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Miniblog #83: Just War vs. Pacifism in Childhood

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Doesn’t it always seem that discussions of christian ethics are premised upon these epic, relatively cut and dry examples? For example, when talking about the use of force in conflict we almost instinctively resort to WWII. It has long been my opinion that this represents the human tendency to take the easy way out. Rather than building our views on these extreme and pretty much simple circumstances, shouldn’t our theories reflect the messy, complicated reality in which we all live? In my life I’ve probably heard more than a hundred conversations/debates about whether one should/would be part of an assassination plot against Hitler. OK, but who among us will ever actually decide whether or not to kill one of the most evil men in history? Doesn’t it seem like we spend an inordinate amount of time building our ethics upon these obscure hypothetical dilemmas that none of us will ever face, then reasoning backward? Wouldn’t it make more sense for our principles to derive from real ethical situations we face and apply those to the extreme circumstances rather than vice versa? I’m heavily critical of the whole KISS approach (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Let’s deal with this beautiful yet corrupted world in its most messy, convoluted expressions. In my opinion, to really understand sin’s insidious nature and deal with how we should respond, we should examine it in its most primitive, immature expressions. I specifically have in mind childhood conflict. (Isn’t this the reason Lord of the Flies is so powerful?) A college friend of mine recently put up a facebook status about how his kindergarten daughter defended herself by slugging a bully right in the eye on the playground. As a loving father, his gut response was to be delighted that she stood up for himself. “That’s my girl!” But he later got to thinking about whether or not it’s right to encourage that. He didn’t say it publicly, but I suspect he got to thinking about the incongruity of his response with this professed theological beliefs. Thus are the sorts of seemingly mundane but infinitely important situations I think we should be spending our time wrestling with.

Miniblog #82: Three Thoughts on Roger Olson’s ‘Against Calvinism’

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Three thoughts about Roger Olson’s forthcoming book, Against Calvinism:

1. The defensive/hostile posture is off-putting. Yes, I realize that the book is a companion to Michael Horton’s For Calvinism. Yes, I realize authors often don’t have as much creative control as they’d like, especially over titles. Yes, I realize publishers, in this case Zondervan, like controversial titles that are easy to market. Nevertheless, that doesn’t change the fact that the title and cover cast the work in such a way that little helpful discussion can take place. It’ll simply further calcify unhelpful bifurcations. To quote Scar 3D, “Ohhhh, goodie.”

Miniblog #81: Petrified By God

It bothers me that I’ve pretty much sounded like a perpetual downer over the past year, but, honestly, I’m barely treading water.

Miniblog #80: The Problem with “Building Community” in Most Churches

Have you ever checked out larknews.com? It’s a website that satirizes the peculiar American evangelical culture, like The Onion but for Christianity. As with all good satire, what makes it hilarious is that all-important thread of truth that everyone thinks but no one says. One of my all-time favorite Larknews articles is “Small group members decide to stop feigning interest in each other.” Ever find yourself daydreaming at a small group, considering how much money you’d be willing to pay to never see this person again? Ever notice how awkward designated “fellowship” is at most churches? Here’s what I think the problem is:

9/11

I’ve thought a great deal about what to write on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Nothing seemed adequate and/or appropriate, so I’m simply sharing six verses that were the furthest thing from my mind that tragic day and those immediately after.

Miniblog #79: Responding to Saucy’s “Canon as Tradition” on The Gospel Coalition

*This is a brief response to Dr. Mark Saucy’s essay, “Canon as Tradition: The New Covenant and the Hermeneutical Question,” which is presently featured on The Gospel Coalition.

First and foremost I would say that Dr. Saucy has offered a well-thought, well-articulated criticism with a corresponding helpful proposal. It seems to me that this article is deserving of heavy readership. That having been said, I would also note that I find the effort to extract the joint doctrines and worship practices of the patristic era from the ecclesiastical structures of the day to be scholastically irresponsible.

Stream of Consciousness Response: Kevin DeYoung’s “Those Tricksy Biblicists,” Part 2

This is a stream of consciousness response to Kevin DeYoung’s “Those Tricksy Biblicists.” Here’s Part 1. As per usual, please keep in mind I’m not Reformed and am a big fan of satire yet mean everything in a cordial and respectful way. Please read the following in that light.

Stream of Consciousness Response: Kevin DeYoung’s “Those Tricksy Biblicists,” Part I

A friend asked what I thought of Kevin DeYoung’s “Those Tricky Biblicists.” It seemed like this would make for a good second post in what will be an ongoing series of stream of consciousness response posts, so here we are. As per usual, please keep in mind I’m not Reformed and am a big fan of satire, yet mean everything in a cordial and respectful way. Please read the following in that light. Also, because the original post was already lengthy my interaction with it was ridiculously long, so I decided to divide it up into a few parts.

Those Silly Credobaptists & Paedobaptists: They’re Spitting Images of One Another!

Preface: Echoing the sentiments of Richard Mouw, too often (especially in theology) we proceed with a hermeneutic of self-assuredness and criticism of those for whom we disagree rather than a hermeneutic of self-criticism and grace for others. My aim in this post is to be charitable. Instead of focusing upon the dissimilarity as is usually the case, I’ve shifted the attention to the similarity.

Credobaptists and paedobaptists. The former hold to believer’s baptism. The latter affirm infant baptism. In nearly 500 years of Protestant history these two camps have engaged in gladiatorial-like combat over the doctrine/practice of baptism and its relation to the New Covenant. Have you ever stepped back and looked at just how similar their perspectives actually are, though? It’s like when a Minnesotan argues with a Wisconsan about whose state is better, and the California in the room  jests, “Western side of the Midwest. Cold. Lots of snow. Nasally accent. Relatively small population. Lots of outdoorsmen. Tends to be politically moderate to left-of-center. Brett Favre was your quarterback. So, what exactly is the difference?” Seriously, check out the parallels between these two historically antagonistic views.

Seeking Feedback: Writing A Paper on the Relationship Between the New Covenant & Baptism

*Preface: For those who don’t know, my view is that credobaptism (believer’s baptism) is preferable but paedobaptism (infant baptism) is perfectly acceptable. To be clear, I’m a credobaptist who has a sacramental view of baptism where I don’t think it’s symbolic-only. Some committed Anglicans may be puzzled by all this. To them I would readily acknowledge that this is one area where my beliefs don’t perfectly align with those of historic Anglicanism, but for me this isn’t a hill I’m willing to die on. That’s not to say this issue isn’t important–it is! All I’m saying is that I see both views as viable interpretive and liturgical options that easily fall within the bounds of orthodoxy, so as a future presbyter I could be flexible without violating my conscience. I’m just not a stick in the mud on this one.

This summer I’ve been taking a course in Anglican history through the Anglican School of Ministry. My final project is a historical-theological exposition of one of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion. Here’s my tentative thesis:

Miniblog #78: Trying A New Strategy for My Learning Disability

Being a “twice-exceptional learner” sucks. I love learning and thinking but hate reading. The result is invigorating, but the actual process is arduous, incredibly taxing, and eats up an incredible amount of time because my reading rate is so poor. The past few years I’ve tried various ways to adapt. A number of folks have recommended that I try audio books because of my lack of phonological awareness and slow processing speed. That certainly sped things up, but my retention went in the toilet because of my problems with listening comprehension. So I ended back up at square one. This evening I’m going to try a new approach with N.T. Wright’s Paul: In Fresh Perspective. While I’m a big fan, as a general rule I cannot stand the man’s writing style. Especially in this book, he has this conversational tone such that every paragraph is replete with interrupter comments and foreign words that make it almost impossible for me to follow. Here’s one sample sentence:

Miniblog #77: When Christians Forsake the Assembling of Themselves Together

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. – Hebrews 10:23-25 (NRSV)

This passage makes clear that Christians aren’t to forsake gathering together, but are instead to encourage one another in faith, love, and good deeds. To that teaching I offer an emphatic, “Amen!” What troubles me, however, is the response of so many leaders in our contemporary context.

Miniblog #76: Wishing There Was Another Term Besides “Charismatic”

This isn’t a theological-historical treatise, but I’d like to preface my thoughts with two points that may be helpful to certain readers. First, although they’re commonly used interchangeably, the terms Pentecostal and charismatic aren’t synonymous. All Pentecostals are charismatics but not all charismatics are Pentecostal. Among the the subtle doctrinal differences is that Pentecostals typically place a greater emphasis on tongues, in one form or another. Second, the charismatic movement is historically distinguishable from Pentecostalism.

An Unusual Anglican Church: You’re Not Trying to Produce Anglicans?

An acquaintance of mine recently inquired,

Read a few posts in this usual Anglican church series. You’re looking to break the mold, that’s for sure. Meeting in a house and valuing theological diversity. But as a priest my attention turns to practical matters. What I’m wondering is how will you provide Anglican theological and spiritual formation? If you’re so moving away from the norm, how do you plan to go about furthering Anglicanism? In other words, how will you produce more Anglicans?

No, I’m Not Optimistic About the Future of Evangelicalism, But I Am Hopeful

Preface: A good friend recently asked what causes me to remain optimistic about evangelicalism’s future. Coming from a guy who knows me pretty well, I thought it an interesting question because, quite seriously, I don’t regard myself as optimistic. He also asked how I thought we should go about reclaiming the term. It occurred to me that if these questions reflect his perception of my perspective, then others probably think the same thing. So I thought I’d share a mildly edited version of my response as a short post.

Rob Bell on Ministry, Burn Out & Rest

If we live in response to all the needs, we will always be miserable and exhausted because there will never be an end to that. But if we begin at another point–like, what does a healthy, balanced lifestyle of Shalom look like in which we are giving to people from a place of health and strength and rest?–that’s just a different way to orient yourself. – Rob Bell

Gospel Coalition (Reformed) Blogger on the Importance of the Creeds & Councils

John Starke over at The Gospel Coalition recently wrote “What to Do with Creeds and Councils?” A Reformed friend shared the link on facebook and asked for my thoughts. One paragraph in I’d already decided it was impossible to give just a few general reflections because of the intertwining of concepts I liked and disliked. Seriously, just about every sentence had something I wanted to encourage as well as something I wanted to discourage. The only way to respond properly was to share my perspective with a line by line, stream of consciousness reply. Afterward I thought it’d make a good post. As per usual, please keep in mind I’m not Reformed and am a big fan of satire, yet mean everything in a cordial and respectful way. Please read the following in that light.

The Schaeffer-Bachmann Link

I respect Francis Schaeffer to such a degree that one of my life aspirations is to start a church paradigm highly influenced by his L’Abri model. At the same time, it’s startling how many conservative evangelicals are ignoring his conceptual mistakes concerning this Michelle Bachmann issue. Specifically, she has often appealed to Schaeffer’s How Shall We Then Live? as a profound influence upon the formation of her biblical worldview and corresponding political philosophy.

I ♥ Anglicanism Because It’s Not Part of the “Purity Movement”

I love Anglicanism’s explicit acknowledgment that the christian life is an ongoing struggle. There’s this somber recognition of utter dependence that keeps us keenly aware not only of our mistakes, but also of God’s immense grace. Every Sunday the church plant I’m a part of confesses its failure before God and asks for His help. We pray:

God’s Purposes in the UK Riots

So it has begun. I just read the first of what will certainly be many facebook laments about the true significance of the UK riots. The pastor declared, “This is what happens when God hands over a society to it’s sinful desires.” Sigh. Already this is being attributing to the decline of the christian society. Four thoughts immediately come to mind:

Americans: Living in Disneyland Without Recognizing It (Miniblog #75)

‘Tis the season when Americans gripe about the heat. Every day I fight the urge to blurt out, “Suck it the heck up! You’ll be fine. Gain a little perspective, will ya?” Please don’t misunderstand me. Right now I live in Texas and we’re in the midst of a serious drought. There are people whose livelihoods are at risk. I think of those in agriculture, for example. When they express their worry and frustration about the weather it’s a legitimate complaint.

I’m Telling You for the Last Time: My Reformed Theology Credentials

Sometimes I feel like Billy Murray in Groundhog Day. People offer the same comments, ask the same questions, pose the same criticisms, and make the same baseless accusations over and over again. It drives me nuts. (I often think, ‘For the love! Will you please think something original rather than regurgitating exactly what you’ve been taught?’) Of course, there are some issues where I don’t mind this. Yet there are others that have become insufferable, where I feel like I’m going to snap if I repeat the same thing just one more time. In these cases, I write up something of a retirement post where I lay the topic to rest once and for all. (At least in terms of the introductory matters, anyway.) Then I use these posts as quick reference tools whenever those topics arise. “You want to know my thoughts on the matter? Here’s the link:…” That sort of thing. Here are three such posts:

Those Silly Credobaptists & Paedobaptists: They’re Spitting Images of One Another!

Credobaptists and paedobaptists. The former hold to believer’s baptism. The latter affirm infant baptism. In nearly 500 years of Protestant history these two camps have engaged in gladiatorial-like combat over the doctrine/practice of baptism and its relation to the New Covenant. Have you ever stepped back and looked at just how similar their perspectives actually are, though? It’s like when a Minnesotan argues with a Wisconsan about whose state is better, and the California in the room  jests, “Western side of the Midwest. Cold. Lots of snow. Nasally accent. Relatively small population. Lots of outdoorsmen. Tends to be politically moderate to left-of-center. Brett Favre was your quarterback. So, what exactly is the difference?” Seriously, check out the parallels between these two historically antagonistic views.

Senator Rubio (R): “Save the Whole House or It Will All Burn Down”

An excellent speech that effectively brings tension to the debt ceiling rhetoric.

I’m Very Human: A Post of Spiritual and Psychological Transparency

A friend from college recently told me that it wouldn’t hurt to be more transparent–to let people know that I’m well aware of my imperfection and don’t think I have it all together. This confused me. My intention for this whole blog has been to share my imperfect journey as I’m working this complicated thing called life. Thus the banner. Plus I’m constantly bringing up humankind’s finitude and fallenness. I thought that I’d been very open about my thoughts and feelings, failures and doubts, struggles and temptations, misunderstandings and screw ups. Apparently that’s not what people are perceiving, though. That’s why I’m writing this post. I’m just going to be forthright about my spiritual and psychological struggles.

Netiquette Training: Addressing the Problem of Online Abuse by Clergy

My intention here isn’t to gripe, but to offer a constructive proposal. I hope this will be honoring to Christ and helpful to His Church. I begin with a facebook message I received from a 19-year-old college student who abandoned the Anglican tradition, then the institutional church, and finally her faith altogether. I share this with her permission. I hope it will wrench your heart as much as it did mine:

Miniblog #74: Conservative Christians Are No Better Than Liberal Christians

Nothing I’m saying here is novel. Just thinking aloud…

Quite often I’ve heard conservative Christian rail against their liberal counterparts. The accusation is that they’ve abused the faith, if not having abandoned it altogether. Yet it seems clear to me that conservatism within Christianity is quite often equally as problematic as its liberal counterpart.

Alister McGrath: How Christians Relate to the World

Alister McGrath is quickly ascending my list of favorite theologians. In retrospect, it’s almost comical that I’ve become acquainted with his work only after joining him in the Anglican tradition. It’s a bit like becoming Libertarian, then learning about Ron Paul. It’s not the typical pattern for how things work. Anyway, this video is his lecture at the Oxford Christian Mind Course. It concerns how Christians relate to the world. Clearly it’s quite long, but if you’re otherwise just going to spend the next hour mindlessly clicking away on facebook then I think it well worth your time. Consider it an exercise in worshiping God with your mind.

D.A. Carson & John Piper on the Role of Historical-Cultural Context in Preaching

Last December I wrote a post entitled “D.A. Carson: The Theological Equivalent of Orlando Bloom.” The gist of it was that Carson–writing about him always makes me feel like I’m an NBA player who talks in the third person–isn’t bad, but definitely overrated in evangelical circles. He simply shouldn’t be seen as being on par with the likes of Vanhoozer, McGrath, Wright, etc. I stand by that. Yet his comments in this video have earned him some Respecto Points in my eyes. I passionately disagree with the Pied Piper on this one.

The Virtue of Principled Compromise: Brief Thoughts on the Debt Ceiling Crisis

What’s my perspective on the debit ceiling debate? If I may defer to Benjamin Franklin, as portrayed on HBO’s John Adams: “I’m an extreme moderate… I believe anyone not in favor of moderation and compromise ought to be castrated.” Now, please don’t misunderstand my meaning. I’m more of a “dual extremist” than I am “centrist.”

The NFL Lockout: Calling Out ESPN & Football Fans

The chief virtue of many people is loyalty. They think criticism should be kept in-house. It’s fine to criticize your own people or group, but you’ve got to keep a unified stand against outsiders. To be perfectly honest, I don’t buy any of that. Nevertheless, for the sake of those who are wired that way, here are my sports fan credentials:

Dark Girls

This is an extended trailer for the “Dark Girls” documentary. It’s about how skin color is judged both by other ethnicities and within the black community as well. One introduction I read said, “Intrablack racism is a direct consequence of slavery and the institutional racism that America has had since its beginning. A very painful topic, but one which needs to be addressed.” I share it because it’s an issue that I was completely ignorant of.

An Unusual Anglican Church: How We’ll Make True Disciples

Following up on yesterday’s post, there exists an enormously troubling and widespread misunderstanding in our churches. Talk to christian leaders who are enthusiastic about making disciples. Where do they steer the conversation? In my experience, most will bring up their curriculum. They’ll begin telling you about their biblical instruction materials and/or whatever theological or devotional book they’re using. I would suggest that this reflects the tendency to think “discipleship” is more or less equivalent to “biblical instruction.” Thus, “discipleship training” is usually just an amplified Bible study. Of course, there are some who will see it in terms of larger spiritual development. These folks will usually bring up their programs. Not only Bible study, but also small groups, prayer meetings, the Alpha Course, etc. Everything is built around programs.

An Unusual Anglican Church: You’re Doing Away with “Doing Discipleship”?

Last week I wrote a stream-of-conscious confession where I shared that I haven’t been truly, intentionally discipled since 2004. It’s a massive understatement to say that the response–both public and private–surprised me. I expected comments ranging from “Sorry, man. That sucks” to “You should get in touch with…” There were a couple of those, but what threw me off was the overwhelming chorus that said, “At least you have been discipled at some point. I never have been!” Perhaps most startling to me was the uniformity of experience despite the diversity of backgrounds, temperaments, and life circumstances.

Evangelical Flagellation: Kickin’ It for Jesus

Hat tip to Jordan Guthmann.

Every once in a while I get this nagging feeling. It says, ‘Maybe I have been too harsh on American church culture… I mean… It can’t really be that bad…Can it?’ I then convince myself that I must’ve pulled a Clemens and misremembered. Then I’ll see a video like this. Just painful. If I hadn’t seen this sort of thing happen firsthand, I wouldn’t believe how pervasive it is.

Evangelical ≠ Neo-Fundamentalist (Miniblog #73)

It’s one thing when members of the media use the term “evangelical” as synonymous with “neo-fundamentalist.” They generally paint with a broad brush concerning all things religious because they don’t know any better. That sucks, but it is what it is. But, if I may channel my inner Chris Farley, “for the love of all that is good and holy” could be we get thinking Christians to knock it off already? This drives me nuts. Billy Graham, Mark Noll, Philip Yancey, N.T. Wright, Roger Olson, Tim Keller, Richard Mouw, Rick Warren, Andy Crouch, George Marsden… these people are all passionately evangelical while definitively not being fundamentalist. The same is true of academic institutions like Wheaton College or Fuller Seminary and publications like Christianity Today.

Faith & Politics: Eagleton & Eisen Discuss the Radicalism of the New Testament

With compliments to Charles Twombly and Danut Manastireanu.

Uneasy Bedfellows: Finding a Home in Two Conflicting Theological Movements

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PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS POST.

Preface

I dedicate this post to TFC’s Vena the Younger and Archdean Shelton, who were my professors, mentors, and friends. It’s with a grateful heart that I say, “Thank you!” for the time and energy they invested in my life. My beliefs are in many ways a synthesis of not only what they taught me, but also where they pointed me. Perhaps the greatest “tip of the cap” I can offer is to say that their guidance taught me to see theology not as a platform for intellectual sparring, but as the pursuit of God–both knowledge of and relationship with Him.

Dear Blogging Christians, Dare to be Different

Dear christian bloggers,

We all know that the easiest way to increase a blog’s popularity and drive up traffic is to weigh in on popular conflict. If you’re interested in the media’s ideological perspective, write something about John Stewart vs. Fox News. If evangelicalism is your thing, put the words “Mark Driscoll” or “Rob Bell” in your title and you’ll double your traffic that day. Throw in the word “criticism” and you might quadruple your hits. If you’re into politics, just accuse Obama of being a socialist or insinuate that Republicans are racist. And if you’re a sports fan, “LeBron” is your keyword. On and on these examples go.