the depravity of humanity.
If listen to Metallica on a Ukulele was on your bucket list…scratch it off:
We’re undertaking a new project. Every thursday we’re going to talk Theology. Why? Theology is the study of God. It is not the domain of dry academics and frustrated old men who argue jots and tittles. It is also not the elastic silly putty playground of liberal theologians who remake truth on the fly. Theology, as the study of God, should be the business of all people. He exists, he made us, therefor we should seek to know him. I just made a couple of theological assertions that we will discuss as the series goes on as well as many others
The caricatures above are fresh in many minds however given that theology often divides. Why does it divide? From our study of God we ascertain certain truths. Our study is not divorced from the Bible, it is tethered to it. What can we know of God, fully, without studying his word to us? From his word we learn who he is and how we relate to him. From the knowledge of God and our relation to him, primarily from his word, we assert what we understand. There are significant enough differences in some things that separate us into separate denominations. This doesn’t mean only one denomination has it right, but that the fall has affected every aspect of creation to include our minds. One of the bigger dividers based on our theological differences is the ordinance of baptism. There are those who baptize infants, and those who only baptize those who profess belief in Jesus Christ.
Theology divides because we hold truth to be important. It is important enough to divide over. Yet, insofar as we are able, we strive for unity with those who share the same confession of God. There are things that we divide over and cannot have unity with others. For instance, I believe in the orthodox view of God as trinitarian. However, oneness Pentecostals do not affirm the trinity. I can have no unity with them as they deny the very foundation of my faith; God as he has revealed himself.
Which leads us to what we explore first; God. If we are studying God and all the implications of him, we must start with him. Who is he? What is he? Does he laugh or cry? Does he change his mind? Is he spirit? Do we look like him? That leads me to a question that we will explore next week.
Are you made in God’s image, or is He made in yours?
Does your idea of God come from what you read and learn about him in the Bible, or is it more informed by what you think is right and have decided is true? Is your idea of God contradictory to what he has expressed about himself?
Think. Read your Bible. Study. Pray. Come back next week and we’ll walk this road together.
Notecard Answers For Why I Believe the Bible
I appreciate the simplicity of this post.
How All 50 States Got Their Names
How did your state get its name?
If I deny Christ, Can I Still Go to Heaven?
I was asked this question the other day, and I answered it somewhat similarly.
Did Jesus Have a Gospel-Centered Ministry?
I’m not sure if this quite accurately represents what proponents of gospel-centered ministry are saying, but at the same time I think Rick Phillips has some good stuff to say here.
This is what it would look like if moms talked to each other the way they talked to their kids:
I’m no where near the writer I want to be. I still make silly mistakes and I’m confident that I break about every rule C.S. Lewis has given for better writing. That last sentence likely broke a few of them. But there is one area where I believe I’ve improved. I don’t think I’m a pufferfish writer too much anymore.
The pufferfish, as you likely know, is a fish which blows itself up to make itself look much bigger than reality. It’s a handy little defense mechanism and one writers, like myself, are at times tempted to employ. When we get in over our heads we can start using big words or abstract concepts to try to make ourselves sound smarter. Likewise we can add a ton of fluff to a tiny article in order to meet a word count.
I’m learning more and more that I need to just write where I am. No sense in trying to write over my own head. If its not something I wouldn’t say in normal conversation then I don’t have much business writing that way either. Unless of course I’m writing a seminary paper and then I have to channel my inner pufferfish. Because everyone knows the best way to train pastors is to fill them with hot air and teach them to ramble on and on with jargon words.
In this day and age, with ever streaming social media, pufferfish pastor and pufferfish writers won’t be too terribly appealing. Just say it, man. Be who you are. Don’t try to be someone you aren’t or sound like someone you ain’t.