Cooling Twilight

Category: Theology

  • In which I reveal that I might be a closet Catholic

    In which I reveal that I might be a closet Catholic

    friendly-preacher

    Yesterday I was banned from a Facebook group for refusing to admit that I’m Catholic. The discussion at hand was whether or not Peter was the first Pope and if Jesus recognized Peter as “the rock” upon which he would build his Church. To be clear, I’m not Catholic and I don’t recognize the authority of the Pope over the Church. But I, along with most other modern commentators, do think that in Mat 16.18 Jesus declares that Peter is the rock. But for Protestants of a certain variety, any agreement with Catholic theology is tantamount to heresy. (more…)

  • Honesty

    N.T. Wright on the Bible:

    There are many, many issues where I say I am committed to believing this text whenever I figure out what on earth it’s supposed to mean, which at the moment I don’t think I know.

  • Is Islam a religion of peace?

    Is Islam a religion of peace?

    crusade

    Let’s take a look at some Arabic texts and their English translations:
    (more…)

  • Catholics and Protestants in Conversation

    Catholics and Protestants in Conversation

    yell

    I recently witnessed the following exchange on Facebook between a Catholic and a Protestant.
    (more…)

  • Found or Not Found? An Examination of 2 Peter 3.10

    Found or Not Found? An Examination of 2 Peter 3.10

    earth-fire

    Let’s briefly take a look at one of the knottiest textual problems in the New Testament: 2 Peter 3.10.

    For the purposes of this discussion, we’ll set aside issues of canonicity (hotly-contested) and authorship (not Peter) and simply focus on the text of this single verse.
    (more…)

  • You are NOT God’s Masterpiece

    You are NOT God’s Masterpiece

    cezanne-card-players

    The New Living Translations of Ephesians 2.10 says “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

    I’ve often heard this verse extolled as a sort of self-affirming mantra to fall back on when you’re feeling down about yourself. Most recently I encountered it in this tweet from Joel Osteen: “You are not average. You have been custom made. You are God’s masterpiece.” (more…)

  • Pauline Authorship Survey Chart

    Pauline Authorship Survey Chart

    James McGrath posted a chart of the results of survey regarding the authorship of the Pauline epistles. He points out that “seeing the numbers” can provide a quick summation of scholarly opinion. But for me, visualizing those numbers is even better, so I put together this quick chart based on the data:

    pauline-authorship-1

    Be sure to read McGrath’s thoughts on the survey, as well as Rick Sumner’s.

  • Think the Pope said something great about gays? Think again.

    Think the Pope said something great about gays? Think again.

    Pope Francis

    The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that in an interview Pope Francis said: “Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord? … You can’t marginalize these people.”

    This story has spread across the internet as if the Pope has said something ground-breaking about the Catholic Church’s stance on homosexuality, as if they’ve made a 180-degree about-face and are now open and accepting of gays. But nothing could be further from the truth. (more…)

  • Barth on Grace

    Barth on Grace

    Karl Barth

    I just read Karl Barth’s sermon “Saved By Grace” from his slender volume The Preaching of the Gospel. What a great sermon! You can read the whole thing online, but here’s an excerpt:

    Dear brothers and sisters, where do we stand now? One things is certain: the bright day has dawned, the sun of God does shine into our dark lives, even though we may close our eyes to its radiance. His voice does call us from heaven, even though we may obstruct our ears. The bread of life is offered to us, even though we are inclined to clench our fists instead of opening our hands to take the bread and eat it. The door of our prison is open, even though, strangely enough, we prefer to remain within. God has put the house in order, even though we like to mess it up all over again. By grace you have been saved!–this is true, even though we may not believe it, may not accept it as valid for ourselves and unfortunately in so doing may forego its benefits. Why should we want to forego the benefits? Why should we not want to believe? Why do we not go out through the open door? Why do we not open our clenched fists? Why do we obstruct our ears? Why are we blindfolded? Honestly, why?

  • Christians with a difference

    Christians with a difference

    mondrian

    While reflecting on the nature of evangelical Christianity, this quote from C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters came to mind:

    My dear Wormwood,

    The real trouble about the set your patient is living in is that it is merely Christian. They all have individual interests, of course, but the bond remains mere Christianity. What we want, if men become Christians at all, is to keep them in the state of mind I call ‘Christianity And’. You know–Christianity and the Crisis, Christianity and the New Psychology, Christianity and the New Order, Christianity and Faith Healing, Christianity and Psychical Research, Christianity and Vegetarianism, Christianity and Spelling Reform. If they must be Christians let them at least be Christians with a difference. Substitute for the faith itself some Fashion with a Christian colouring. Work on their horror of the Same Old Thing.

    “If they must be Christians let them at least be Christians with a difference” — but of course we do have differences, and often important ones at that! I agree with the sentiment that we should seek unity, that we should cling to “mere” Christianity and that we should hold our differences with humility. But therein lies the rub: what for one Christian is a minor theological difference not worth quibbling over is, for another, a heresy that threatens the very foundations of belief. 

    What beliefs do unite us? What are the essentials? What defines someone as a Christian? Is it merely a self-designation that has a potentially different meaning for each person? Simply a follower of Jesus? A profession that Jesus is Lord? An affirmation that Christ died for our sins, was buried and was raised on the third day? Agreement with the Apostles’ Creed? With the Nicene Creed?

    But moving past those essentials (whatever they may be), how do we negotiate our differences on other matters? How do we hold true to our deeply held beliefs while still respecting — and even welcoming — the diverse beliefs of others? How do we find unity as “mere Christians” when we have so many seemingly unbridgeable theological gaps?