Have begun packing to relocate to Billings, Montana. The moving process feels odd: you take a house and remove all of its glory. Now everything is packaged in ugly brown boxes, and soon those packages will be shoved into an uglier moving box-van.
In effect, the glory of a home is buried; dying, the glory is buried in boxes.
All of the personal items that give the initially empty house a humanizing element are buried. So too the decorative things and furniture; everything which made the house "feel" like a glorious home is packaged and buried.
###
Making a home is merely an element of Christian obedience. It is like a bullet on a page, or a chapter in a book, or a theological loci -- making a home -- it is an item in a list, an element of an enumerated--obedient-response to God's dominion mandate/cultural mandate for man (see Genesis 1:28).
God said, "Subdue and cultivate the world," and that is why a Christian makes a corner here on earth their home. This is one of the true tests against the heresy of Gnosticism: Are you willing to obey God enough to tend to something as seemingly unspiritual as four walls and a roof? Are you willing to be thoroughly incarnational, that is, thoroughly earthly, and tend to a house and yard. To wit, to tend to a temporary home? which can and ought to represents your true heavenly home (the Christian home is to be an outpost of the Heavenly Kingdom).
A Christian makes a home here and now. Not in spite of, but because they are on a pilgrimage to their true home in the Celestial Garden-City, the New Jerusalem.
###
We are moving. My family is moving to Montana. And the glory of our home is buried in boxes.
I know we'll decorate and humanize and make the next empty house into a glorious home, but knowing that doesn't make the moving process easier, and it certainly doesn't alleviate the "odd" feelings created by a relocation of residency.
However, I am thankful for these feelings. But it is not in order to be sentimental. It isn't that at all. There is much more to the story than merely living in this rental the past 3+ years and making it our home. Specifically, in January of 2010, it was God who answered our prayers and provided a beautiful rental and a Christian landlord when we moved to Warsaw, Indiana, and it is God, again, who has answered our prayers and provided a beautiful rental and a Christian landlord for us in Billings, Montana. It is an odd feeling because on the one hand, God answered our prayers in 2010 and brought us to this rental in Warsaw, but on the other hand, again God has answered our prayers and is taking us from this home (which was an answer to prior prayer) to our new home (which is an answer to new prayer). The oddness, however, is commonplace for the Christian, who is in accordance with God's will and by the work of the Spirit and through prayer, is continually transitioning from one type of glory to the next type of glory.
All of this is gift. Gratitude is the only proper response to each new bend in the road of the journey, to each new page turned in the story we are a part of. And even though it is a gift, and even though gratitude is the obedient response, I still feel an oddness.
###
Providentially these feelings and thoughts have converged during Easter. This is the day in our Church Calendar that we remember the Resurrection.
The incarnate Christ was smitten and stricken, He was killed by sinners. However, God raised him from the dead. The Father raised Christ and changed him from one type of incarnate glory to another kind of incarnate (resurrected) glory.
As the Gospel of John says, Christ was "lifted up" on the Cross -- a word play is at work, Christ was "lifted up", that is, he was "glorified" by the Father in the foolishness of the Cross and subsequent Resurrection. The Father "glorified" Christ through Cross and Resurrection; the Father has made Christ both Lord and Savior and the world has become his footstool, and now Christ's kingdom is extending into the corners and shadows. Because Christ was lifted up and glorified the curse has been rolled back, and both redeemed man and the world are being (and eventually will completely be) changed from one type of glory in to another (resurrected) glory.
###
The glorious Christ was lifted up on the cross; He died and was buried, and then the Father lifted him up from the grave. God lifted up the glorious Christ from out of the package of death and in so doing he glorified the world because we (the Saints, the Elect, the Bride) rose to new life with Christ. And now Christ has made all things new; Christ has risen, therefore, this world is a temporary home for the Bride, the Church.
Christ ascended to prepare a permanent-heavenly home for his Bride.
Someday I will die. I will be placed in a box and stuck in the ground and when Christ returns I will be resurrected and I will be changed from glory to glory and I will go home.
###
All of these boxes laying around my house...it feels odd because the glory of this house has been buried in said boxes. However, these boxes remind me of resurrected life, they are signs pointing towards a new life, new glory, and a the new home in Montana that is coming on the other side of this figurative death.
All of this is a gift. I receive it with gratitude, and hope.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
The Psalms: Highview Architecture
An excellent summary of the overarching structure -- highview architecture -- of The Psalms.
Also, what a phrase! -- "dynamism of obedience" -- I love that.
The Torah is holy history that becomes Law only in the context of Todah, "Praise and Thanksgiving.
...
The Canticles that were preserved in the Book of Praise [The Psalms] open with the dynamism of obedience (Psalm 1) and the expectation of the ideal King (Psalm 2). They terminate with the Hallelujah of the final apotheosis (Psalm 150) (Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, 60).I had to look up the word "apotheosis" -- from the Greek word "to deify" -- elevation to divine status, deification, the perfect example.
Also, what a phrase! -- "dynamism of obedience" -- I love that.
The Psalms: Doxology, Theology
"Doxology is the key to theology" (Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, 60).
Thursday, March 21, 2013
LOL and Wisdom: My Son (Moses) on Growing-Up
Verbatim conversation at dinner table the other day. I kid you not. (Moses is three-and-a-half years old.)
###
CCS: Moses, what are you going to do when you grow up?
MLS: Die.
CCS: Right, someday you will die, but before that...what kind of work do you want to do?
MLS: Use hammers, a lot.
###
###
CCS: Moses, what are you going to do when you grow up?
MLS: Die.
CCS: Right, someday you will die, but before that...what kind of work do you want to do?
MLS: Use hammers, a lot.
###
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The Solemn Work of Christian Ministry
"The solemn work with which the Christian ministry concerns itself demands a man's all, and that all at its best. To engage in it half-heartedly is an insult to God and man" (C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, vi).
Monday, March 18, 2013
Ministers' Wisdom
"To be wise to win souls is the wisdom ministers should possess" (C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, vi).
Sunday, March 17, 2013
"What is the purpose of preaching?"
"The story is told of a homiletics professor who, many years ago, asked his classes, "What is the purpose of preaching?" His students would struggle valiantly to make adequate reply, but they never succeeded. Then, triumphantly, the professor would sing out, Scottish brogue and all, so I am told, "Gentlemen" ... "the purpose of preaching is to raise the dead!" Perhaps the statement strikes us today as a bit florid and dramatic. Yet the professor was on to something that needs to be repeated again and again, I believe: When we preach, God registers his claim upon us. He breaks into the little kingdoms that we have built, in which we attempt to exercise our rule over people and things, and says, "Let God be God." He disturbs us in our comforts and presumptions, and -- for what cause save his own graciousness, none of us can guess -- quickens our dead future. He does so with his Word" (Charles L. Bartow, The Preaching Moment: A Guide to Sermon Delivery, 48-49).
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Bible Q/A: OT - Exodus
Q/A: OT - Exodus
What is the theme of Exodus? The Deliverance and Redemption of the Nation of Israel.
What is the Outline of Exodus? (1) Egypt (2) Wilderness of Sinai (3) Mt. Sinai
What key event occurs in Exodus 3-4? God calls Moses.
What does God tell Moses in Exodus 3:14-15? God reveals his covenant name to Moses: "I AM WHO I AM" -- Moses is told to tell the sons of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."
What events are narrated in Chapters 7-11? The Plagues the Lord sends against the nation of Egypt are narrated in Chapters 7-11.
What Plagues were sent against the nation of Egypt? (1) Water turned into blood (2) Frogs (3) Gnats/lice (4) Flies (5) Death of livestock (6) Boils (7) Hail/fire (8) Locust (9) Darkness (10) Angel of Death (firstborn die).
What significant event began in Exodus 12? Passover.
What significant event occurred in Exodus 14? The parting of the Red Sea -- the Lord delivers Israel from the armies of Pharaoh.
What instruction does Jethro give Moses in Chapter 18? He instructs Moses to delegate authority.
What command is given in Exodus 19:5-6? Israel is commanded to obey God's voice and keep God's covenant.
What right and privilege is associated with the command given in Exodus 19:5-6? God says they shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
What is listed in Exodus 20? The Ten Commandments.
What are the Ten Commandments? (1) No other gods before the Lord (2) Make not graven images/idols (3) Do not take the name of Lord in vain (4) Remember the Sabbath (5) Honor father and mother (6) Do not murder (7) Do not commit adultery (8) Do not steal (9) Do not bear false witness (10) Do not covet.
What does Chapters 21-23 cover? The Law of the Covenant.
What important event occurred in Exodus 29? The consecration of the priests.
What rebellious event occurred in Chapter 32? Moses went up on the mountain, but rebellious Israel constructed and worshiped a Golden Calf.
Who was Aaron? Aaron was the first High Priest and was the brother of Moses.
Who was Miriam? Miriam was the sister of Moses. (She led the women in worship/song in Exodus 15.)
Who was Zipporah? Zipporah was the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian (Exodus 3:1); she was the wife of Moses (Exodus 2:21).
What is the theme of Exodus? The Deliverance and Redemption of the Nation of Israel.
What is the Outline of Exodus? (1) Egypt (2) Wilderness of Sinai (3) Mt. Sinai
What key event occurs in Exodus 3-4? God calls Moses.
What does God tell Moses in Exodus 3:14-15? God reveals his covenant name to Moses: "I AM WHO I AM" -- Moses is told to tell the sons of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."
What events are narrated in Chapters 7-11? The Plagues the Lord sends against the nation of Egypt are narrated in Chapters 7-11.
What Plagues were sent against the nation of Egypt? (1) Water turned into blood (2) Frogs (3) Gnats/lice (4) Flies (5) Death of livestock (6) Boils (7) Hail/fire (8) Locust (9) Darkness (10) Angel of Death (firstborn die).
What significant event began in Exodus 12? Passover.
What significant event occurred in Exodus 14? The parting of the Red Sea -- the Lord delivers Israel from the armies of Pharaoh.
What instruction does Jethro give Moses in Chapter 18? He instructs Moses to delegate authority.
What command is given in Exodus 19:5-6? Israel is commanded to obey God's voice and keep God's covenant.
What right and privilege is associated with the command given in Exodus 19:5-6? God says they shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
What is listed in Exodus 20? The Ten Commandments.
What are the Ten Commandments? (1) No other gods before the Lord (2) Make not graven images/idols (3) Do not take the name of Lord in vain (4) Remember the Sabbath (5) Honor father and mother (6) Do not murder (7) Do not commit adultery (8) Do not steal (9) Do not bear false witness (10) Do not covet.
What does Chapters 21-23 cover? The Law of the Covenant.
What important event occurred in Exodus 29? The consecration of the priests.
What rebellious event occurred in Chapter 32? Moses went up on the mountain, but rebellious Israel constructed and worshiped a Golden Calf.
Who was Aaron? Aaron was the first High Priest and was the brother of Moses.
Who was Miriam? Miriam was the sister of Moses. (She led the women in worship/song in Exodus 15.)
Who was Zipporah? Zipporah was the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian (Exodus 3:1); she was the wife of Moses (Exodus 2:21).
F.F. Bruce: A Life
A common practice I have adopted is reading Christian biographies and/or autobiographies.
Growing up I had never given Christian biographies and autobiographies much thought, but then my theology professor at university plead with us (his students) to get into the habit of reading Christian biographies and autobiographies. I took his advice to heart and practice, for which I am grateful -- I have been thoroughly edified by the simple joy of reading Christian biographies, to say the least. (Reading stories about Saints who have walked faithfully with our Lord is a wonderful way to spend time in leisure.)
All of that as a way to preface my reflections on a (relatively) new biography of F. F. Bruce, who was one of the most well-known and well-respected powerhouse Evangelical Biblical Scholars of the past century.
F. F. Bruce: A Life by Tim Grass is an excellent book. About a month or two ago I read a book review of the biography in Books & Culture, and I immediately ran over to Amazon.com and purchased the book.
For a biography, I read it very quickly, but only because I realized very early on it that it would be a book I would return to again. Tim Grass has written splendidly, ably sketching the life-story of F. F. Bruce and his work -- which is a real treat to all, since this is the first book length biography on Bruce, who was a trained Classicist turned Bible Scholar. Grass closes the book in Chapter 10 - "Legacy and Evaluation" - which proivdes a very thoughtful overview of Bruce's life and influence.
F. F. Bruce was a godly man, that is indisputable, and this book provides a behind-the-scenes peak into his life, which was very much a private life -- Bruce abhorred spiritual exhibitionism. Bruce had a sharp mind, but he was fair, charitable, and irenic. Grass' biography, therefore, provides an intimate understanding of Bruce's personal love for God and Scripture and the Church. I encourage all to take up and read this book: Bruce was a very influential Bible Scholar during the 20th-century, and this biography will benefit and contribute to your knowledge of Evangelicalism and Scripture.
One of the things I learned was that F. F. Bruce wrote an autobiography, but it dealt very little with his own life and his work, e.g., "a great deal of [Bruce's autobiography] was not about himself and his work but about the books he had acquired and the people he had encountered" (ix). Which is to say this is the basis for the real value of this book: this biography breaks new ground, it doesn't merely repeat and/or reassemble what has been said about Bruce elsewhere.
Also, additional F. F. Bruce kudos: Two years ago I read Bruce's New Testament History. It was great -- Bruce not only had a brilliant mind, but he was a competent author! And I have just begun Bruce's commentary on the Book of Acts, and I intend to read his autobiography, In Retrospect: Remembrance of Things Past, which was published 10 years before Bruce's dead in 1990.
Growing up I had never given Christian biographies and autobiographies much thought, but then my theology professor at university plead with us (his students) to get into the habit of reading Christian biographies and autobiographies. I took his advice to heart and practice, for which I am grateful -- I have been thoroughly edified by the simple joy of reading Christian biographies, to say the least. (Reading stories about Saints who have walked faithfully with our Lord is a wonderful way to spend time in leisure.)
All of that as a way to preface my reflections on a (relatively) new biography of F. F. Bruce, who was one of the most well-known and well-respected powerhouse Evangelical Biblical Scholars of the past century.
F. F. Bruce: A Life by Tim Grass is an excellent book. About a month or two ago I read a book review of the biography in Books & Culture, and I immediately ran over to Amazon.com and purchased the book.
For a biography, I read it very quickly, but only because I realized very early on it that it would be a book I would return to again. Tim Grass has written splendidly, ably sketching the life-story of F. F. Bruce and his work -- which is a real treat to all, since this is the first book length biography on Bruce, who was a trained Classicist turned Bible Scholar. Grass closes the book in Chapter 10 - "Legacy and Evaluation" - which proivdes a very thoughtful overview of Bruce's life and influence.
F. F. Bruce was a godly man, that is indisputable, and this book provides a behind-the-scenes peak into his life, which was very much a private life -- Bruce abhorred spiritual exhibitionism. Bruce had a sharp mind, but he was fair, charitable, and irenic. Grass' biography, therefore, provides an intimate understanding of Bruce's personal love for God and Scripture and the Church. I encourage all to take up and read this book: Bruce was a very influential Bible Scholar during the 20th-century, and this biography will benefit and contribute to your knowledge of Evangelicalism and Scripture.
One of the things I learned was that F. F. Bruce wrote an autobiography, but it dealt very little with his own life and his work, e.g., "a great deal of [Bruce's autobiography] was not about himself and his work but about the books he had acquired and the people he had encountered" (ix). Which is to say this is the basis for the real value of this book: this biography breaks new ground, it doesn't merely repeat and/or reassemble what has been said about Bruce elsewhere.
Also, additional F. F. Bruce kudos: Two years ago I read Bruce's New Testament History. It was great -- Bruce not only had a brilliant mind, but he was a competent author! And I have just begun Bruce's commentary on the Book of Acts, and I intend to read his autobiography, In Retrospect: Remembrance of Things Past, which was published 10 years before Bruce's dead in 1990.
Church Year: The Annual Cycle
"Perhaps the most important single characteristic of the annual calendar presupposed by the ecumenical lectionary is its Christological center. The annual sequence of seasons is actually a pairing of two Christ-celebrations: (1) Christmas and (2) Easter, (1) Incarnation and (2) Redemption. The Christmas celebration is prepared for in Advent and reflected in Epiphany. The Easter celebration is prepared for in Lent and reflected in the fifty days following, which climax in Pentecost. In this sense the Christian Year may be described as the annual rehearsal of the history of our salvation accomplished in the birth, death, resurrection, and return of Jesus Christ" (Horace T. Allen Jr., A Handbook for the Lectionary, 25).
Friday, March 8, 2013
Bible Q/A: OT - Genesis
Q/A: OT - Genesis
What is (are) the theme(s) of Genesis? Beginnings, Creation, New Beginnings. The creation of God’s people in Abraham.
In what sense are the respective creation narratives in Genesis 1 and 2 different? Each chapter has its own perspective and focus, the former focus being God’s perspective and the latter focus being man’s perspective.
Where is the Cultural Mandate (aka Dominion Mandate) found? Genesis 1:28.
What do we learn in Genesis 2:24? We learn that a man is to leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife.
What does Genesis 3 cover? It narrates the Fall of man.
What is so important about Genesis 3:15? It is the proto (first, earliest) - gospel (fancy, technical word is protevangelium), it is the first announcement of the redemption to be effected in and through Christ. (This promise called the “mother promise” by Cornelius Van Til.)
What is important about Genesis 3:16? Contains the curse of the woman.
What is important about Genesis 3:17? Contains the curse of Adam.
What is significant about Adam and Eve’s clothing? They were made from animal skins, a shadow affirming the need for blood to be shed to cover/atone for sin (see Leviticus 17:11).
What happens to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:22-24? They are sent out of the Garden of Eden.
What was Cain’s sin? Cain offered a sacrifice by the sweat of his brow and not by faith (see 1 John 3:12), subsequently he murdered his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8).
Who was the son of Cain? Cain’s son was Enoch, the first man to build a city (Genesis 4:17).
Who is the other Enoch? The other Enoch was a descendant of Seth; he walked with God and God took him (Genesis 5:24).
What does Lamech boast about? He boasts about killing a man (Genesis 4:23-24).
Who was the father of Methuselah? Enoch (Genesis 5:21).
Why did God send a flood? Because man had become thoroughly corrupt and violent (Genesis 6:13, 17).
What does Genesis 6:9 teach about Noah? That Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations, and that he walked with God.
What does Genesis 7:13 denote? It lists the sons of Noah that entered the Ark with him.
Who was Shem? Son of Noah and ancestor of Abraham.
How many days did the flood waters cover the earth? Genesis 7:24 – “The waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty (150) days.”
With whom does God make a covenant in Genesis 9? God makes a covenant with Abram.
What happens in Genesis 11? Scattering of the nations at the Tower of Babel.
What does Genesis 15:6 teach us about Abram? Abram believed God, counted to him for righteousness
Who is Eliazar? Abram’s heir (before he had sons).
Which acts of God's judgement are narrated in Genesis 18-19? Judgment ofSodom and Gomorrah
Who areMoab Lot by his daughters (the fathers of the Moabites and children of Ammon).
What key event occurred in Genesis 22? In obedience, Abraham was going to offer Isaac as a sacrifice -- angel of the Lord intercedes and instructs Abraham, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad."
Who was Rebekah? The wife of Isaac, the mother of the twins Esau and Jacob (Israel).
What does the Lord tell Rebekah in Genesis 25? She is pregnant with Esau and Jacob, and the Lord tells her, "Two nations are in thy womb...the elder [Esau] shall serve the younger [Jacob (Israel)]."
In Genesis 32, why did Jacob give the new name "Peniel" to a place/location? Because at that place Jacob wrestled with God; Jacob named the place Peniel ("facing God") because he's saw the appearance of the God and received the Lord's favor.
Name the wives/concubines of Jacob: Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah.
Who were the sons of Rachel? Joseph and Benjamin.
Who is sold in to slavery in Chapter 37? Joseph is sold by brothers in to slavery.
What is important about the blessing given in Chapter 48? Jacob (Israel) blesses the sons of Joesph, however, Jacob blesses Ephraim (the second born of Joseph) and sets him before his brother Manasseh (the firstborn of Joseph).
Who does Jacob call unto in Chapter 49? Jacob (Israel) called unto his sons; he instructs them and blesses them.
What is (are) the theme(s) of Genesis? Beginnings, Creation, New Beginnings. The creation of God’s people in Abraham.
In what sense are the respective creation narratives in Genesis 1 and 2 different? Each chapter has its own perspective and focus, the former focus being God’s perspective and the latter focus being man’s perspective.
Where is the Cultural Mandate (aka Dominion Mandate) found? Genesis 1:28.
What do we learn in Genesis 2:24? We learn that a man is to leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife.
What does Genesis 3 cover? It narrates the Fall of man.
What is so important about Genesis 3:15? It is the proto (first, earliest) - gospel (fancy, technical word is protevangelium), it is the first announcement of the redemption to be effected in and through Christ. (This promise called the “mother promise” by Cornelius Van Til.)
What is important about Genesis 3:16? Contains the curse of the woman.
What is important about Genesis 3:17? Contains the curse of Adam.
What is significant about Adam and Eve’s clothing? They were made from animal skins, a shadow affirming the need for blood to be shed to cover/atone for sin (see Leviticus 17:11).
What happens to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:22-24? They are sent out of the Garden of Eden.
What was Cain’s sin? Cain offered a sacrifice by the sweat of his brow and not by faith (see 1 John 3:12), subsequently he murdered his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8).
Who was the son of Cain? Cain’s son was Enoch, the first man to build a city (Genesis 4:17).
Who is the other Enoch? The other Enoch was a descendant of Seth; he walked with God and God took him (Genesis 5:24).
What does Lamech boast about? He boasts about killing a man (Genesis 4:23-24).
Who was the father of Methuselah? Enoch (Genesis 5:21).
Why did God send a flood? Because man had become thoroughly corrupt and violent (Genesis 6:13, 17).
What does Genesis 6:9 teach about Noah? That Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations, and that he walked with God.
What does Genesis 7:13 denote? It lists the sons of Noah that entered the Ark with him.
Who was Shem? Son of Noah and ancestor of Abraham.
How many days did the flood waters cover the earth? Genesis 7:24 – “The waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty (150) days.”
With whom does God make a covenant in Genesis 9? God makes a covenant with Abram.
What happens in Genesis 11? Scattering of the nations at the Tower of Babel.
What does Genesis 15:6 teach us about Abram? Abram believed God, counted to him for righteousness
Who is Eliazar? Abram’s heir (before he had sons).
Which acts of God's judgement are narrated in Genesis 18-19? Judgment of
Who are
What key event occurred in Genesis 22? In obedience, Abraham was going to offer Isaac as a sacrifice -- angel of the Lord intercedes and instructs Abraham, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad."
Who was Rebekah? The wife of Isaac, the mother of the twins Esau and Jacob (Israel).
What does the Lord tell Rebekah in Genesis 25? She is pregnant with Esau and Jacob, and the Lord tells her, "Two nations are in thy womb...the elder [Esau] shall serve the younger [Jacob (Israel)]."
In Genesis 32, why did Jacob give the new name "Peniel" to a place/location? Because at that place Jacob wrestled with God; Jacob named the place Peniel ("facing God") because he's saw the appearance of the God and received the Lord's favor.
Name the wives/concubines of Jacob: Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah.
Who were the sons of Rachel? Joseph and Benjamin.
Who is sold in to slavery in Chapter 37? Joseph is sold by brothers in to slavery.
What is important about the blessing given in Chapter 48? Jacob (Israel) blesses the sons of Joesph, however, Jacob blesses Ephraim (the second born of Joseph) and sets him before his brother Manasseh (the firstborn of Joseph).
Who does Jacob call unto in Chapter 49? Jacob (Israel) called unto his sons; he instructs them and blesses them.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Book Review: The Great Evangelical Disaster by Francis A. Schaeffer
Francis A. Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster (Crossway Books, 1984).
Opening Remarks
This is a relatively short book (approximately 150 pages for introduction/body/conclusion proper). However, it is supplemented by an additional 28-page Appendix, an article titled "The Mark of the Christian" which was originally published by Inter-Varsity Press in booklet form.
The Great Evangelical Disaster = Accommodation
Schaeffer writes with clarity and singularity of purpose -- he is writing about the "great evangelical disaster." But what is that? Schaeffer identifies this disaster by the modern attempt of Evangelicals to accommodate Scripture to secular society (see page 37). So, how disastrous is this exactly? Very (according to Schaeffer). He writes in the Preface that this disaster is "the greatest problem Christians face in this generation" (13). A strong claim, that. The main thrust of his book is that Evangelicalism is at a watershed moment, and, that being the case, Evangelicals must "draw a line" and take a full view of Scripture, which implies personal obedience in response to Scripture. So, the watershed issue is this: a high view (a "full view" -- Schaefferian shorthand for the non-accommodation of Scripture to secular society) of Scripture, and obeying Scripture.
Schaeffer frames the argument with a history lesson: The Protestant Reformation put into force the mechanisms of personal responsibility which eventuated in the "Titanic freedoms" enjoyed throughout the Western Hemisphere. These freedoms were the result (the fruit) of widespread-cultural "Christian consensus" (see page 48).
Schaeffer is essentially arguing that the many and rich freedoms that all of us enjoy in the West exist because they were founded upon our shared "Christian consensus" (it is important to note that Schaeffer believes this "Christian consensus" is only a secondary blessing of the Reformation's primary goal to purify worship and restore Biblical faithfulness within the institutional structures of the visible church). However, Schaeffer argues that as liberalism has crept into the church (specifically in America), circa 1850--1930, the very bedrock and foundation of our "Titanic freedoms" are now under threat -- all as a result of the foundation of our shared meta-structure/"Christian consensus" having become eroded.
Confrontational Truth
How, then, do we stop the erosion of our religious and moral foundations? That, Schaeffer says, must be accomplished by confrontation by/with/of truth (see page 64), that is, Christians must practice truth. Christians must be "Bible believing Christians" -- this requires 1) purity of the visible Church and 2) observable love between all Christians. This is not confrontation for the sake of confrontation, rather, it is confrontation because of the principle of antithesis -- a holy and loving visible Church that is committed to the truth and obedient response to the revelation of Scripture are necessarily going to be confrontational in the evil world around them.
Confrontational Truth with Love
What is so refreshing about Schaeffer's book is his repeated call for Christians to practice this way of confrontation with 1) love and 2) by the model of prayer. In fact, those are Schaeffer's parting words in the conclusion: he says that the response needed today, the response required of Evangelicals who realize the watershed moment, the response required of those who acknowledge the great evangelical disaster of accommodation, is for a younger, radical generation to emerge and stand in loving confrontation to not only forces outside the visible church but within the visible church:
Nearly 30 years in print, however, this book's argument and charge are still relevant. One need only to read through a few of the chapters of a recent survey on Christian theology to come away with the realization that accommodation is still alive and well within Evangelicalism.
Opening Remarks
This is a relatively short book (approximately 150 pages for introduction/body/conclusion proper). However, it is supplemented by an additional 28-page Appendix, an article titled "The Mark of the Christian" which was originally published by Inter-Varsity Press in booklet form.
The Great Evangelical Disaster = Accommodation
Schaeffer writes with clarity and singularity of purpose -- he is writing about the "great evangelical disaster." But what is that? Schaeffer identifies this disaster by the modern attempt of Evangelicals to accommodate Scripture to secular society (see page 37). So, how disastrous is this exactly? Very (according to Schaeffer). He writes in the Preface that this disaster is "the greatest problem Christians face in this generation" (13). A strong claim, that. The main thrust of his book is that Evangelicalism is at a watershed moment, and, that being the case, Evangelicals must "draw a line" and take a full view of Scripture, which implies personal obedience in response to Scripture. So, the watershed issue is this: a high view (a "full view" -- Schaefferian shorthand for the non-accommodation of Scripture to secular society) of Scripture, and obeying Scripture.
Schaeffer frames the argument with a history lesson: The Protestant Reformation put into force the mechanisms of personal responsibility which eventuated in the "Titanic freedoms" enjoyed throughout the Western Hemisphere. These freedoms were the result (the fruit) of widespread-cultural "Christian consensus" (see page 48).
Schaeffer is essentially arguing that the many and rich freedoms that all of us enjoy in the West exist because they were founded upon our shared "Christian consensus" (it is important to note that Schaeffer believes this "Christian consensus" is only a secondary blessing of the Reformation's primary goal to purify worship and restore Biblical faithfulness within the institutional structures of the visible church). However, Schaeffer argues that as liberalism has crept into the church (specifically in America), circa 1850--1930, the very bedrock and foundation of our "Titanic freedoms" are now under threat -- all as a result of the foundation of our shared meta-structure/"Christian consensus" having become eroded.
Confrontational Truth
How, then, do we stop the erosion of our religious and moral foundations? That, Schaeffer says, must be accomplished by confrontation by/with/of truth (see page 64), that is, Christians must practice truth. Christians must be "Bible believing Christians" -- this requires 1) purity of the visible Church and 2) observable love between all Christians. This is not confrontation for the sake of confrontation, rather, it is confrontation because of the principle of antithesis -- a holy and loving visible Church that is committed to the truth and obedient response to the revelation of Scripture are necessarily going to be confrontational in the evil world around them.
Confrontational Truth with Love
What is so refreshing about Schaeffer's book is his repeated call for Christians to practice this way of confrontation with 1) love and 2) by the model of prayer. In fact, those are Schaeffer's parting words in the conclusion: he says that the response needed today, the response required of Evangelicals who realize the watershed moment, the response required of those who acknowledge the great evangelical disaster of accommodation, is for a younger, radical generation to emerge and stand in loving confrontation to not only forces outside the visible church but within the visible church:
We need a young generation and others who will be willing to stand in loving confrontation, but real confrontation, in contrast to the mentality of constant accommodation with the current forms of the world spirit as they surround us today, and in contrast with the way in which so much of evangelicalism has developed the automatic mentality of accommodation at each successive point (150).
...
I call for Christian radicals, and especially young Christian radicals, to stand up in loving confrontation, but confrontation -- looking to the living Christ moment by moment for strength -- in loving confrontation with all that is wrong and destructive in the church, our culture, and the state (151).Reflections
Nearly 30 years in print, however, this book's argument and charge are still relevant. One need only to read through a few of the chapters of a recent survey on Christian theology to come away with the realization that accommodation is still alive and well within Evangelicalism.
Books, Books, Books
My office for work is just around the corner from a brick-and-mortar Half-Price-Books, which I visit frequently. For the past three years it has been a goldmine for obtaining used volumes on biblical literature, theology, Christian living, etc. Why such luck? Because the city of Fort Wayne has a 1) Lutheran seminary -- Concordia Theological Seminary, 2) Catholic university -- University of Saint Francis, and 3) satellite campuses for two evangelical Christian universities (Taylor University and Indiana Wesleyan University). So, there are lots of volumes of a wide ecclesiastical spectrum to choose from, and the price can't be beat.
Case in point: this week I spent $9 on nine books, which were all from the clearance rack -- it included Hauerwas' A Community of Character, Schaeffer's The Great Evangelical Disaster, and Rahner's Foundations of Christian Faith. I believe the expression the kids are using these days (well, at least since the 90's chat forum days) is, "w00t, w00t!"
Case in point: this week I spent $9 on nine books, which were all from the clearance rack -- it included Hauerwas' A Community of Character, Schaeffer's The Great Evangelical Disaster, and Rahner's Foundations of Christian Faith. I believe the expression the kids are using these days (well, at least since the 90's chat forum days) is, "w00t, w00t!"
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