Prayer: The Well - New Zealand

My brother-in-law (Logan Hoffman) is an assistant pastor in New Zealand. In September of 2012, he and my sister relocated to Christ Church to help with a church plant. This upcoming Sunday (2/10/13) the church plant launches weekly services. Praise God! Please pray for launch week at The Well.

"Fundamentally a Critical Principle"

Following excerpt from the Preface of Christian Dogmatics (eds. Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson, Fortress Press, xix).

As will become clear at several points in the body of this work, the Reformation doctrine of justification is fundamentally a critical principle. It is the demand continuously to submit all preaching, liturgy, pastoral care, church administration, and so forth to this question: Does this particular act of ministry lead people to find their life's justification, their reason to be, in the fact that the crucified Jesus lives, or are people left on their own, to depend on themselves for the ultimate meaning of life? If a churchly word or practice in any way suggests the latter, it must, according to the doctrine of justification by faith, be reformed. We tried to make this critical principle effect throughout this work for the ongoing reform of the church.

Indeed. The Reformation/Protestant doctrine of justification is "fundamentally a critical principle" -- the doctrine of justification by faith should be a Protestant pastor's philosophy (theology) of Christian ministry.

What Proceedeth?

1 John 4:20-21 -- If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

John Calvin commenting on these verses said that true love for God cannot exists unless it generates brotherly love.

In 1 John, the author is instructing the readers that love (righteousness) proceedeth from the Beloved (the righteous). However, wickedness proceedeth from the wicked (1 Samuel 24:13a). Love and desire will always manifest itself in concrete realities, generating either love/righteousness or wickedness. Our works/the concrete realities generated by our desires, therefore, are testaments of whether we love the works of Satan or love the works of a righteous God.

USA?

For a mental exercise, let us assume that Rosenstock-Huessy's thesis (see prior post) is true: What does this imply about the United States of America?

I'm thinking about our concrete-past, e.g., Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, military Drones, same-sex marriage, Iraq (Shock-and-Awe)/Afghanistan wars, Roe v. Wade!!! (that case was decided on January 22, 1973 ... 40 concrete years of baby murder), Vietnam war, the Manhattan Project (and subsequent decision to use that technology on civilian populations in Japan), Manifest Destiny + Civil War+Post-Civil War Manifest Destiny (i.e., first implementation of All-out-War practices, then its re-implementation) ... Events, to name a few, from our concrete-past.

Concrete Past: Test-Case for Human History

Our passions give life to the world. 

Our collective passions constitute the history of mankind.

Thus Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy penned his opening lines to his magnificent tome Out of Revolution: Autobiography of Western Man.

Rosenstock-Huessy was born in Germany in the late 1800s, and was educated in philosophy and law at the University of Heidelberg. He left Germany for the United States in 1933 because Hitler came to power, and he published Out of Revolution in 1938.

The authors says the book's topic is "[t]he creation of humankind" -- for this reason the appropriate subtitle Autobiography of Western Man. In addition, he goes on to say, "our own concrete past is the test-case for all our otherwise too vague discoveries about humanity" (5).

This "test-case" approach to history telling is one of the chief means by which the Old Testament Prophets condemn Israel: the Prophets frequently point to historical test-cases of Israel's unfaithfulness to Yahweh and her utter disregard for the law of the covenant. Also, the Prophets cast Israel's sins in a strong light by contrasting Israel's "concrete-past" with the "concrete-past" of God's faithfulness to Israel.

Trinitarian Reading: The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything by Fred Sanders

The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything (Crossway, 2010) by Fred Sanders is excellent. The book is not a Systematic treatment of the doctrine of the Trinity. Sure, there is a lot of theological-speak but Sanders' feet are firmly planted on the ground, this book is not idealistic or abstract. It is a highly readable,  very good introduction to Evangelicalism's Trinitarian shape (cf. Chapter 4 - "The Shape of the Gospel"). Sanders aim is emphatic -- "The central argument of this book is that the doctrine of the Trinity inherently belongs to the gospel itself" (9) -- and, since Evangelicals have historically been all about the gospel, Sanders demonstrates that Evangelicals have historically been all about the Trinity.

Sanders soberly considers the link between the Trinity and the gospel: "A gospel that rearranges the components of your life but does not put you personally in the presence of God is too small." The doctrine of the Trinity that inherently belongs to the gospel is itself the very "deep things of God" that changes everything for an Evangelical Christian. Sanders quotes Beeson Divinity School's Gerald Bray to highlight the efficacy of  Trinitiarian grace in the changed life of an Evangelical Christian.

Without pride in our own tradition or prejudice against other forms of Christianity, we must surely proclaim that the experience of a personal relationship with God, sealed by the Spirit in the finished work of the Son from Whom He proceeds, is a deeper and more satisfying faith than any other known to man. . . . Evangelical Protestants are not wrong in insisting that theirs is a deeper, more vital experience of Christ than that enjoyed by Christians of other traditions. We have not received the grace of God in vain and we must not be ashamed to own the Christ we know as the only Lord and Saviour of men (10-11). 

Sanders aims to do nothing less than stir up our Evangelical memories, challenging Evangelicals to take ownership of their shared, rich history of vital Trinitarianism. Sanders sends out a clear note, a conservative call (in the traditional use of the word ... progressing while simultaneously conserving) for Evangelicals to celebrate the vital and meaningful life which is changed/created when a Christian lives life in light of the doctrine of the knowledge and truth of the Trinity. Sanders advocates an emphatic refocus upon the Trinity and gospel, the very  "deep things of God." This conservative action will subvert the contemporary "spiritual shallowness," which has plagued Evangelical Christianity and given rise to "evangelical coldness toward the Trinity" (11). The Evangelical recollection of memory will, Sanders hopes, carry a Christian further up and further into the Trinity and the gospel, that is, into the "deep things of God."

Advent - Biblical Imagery: Angels

Angels are significant and show up all over the Old Testament and the New Testament. However, when they show up in the Gospel narratives, during the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ, their presence is especially significant. When Angels show up in the Drama of Redemptive History, it is a cue to the rest of us that what is about to happen is very important. "Seriously dude, pay attention."

To begin, lets hold two ideas in our mind:

1. During the birth of Christ we see that Angels show up a whole lot.
2. The author of Hebrews tells us that the word spoken by Angels was steadfast (Hebrews 2:2). That is, in the Drama of Redemptive History, God oftentimes used Angels as a trusty means by which to communicate revelation.

Now lets put those two ideas together: Angels who are trusty show up a whole lot in the beginning of the Gospel narratives. The effect is rather superlative -- you can really, really, really trust that Jesus Christ "for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man." The birth of Christ isn't just additional divine revelation, it is Divine Revelation. Indeed, it is the Gospel!

Angels Show Up A Whole Lot

1. In the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, an Angel instructs Joseph (who had legitimate concerns about Mary's having become pregnant) to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife.
2. In the second chapter, an Angel instructs Joseph to flee blood-thirsty Herod and take Mary and the baby Jesus to Egypt.
3. After Herod is dead an Angel instructs Joseph that it is safe to return.
4. In the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, an Angel appears at the right side of the altar of incense before Zacharias; the Angel tells him that he and his wife are going to have a son (John the Baptist), and that this son will "make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
5. Also, later on the angel Gabriel greets Mary and tells her that God's favor is with her and that she will become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit and that she will bring forth a son, and that his name will be Jesus, which means "Jehovah [in the Old Testament this is the proper name of God] is Salvation".
6. In the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, after the birth of Jesus the Angels appear before the shepherds in the fields and tell them the good news that "unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Trusty Angels Declare Deliverance 

In the Old Testament there are many narratives where Angels show up to declare God's deliverance. In Exodus 3, an angel of the Lord shows up and tells Moses that the Lord is going to use him to deliver Israel from bondage in Egypt. In Judges 6, an angel of the Lord meets with Gideon and tells him the Lord is going to use him to deliver Israel from the Midianites. And later on in Judges, an angel of the Lord tells Samson's parents that their son will deliver Israel from the Philistines.

Since angels were used to reveal, call, and commission deliverers in Israel's history, it should come as no surprise that God uses them again to declare the Chief-Deliverer of the mother promise (see Genesis 3:15).

This Chief-Deliverer is Jesus -- "Jehovah is Salvation" -- Christ the Son of God.

Storytelling: Salvation

There are several ways to tell the story of Salvation. An "act" is a division of drama. It is a way to "unitize" the various elements of story. You can tell the story of Salvation with more than one narrative structure.

The Story of Salvation in a Single-Act

Title: The Glory of God
     All is unitized by the structure of the theme "Glory of God".

The Story of Salvation in Two-Acts

Title: Of God's Covenant with Man *
     Act 1 - Covenant of Works (made with Adam)
     Act 2 - Covenant of Grace (made with Jesus Christ, the Second Adam)
         
The Story of Salvation in Three-Acts

Title: A Trinitarian Story in Three Harmonious Acts
     Act 1 - God the Father Chose Us in Christ Before the Foundation of the World **
     Act 2 - Jesus Christ the Son of God is Sent:
          Serves the Father
          Creates a Place (Chosen Humanity) for Spirit to Indwell
          Accomplishes Redemption and Ministers to the Chosen
     Act 3 - Holy Spirit of God is Sent:
          Serves the Father
          Indwells the Place (Chosen Humanity) that Jesus Christ Prepared for Him
          Applies Benefits of Redemption and Ministers to the Chosen

The Story of Salvation in Four-Acts

Title: Sitting Down (Feasting) in the Kingdom of God in Four Scene Changes ***
     Act 1 - People Come From the East
     Act 2 - People Come From the West
     Act 3 - People Come From the North
     Act 4 - People Come From the South
         
* See Ephesians 1:4.
** See Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter VII.
*** See structure in Luke 13:29.

Updated - Law, Politics and the State

Excerpts from the Introduction and Chapter I of E. L. Hebden Taylor's The Christian Philosophy of Law, Politics and the State: A Study of the Political and Legal Thought of Herman Dooyeweerd of the Free University of Amsterdam, Holland as the Basis for Christian Action in the English-Speaking World (The Craig Press, 1966) [Originally posted 12/5/12]:

One of the great tragedies of the Protestant Reformation was the failure of the great Reformers John Calvin and Martin Luther to develop a doctrine of law, politics and the state upon truly reformed and biblical lines (1).

Lacking a carefully worked-out Reformed doctrine of law, politics and the state, it is hardly surprising that Protestant Christians have been powerless to meet the needs and challenges of modern society and to provide it with Christian answers to all its pressing problems (5).

Real religion pervades the whole of life: our social, political and industrial and educational no less than our personal and private lives. In fact, it is precisely in his political and business life that a true Christian will seek with God's help and guidance to live up to his Christian convictions, for it is precisely in political and business life today that the power of Satan, sin and selfishness is so great (17).

What then does the Calvinist mean by his faith in the ordinances of God? Every aspect of life, Kuyper answers, has a law for its existence, instituted by God himself. These laws or ordinances we may call laws of nature, provided that by this term we mean, not laws originating within nature, but laws imposed upon nature. From this doctrine of God's sovereignty over all aspects of creation, Kuyper developed his conception of sovereignty in each orbit, applying it especially in his political and social philosophy. Ultimate sovereignty belongs to God, while derivative sovereignties belong to the various spheres of human society, so that these spheres are coordinately, rather than subordinately, related (50).

 By means of his doctrine of sphere sovereignty [sphere sovereignty maintains that Jesus Christ is the covenant head of creation, and possesses absolute power and authority, however, he delegates "partial sovereignties to men" in the family, church and state]  Abraham Kuyper has provided Christians with a weapon against both the rugged, selfish individualism of the nineteenth-century laissez-faire variety and the suffocating collectivism of the totalitarian Communists variety (55-56).

According to Kuyper it is God's common grace which makes human culture possible. Human society would have been utterly destroyed if the common grace of God had not intervened. As such, common grace is the foundation of cultures, since God's great plan for creation is achieved through common grace. it is not spiritual and regenerative but temporal and material. It is based upon and flows forth from the confession of the absolute sovereignty of God, for, says Kuyper, not only the church but the whole world must give God the honor due to him; hence the world received common grace in order to honor him through it. Thus Kuyper upholds the catholic claims of Christianity and urges its validity for all men (60-61).

Additional excerpts from Chapter II [Added on 12/16/12]:

For Dooyeweerd all philosophic and theoretical or scientific thought proceeds from presuppositions of a religious nature. The starting pint, not only of all practical but also of all theoretical activity, proceeds from man's religious depths. Such a starting point can be found only in man's heart or transcendental self. All the issues of life arise out of the human heart which is the concentration point of our entire human existence. Out of it arise all our deeds, thoughts, feelings, and desires. In our hearts we give answer to the most profound and ultimate questions of life, and in our hearts our relationship to God is determined. The heart or transcendental self of man may never be identified with any of our vital functions such as feeling or even faith. it is deeper than any vital function and it transcends the temporal world altogether. It is as far from the body as it is from the mind. The heart is the point where man decides his relationship with Almighty God. It can never be neutral. It loves God or it is hostile to him. It is being renewed by the Spirit of Jesus Christ in the communion of the Holy Spirit, or it still lives in apostasy. As a consequence, theoretical and scientific thought can never be a neutral and autonomous activity (66).

Dooyeweerd maintains that only the Word of God can provide us with a true point of departure and thus enable us to "see" the facts studied in the various sciences in their proper order and relationships. The facts do not "speak" to us unless we see them in their order. If the scientist or philosopher refuses to be taught by the Word of God what this order of the creation is, then he will be forced to substitute some principle of total structuration of his own devising. Such an apostate thinker will then be forced to seek his ultimate principles of explanation and point of departure in one aspect of the created universe rather than in the Creator of the Universe. For this reason Dooyeweerd speaks of all non-Christian systems of thought as being immanentistic  in character, because they refuse to recognize the ultimate dependence of human thought and science upon God's revelation (72).

The self or heart of man exists in three fundamental relations: in relation to cosmic time, in relation to other selves, and in relation to God. apart from these relations, the selfhood is an empty abstraction which dissolves itself into nothingness. But as we have already seen, the selfhood cannot receive its positive content form its relation to cosmic time alone, because in its radical unity it transcends time. The temporal order of becoming with its diversity of aspects, can only turn away our view form the real center of human existence, so long as we seek to know ourselves from it. Neither can the selfhood receives its positive content from other selves, because when viewed in themselves alone, all selves are equally without content. They all refer beyond themselves for their fulfillment. As Dooyeweerd points out, 'The ego of our fellow-man confronts us with the same riddle as our own selfhood does." For Dooyeweerd, as for Calvin, the self's relation towards God is the determining one. . . . Self-knowledge is thus in the last analysis dependent on our knowledge of God (75-76).

Advent - Biblical Imagery: Firstborn

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The firstborn son was significant to Israel. The Lord told Israel to sanctify and set apart the firstborn (Exodus 13). Yahweh instructed Israel the firstborn sons of animals/livestock and the firstborn sons of Israel were to be set apart. Yahweh is the Creator and Master of the Universe, he declared Israel as his own special people, this meant Yahweh claimed every firstborn son that passed through the matrix of any womb. Period.

Jesus was the firstborn son of Mary. According to Exodus 13, Yahweh already had dibs on Jesus. Jesus, however, was a firstborn in more than once sense--Jesus was unique and set apart trifecta.

1) Jesus -- Firstborn and set apart because he is the firstborn son of Joseph and Mary

First, Jesus was set apart because he was the firstborn son of Mary, a faithful and holy daughter of Israel. The angel came to Mary and told her that the Spirit of the Lord would be upon her and that she would bear a child, the Christ, the hope and Salvation of Israel. This child was her firstborn, Jesus the Christ.

2) Jesus -- Firstborn and set apart because he is the only begotten Son of God

Second, Jesus was set apart because he was the only begotten Son of the Father (Psalm 2:7; Hebrews 1:5; 1 John 4:9). As the Creed says, Jesus the Son of God is "God of God - Light of Light - very God of very God - begotten, not made - being of one substance with the Father - by whom all things were made." The author of Hebrews emphasizes the uniqueness of Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, the Incarnate God-man, whom the Father set apart, when he rhetorically asks,

For unto which of the angels said he [God the Father] at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

3) Jesus -- Firstborn and is set apart because he is the Lord's "Christ" (the promised Messiah)

And third, Jesus was set apart because he was the Christ, the foretold Messiah and Anointed One. After his birth, Joseph and Mary took the infant Jesus to the Temple to present him before the Lord. At the Temple they were greeted by a man who had the Holy Ghost upon him. That man was Simeon, to whom God had revealed:

That he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ (Luke 2:26).

Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary, was the Promised Christ, the Messiah. Simeon glorified God that he saw the Christ before his death. This child was the promised hope and salvation of Israel. The Angel of the Lord told Mary that her child was going to be the Son of the Highest, and that the Lord would place him as firstborn upon the Throne of David.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:31-33).

The Lord placed the shepherd boy David on the Throne of Israel. He was not a firstborn, nor was he even one of Saul's sons. However, the Lord appointed him to the position of firstborn and ruler of Israel. The Lord rejected wicked Saul (1 Samuel 16) and appointed David to be King.

Jesus Christ was not the firstborn. Adam was the first man. But God appointed Christ to be the Firstborn, the Second Adam and King. The Lord rejected wicked Adam because he rebelled against Yahweh. When Adam fell and was cursed with death, all of mankind died in Adam. We are, however, made alive in Jesus, who is appointed firstborn and set apart as our Christ, our salvation (1 Corinthians 15:22).

It pleased God the Father to ransom sinners by the life, death, and resurrection of His only begotten Son, the incarnate Jesus Christ, who was the firstborn of Mary. Christ was set apart and sanctified. If you are in Christ, then you are empowered by the work of the Holy Spirit and are also set apart and sanctified. Not because of anything we have done, but solely because Jesus Christ is the sanctified firstborn.

Evangelical Urgency: For Now Wicked Men Capable Subjects of Mercy . . . But Not Later

From Section III of Jonathan Edwards' "The End of the Wicked Contemplated by the Righteous" (Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 2., Banner of Truth Trust, 1995 reprint):

We ought now to seek and be concerned for the salvation of wicked men, because now they are capable subjects of it. Wicked men, though they may be very wicked, yet are capable subjects of mercy [CCS, emphasis]. It is yet a day of grace with them, and they have the offers of salvation. Christ is as yet seeking their salvation; he is calling upon them, inviting and wooing them; he stands at the door and knocks. He is using many means with them, is calling them, saying, Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die? The day of his patience is yet continued to them; and if Christ is seeking their salvation, surely we ought to seek it.

God is wont now to make men the means of one another’s salvation; yea, it is his ordinary way so to do. He makes the concern and endeavours of his people the means of bringing home many to Christ. Therefore they ought to be concerned for and endeavour it. But it will not be so in another world: there wicked men will be no longer capable subjects of mercy [CCS, emphasis]. The saints will know, that it is the will of God the wicked should he miserable to all eternity. It will therefore cease to be their duty any more to seek their salvation, or to be concerned about their misery. On the other hand, it will be their duty to rejoice in the will and glory of God. It is not our duty to be sorry that God hath executed just vengeance on the devils, concerning whom the will of God in their eternal state is already known to us.

Trinitarian Reading: Fred Sanders' "The Trinity" from Mapping Modern Theology edited by Kelly M. Kapic & Bruce L. McCormack

Fred Sanders contributes the chapter on "The Trinity" in Kapic and McCormack's Mapping Modern Theology: A Thematic and Historical Introduction. Starting with Hegel and ending with the contemporary "surge of interest in all things trinitarian" (22), Sanders outlines what people have been saying about the Trinity for the past 200 years. A the story goes, many theologians chose to criticize the doctrine of the Trinity: when those criticisms are at their worst, Sanders' history accounts for a twisting and honest denial of the deposit handed down; and when those criticisms are at their best, Sanders' history accounts for theologians who were trying to find new modes of expression (oftentimes faulty) for presenting a doctrine considered pre-modern and antiquated. This history, however, has a plot change (according to some).

The retrieval of the doctrine of the Trinity is oftentimes oversimplified--as are all pocket summaries--and attributed to Karl Rahner and Karl Barth, the latter who was able to successfully "put the Trinity back on the agenda of self-consciously modern theology, specifically among the liberal mainstream of academic theology in Europe and America, and specifically among those for whom history and experience were decisive modern categories dictating the conditions of Christian thought" (41). For many, Barth is a theological hero. They believe he conducted theological CPR on the dying doctrine of the Trinity; it was as good as dead until Barth worked his magic fingers and rubbed Church Dogmatics Awesome Sauce on the blue corpse and said, "Rise. Be resurrected."

Sanders is not so easily convinced. He doesn't really see this as a plot change or a paradigm shift. He doesn't think the historical evidence points to motif where retrieval can be interpreted as a form of resurrection. Rather, Sanders believes it was a normalistic retrieval, what some call conservation.

There is an oft-told tale of how the doctrine of the Trinity was marginalized in the modern period, until a heroic rescue performed by one of the Karls (Barth or Rahner). But for theologians like [British Methodist William Burt] Pope, [American Presbyterian Charles] Hodge, [Dutch Calvinist Herman] Bavinck, and [American Episcopalian Francis J.] Hall, as for most Christians, there was no need for an absolute retrieval of a completely lost doctrine. Retrieval is a normal part of responsible theological method, and theologians were actively engaged in a kind of low-level, ordinary retrieval throughout the modern period, a retrieval so incremental as to be indistinguishable from conservation (44). 

Sanders ends his historical analysis of what people have been saying about the Trinity during the past 200 years with a suggestion for how theologians riding the wave and wake of modernity might navigate forward:

As trinitarian theology continues to be discussed and developed, theologians will do well to carry on the modern trinitarian project by articulating this classic Christian doctrine in such a way that the doctrine is not an opaque monolith of inherited terminology, but is transparent to history, transparent to human experience, and transparent to biblical foundation.  

Trinitarian Reading: The Holy Trinity by Robert Letham

Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship (P&R Publishing, 2004).

In the Preface, Robert Letham confesses that although interacting and dealing with a wide spectrum of theologians, "from East and West, from Roman Catholicism as well as Protestantism," this book "is written from a Reformed perspective" (ix). It should come as no surprise for a book on the Holy Trinity to be written from a Reformed perspective, it is, after all, well documented that John Calvin broke from the "Western" theological mold in his writings when he emphasized the persons of the Trinity instead of the traditional/Augustinian emphasis which highlighted "divine essence." Letham notes that it is "tragic" that Reformed folk have failed to flourish and follow Calvin's lead. Calvin leaned into the doctrine of the Trinity, and Letham would like to see more Calvinists leaning together with and like Calvin; Letham would like to see more Calvinists share Calvin's Trinitarian posture. (Calvin was true to his Western/Augustinian tradition, but he did so with an openness to the Eastern/Greek emphasis. Letham says Calvin preserved the theological deposit handed to him--he conserved it--yet he contributed to its flourishing through maintaining a type of kinship through grafting in Eastern/Greek sensibilities.)

In order to consciously share the same type of posture towards the doctrine of the Trinity we must understand both the doctrine of the Trinity and its historical development (flow through different contexts). "To think clearly about the Trinity, we must grapple with the history of discussion in the church" (2).

The history of discussion in the church has centered around what are considered errors of traditional emphasis in the doctrine of the Trinity: the West is criticized for overemphasizing the "divine essence" and of slipping into modalism, and the East is criticized for overemphasizing the persons and slipping into subordinationism of the Son and Holy Spirit to the Father. But these aren't just apparent errors. There is more tooth to them than mere conjecture . . . particularly in the West, Letham says:

Today most Western Christians are practical modalists. The usual way of referring to God is "God" or, particularly at the popular level, "the Lord." It is worth contrasting this with Gregory Nazianzen, the great Cappadocian of the fourth century, who spoke of "my Trinity," saying, "When I say 'God,' I mean Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." This practical modalism goes tandem with a general lack of understanding of the historic doctrine of the Trinity (6).

Letham suggests that the remedy for these errors is an all out, full recovery of the doctrine of the Trinity which follows the trajectory set by Calvin. This recovery, however, is not a remedy administered "top-down" from the Ivory Towers. It is a grassroot solution. The remedial flow begins in the pew and the pulpit. Per Letham:

It is my belief that a recovery of the Trinity at the ground level, the level of the ordinary minister and believer, will help revitalize the life of the church and, in turn, its witness in the world (7).

Letham's aim is pastoral: "Let us persevere, then, through the chapters that follow . . . for the great and and wonderful prize of knowing our triune God better" (12). I believe he accomplishes that aim in this book: Letham, in order to lead us further up and further in communion with and love for (and participation in the love and glory of) the Holy Trinity, competently leads believers from the Biblical foundations, along the historical developments, and into the modern discussions and critical issues of the doctrine of the Trinity. A recovery of the doctrine of the Trinity aids the church in fulfilling her mission because the "Trinity provides the sole basis for the greatest of human tasks," which is to love one another. Letham notes that Scripture, specifically the Gospel of John, emphasizes again and again the "priority of love." The church needs love in order to do her job. "The mission of the church to spread the gospel also requires the practice of love, of self-effacement, of looking to the interests of others" (478). The Trinity is the not only the model but the source of this love.

Trinitarian Reading: Paradox and Truth by Ralph Smith

Ralph Smith, Paradox and Truth: Rethinking Van Til on the Trinity by Comparing Van Til, Plantinga, and Kuyper. 2nd ed. (Canon Press, 2002).

In this short book, Ralph Smith argues for Christians to build their worship and worldview upon robust Trinitarian thinking. Smith's aim is to, "help bring Van Til's profound exposition of the Trinity back into the discussion of this doctrine, and in that connection, to help stimulate further consideration of the worldview implications of the doctrine of the Trinity" (14). In order to accomplish this, Smith compares and contrasts Van Til with Cornelius Plantinga Jr.'s writings on the doctrine of the Trinity. Smith deals in depth with Plantinga's article, "The Threeness/Oneness Problem of the Trinity." After this thoughtful consideration, Smith moves the conversation forward by introducing Abraham Kuyper's views on the covenant.

Smith is dealing with things that are highly technical (e.g., Augustinian views of the doctrine of the Trinity, social theory views of the doctrine of the Trinity, Barthian/modalistic views of the doctrine of the Trinity, etc.). Smith does not, however, lose his bearings. He is pastoral and stalwart in his Orthodoxy. His overarching goals are practical, not vaporous and ideological. Smith has written a short yet very important book.

Smith concludes his book with a sobering benediction:

For too many evangelicals, the doctrine of the Trinity has been tamed, locked up in the cage of a confession of faith that is rarely reflected upon. Kant's words are not altogether inapplicable to this trinitarianism. [Kant said, "The doctrine of the Trinity, taken literally, has no practical relevance at all, even if we think we understand it; and it is even more clearly irrelevant if we realize that it transcends all our concepts."] Van Til's doctrine, by contrast, is more relevant than Kant or his followers can handle. Released from the cage of mere tradition, Van Til's approach is dangerous for the world of unbelief, which is happy when Christian worship of God is confided to pretty buildings. Covenantal trinitarianism implies the kind of "biblicism" that offends the world because it proclaim salvation in Christ alone and offends the Church because it demands reformation. The alternative to a real reformation of evangelicalism in the direction of a fully trinitarian worldview can, I fear, only be apostasy, for the Trinity is the Christian doctrine of God, without which Christianity itself cannot be. But our doctrine of God must be both expressible in a comprehensive worldview system, and also able to inspire worship and obedience in everyday life (112-113).

The Witness and Work of the Church

From While We're At It by David Mills in the November - 2012 issue of First Things:

"Look for a building with a cross on it," people escaping North Korea for China are told, because Christians are more likely than anyone else to help them escape the Chinese police. The police, reports Melanie Kirkpatrick, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, will send them back to the hell-on-earth that is North Korea, where they will be tortured, thrown into prison camps, or killed. You don't leave utopia.

 Christians will help refugees either merge into Chinese society or get into South Korea. People go to jail for this, mind you. It is cheering to know that Christian sin China will risk their freedom for strangers. And cheering that the little religious freedom the government has conceded lets the believers put on their churches a symbol of freedom, a symbol not only to those oppressed by sin but those oppressed by man.

This is a wonderful reminder to pray for the persecuted church, that believers will trust God and persevere under tribulation, that believers will proclaim the Gospel and rely on the strength of God by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, that believers will be sustained by God and protected and preserved as Witnesses. There is always Witness to be done.

Also, this causes me to reflect, and ask pointed questions: In the United States when The Great Default comes (Google "The Great Default"), will American churches have the same reputation as the Christians in China? Will people point to a "Cross" and say, "Go there for help. They'll gladly assist you." This is one of the advantages of a church having a brick-and-mortar building.

The Lord, however, does not bless all churches with brick-and-mortar buildings, so this means churches that meet formally in a residential or rented commercial building should think creatively to overcome this roadblock--relatively easy now with the wide-scale adoption of Internet Access, since churches can put the symbol of a "Cross" on their Web-presence, and Social Media can just as readily point to the physical symbol on a building as it does to the virtual symbol on a Website, Podcast, etc., and all of these serve as aids to inform people where help can be found.

Building brick-and-mortar churches and placing Crosses on steeples takes skill, knowledge, and wisdom about the world (e.g., architects, contractors, crane operators, etc.), so too building a Web-presence and placing virtual Crosses on the Internet takes skill, knowledge, and wisdom about the world. The church, therefore, needs faithful Christians who build in both arenas: we need Christian architects, contractors, crane operators, etc., and we need Christian web developers, graphic and brand designers, and copy writers and content publishers. There is always Work to be done.

Enjoying the Sweetness of Trinitarian Life

What happens when a Church cannot produce Teachers or Doctors who toil faithfully in word and doctrine? What happens to a Church when it produces systematic theologians who cannot adequately communicate (demonstrate) and expound the doctrine of God's triunity? What happens when a Church fails to hand down the deposit of sound doctrine originally handed down to her?

The short answer: The Church falls away. She goes into exile. She dies. Like the lyric from Unite by the O. C. Supertones,

O yeah, I got a beef with the fence-sitters
Tares among the wheat, the cop-outs, the quitters
Cut from the branch fruitless, no good,
Only one use and that's firewood
Pay no mind to the generation line
Forsake your sect and be color blind
The problem's not Hollywood, the problem's not Washington
The problem's a weak divided church of schismed Christians

Thankfully, the Church is the bride of the Resurrected Christ. In Christ, there is life on the other side of death, even doctrinal death. The Triune God is the Lord of Life and the members of the covenant participate, enjoy, and partake of the sweetness of the Trinitarian life of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Centrality of Doctrine of the Trinity

Is the doctrine of the Trinity the central part of your Christian worldview and worship?

Ralph Smith believes it should be. Commenting on the lack of emphasis of the doctrine of the Trinity in contemporary, apologetic and/or Christian worldview writings penned by Evangelicals (e.g., He is There and He is Not Silent by Francis Schaeffer, The Universe Next Door by James W. Sire, Worldviews in Conflict by Ronald H. Nash, War of the Worldviews by Gary DeMar, and Lifeviews by R. C. Sproul), Smith says,

But if the fact of God's triunity is essential to our worldview, that fact needs to be demonstrated and then expounded so that Christians can see what the doctrine of the Trinity means for Christian thought and life (Paradox and Truth: Rethinking Van Til on the Trinity by Comparing Van Til, Plantinga, and Kuyper, Canon Press, 17).

 Smith echoes Rahner and Moltmann. Both commented on the displacement of the Doctrine of the Trinity in modern/contemporary theology. I remember my theology professor, Dr. Chris Bounds, at university also discussed this issue at length in Introduction to Theology. He frequently mentioned how the centrality of the doctrine of the Trinity had been eroded. For evidence he cited the fact that books dealing with Christian Theology were being published which lacked a section dedicated to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Thus, primers on Christian Theology that were not structured or outlined by the very structure of the Economic Trinity.

Cornelius "One Liner" Van Til, Again

In October, I posted a handful of Van Til "one liners" from his Introduction to Systematic Theology. This month I am posting another handful from his Christian Apologetics.

"[S]ystematic theology . . . takes all the truths brought to light from Scripture by the biblical studies and forms them into one organic whole" (21).

"The unity and the diversity in God are equally basic and mutually dependent upon one another" (25).

"No creature can detract from his [God] glory; all creatures, willingly or unwillingly add to his glory" (28).

"God is absolute" (29).

"He [God] is autonomous" (29).

"The diversity and the unity in the Godhead are therefore equally ultimate; they are exhaustively correlative to one another and not correlative to anything else" (29).

"The most basic distinction of Christianity is that of God's being as self-contained, and created being as dependent upon him" (30).

"Christianity is committed for better or for worse to a two-layer theory of reality or being" (31).

"Truth out of all relationship to any mind is a pure meaningless abstraction" (34).

"The idea of disinterested or neutral knowledge is out of accord with the basic ideas of Christianity" (40).

"Christ came to bring man back to God" (46).

"In Christ man realizes that he is a creature of God and that he should not seek underived comprehensive knowledge" (48).

"Christ is our wisdom" (48).

"What Christ did while he was on earth is only a beginning of his work" (51).

"Sin being what it is we may be certain that all our preaching and all our reasoning with men will be in vain unless God brings men through it to himself" (53).

"Belief in the promises of God with respect to our eternal salvation is meaningless unless God controls the future" (53).

"Scripture gives definite information of a most fundamental character about all the facts and principles with which philosophy and science deal" (61).

"They [General and Special Revelation] are aspects of one general philosophy of history" (66).

"It was in the mother promise that God gave the answer to nature's cry (Gen. 3:15)" (75).

"At every stage in history God's revelation in nature is sufficient for the purpose it was meant to serve, that of being the playground for the process of differentiation between those who would and those who would not serve God" (75-76).

"Created man may see clearly what is revealed clearly even if he cannot see exhaustively" (77).

"Nature can and does reveal nothing but the one comprehensive plan of God" (78).

"No one can become a theist unless he becomes a Christian" (79).

"Any god that is not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is not God but an idol" (79).

"Hodge, following the lead of Calvin, stressed the fact that the whole set of sinful man needs to be renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit" (94).

"For Adam in paradise, God-consciousness could not come in at the end of a syllogistic process of reasoning" (115).

"Roman Catholic notion of authority seems at first sight to be very absolute--in fact even more absolute than that of Protestantism--it is in reality not absolute at all. Its idea of autonomy wins out in every case. And so it comes to pass that the Roman Catholic doctrines of faith are in every instance adjusted to the idea of human autonomy" (181).

"It follows that on the question of Scripture, as on every other question, the only possible way for the Christian to reason with the non-believer is by way of presupposition" (197).

All quotes from Christian Apologetics (P&R Publishing, 2003), edited by William Edgar.

Raising Children

I just finished reading Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic. This was a fast read. However, looking forward I am confident that I will circle back and re-read.

This book is chalked full of godly wisdom and rebuke of sin, sound advice and good story telling. It is the best book on parenting that I have read since reading J. C. Ryle's The Duties of Parents. Mothers are Mrs. Jankovic's target audience (obviously), but this book has so much to offer fathers--it is well worth the investment. Loving the Little Years is a delightful but extremely convicting book.

Nov. 6 - Election Day: Prayer

O God our Father, we thank thee that thou hast fearfully and wondrously made each one of us, thy children. May holy purposes direct us, the love of Christ constrain us, and the strength of the Spirit support us to be worthy instruments in thy kingdom. Teach us to walk with confidence and not without humility, with eagerness and not without consideration, with courage and not without reverence. Give us purity in heart when evil surrounds us. Make us brave to prune what is fruitless. Help us to cultivate what is good in thy sight. Increase our helpfulness as we touch the hands of our brethren. So enlarge our usefulness as thy hands bless us, until we lay down the unfinished tasks on earth and by thy grace are fashioned into perfect instruments of love and praise in everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (Prayer # 120 from Samuel John Schmiechen's Pastoral Prayers for the Church Year).