Come on folks. “I walk for the planet earth”?

I wonder if the school would have “I walk for the unborn.” What do you think?

Again, while I have nothing against biblical stewardship of creation, I have much against the presentation of this type of indoctrination and unbalanced agenda.

I feel like saying “I don’t walk, I just drive my four thousand pound Expedition that gets 12 miles to the gallon,” but that would not be expedient to keeping my ever increasing Green audience!

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Mom is still the same. We had a sincere prayer for healing offered, yet God chose not to act according to such desires.

Someone asked why I would take her to another church to pray for healing. The answer is that my church does not encourage people to approach the church, elders, or pastors for prayers for healing. It is not that they are against it, but they just don’t seem to confidently promote it. This church, which I visited for the first time last week did. It is that simple. I saw faith concerning healing that encouraged me to do this. As I said before, this was not a faith healer or a faith healing church. They simply encouraged their people in such a way. They believed in the continuation of the gift of healing and prophecy. I don’t know if they have ever brought up a person in my mother’s situation—unable to walk or speak due to a stroke and aneurysm—and actually saw such a healing. In fact, I have never seen or even heard of such an occurrence that was credible. Have you? Continue Reading »

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Yes, that is right. No kidding . . . we are taking my mother to a church that calls upon the sick to be healed. It is not a “faith healer” in the traditional sense, but we are taking that “step of faith” by going to a church that is outside of my traditional bent.

My theology has nothing against such a thing, but, at the same time, I have never seen it happen.

We will see . . .

For those of you who think this is a mistake, compromise, or a step of foolishness, fooie to you!

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This is a great lesson taught by Darrell Bock at Faith Bible Church. It is worth listening to.

 

 Bock - Jesusanity vs. Christianity [45:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (885)

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My summary/high points:

• “Jesusanity is an attempt to have a high view of Jesus without having a unique view of Jesus.”
• Christianity has become so culturally isolated that they don’t know how to engage people about Christ.
• Christians know a lot about what the Bible says, but not much about the Bible (history, canon, text, etc.)
• The current “Jesus Crisis” is the fault of the church not truly educating the its people.
• Being prepared to represent Christ accurately requires study—hard study—and time.
• Christians need to recognize that we only need to get people to acknowledge that the Bible is “basically” true, we don’t need to force inerrancy down their throat. The closer they get to Jesus, the higher their view of the Bible will eventually be. In other words, get the Christology right and the bibliology will take care of itself.
• When Jesus performed miracles, he did not appeal to another authority. This makes his miracles unique.
• Revisionists say that “history is written by the winners.” Bock: Sometimes the winners deserve to win because they were right and this is why they won.
• Your friends and neighbors are watching the history channel, going to Barnes and Noble, and being overwhelmed by a culture that is fascinated with Jesus, but does not believe in the historic Christian Jesus (Jesusanity). We must be prepared to engage their views of Jesus and what they are being taught through these venues.
• Don’t start the Gospel with the debate over evolution and creation. You can get to that later, after you have introduced them to Christ.

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This is a well articulated criticism about my style from a reader of Parchment and Pen.

“Michael,

One thing that I have noticed over the year that I have been reading your blog is that I never perceive a real strong sense of the damning character of error in your writings. I know that you’re orthodox, and that you truly believe these things (e.g. the Gospel), but you rarely seem to communicate how dangerous UNothodoxy is.

I sense, and maybe this isn’t how you intend to communicate yourself, that you are, in a strange way, postmodern in your methodology. What I mean is this: I gather that for you, methodologically, it’s not so much about the destination (i.e. the ideas upon which one should settle), but the journey (i.e. as long as you are thinking critically). Now I’m not saying that you don’t have truth as the end or goal of your methodology. I am trying to say that this doesn’t come across to me, aside from the occasional explicit statement - which is the only way I know it. Continue Reading »

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Scot Mcknight has written an important summary on why he is not Catholic or Orthodox. This is a helpful addition to my post “Why I am Proud to be Protestant.” I think we are saying the same thing as Scot talks about the “Wiki” Christianity.

I found his statements about the “new birth” to be very helpful for those who are considering converting to Catholicism or Orthodox.

“Sixth, now I want to bring something up that is perhaps even more important than my reflections on the “wiki” nature of God’s revelation and God’s ongoing speaking through the Spirit in the Church: new birth. I’ve been around enough Cat’licks (as Flannery O’Connor, herself a Catholic, called her fellow faithful) and Orthodox to believe that neither communion, regardless of what it says in theology or in catechesis, preaches the new birth clearly enough nor does either institutionalize the need for personal decision enough. Hence, we have articulate spokespersons in each communion who say things like this: “We have sacramentalized our congregations; but we have not evangelized them.” “We have baptized and catechized but not evangelized.”

I believe deeply in the need for personal rebirth, for the new birth, and I don’t think either communion emphasizes this enough. The sparks of change I do see aren’t creating blazes of revival. When they do you’ll see me jumping for joy.

Once a month I get a letter from someone who asks me to talk them out of converting to Rome or to Constantinople (et al), and one thing I say to each of them is this: In three generations it is quite likely that your great grandchildren will be “in” the Church but will not experience the new birth. Not as a matter of rule or principle but as a matter of course. All because of the lack of focus on new birth.”

Read the whole thing. The entire article is very good.

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Labels are a postmodern taboo. This is understandable. Once you are labeled something, you live under the presumptions of the system that has been typified by others. This representation may or may not be accurate. Unfortunately, the inaccuracies inevitably rule the label.

Republican: War lover. Does not care about the environment. Apathetic to social issues.

Democrat: Liberal. Godless. Weak. Immoral.

Roman Catholic: Worships Mary. Ignorant.

Evangelical: Fundamentalist. Gay hater. Supports the killing of abortion doctors. Republican (see above).

Baptist: Can’t drink, dance, or smoke. Prideful.

Dispensationalist: Believes in two ways of salvation, one for the Old Testament and one for the new. Cares only about eschatology.

DTS Grads: Dispensationalist (see above).

OU Sooners: The best ever. Supernatural. Incredible. (Oh, wait . . . this is all true)

Emerging church: Cursing. Compromise doctrine. Nose rings. Disrespectful.

Arminian: Humanistic. Denies God’s sovereignty. Pelagian.

Calvinist: Follower of a man. Believes God hates the non-elect. Denies free will. Denies responsibility. Believes God created evil. Continue Reading »

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Taken from the Theological Word of the Day (TWOD) (to which you should all subscribe!)

Let’s discuss. Do you all agree with the concept expressed by the analogia entis? Read first, then comment.

(Lat. “analogy of being”)

also, “analogy of imitation” or “analogy of participation”

The belief that there exists an analogy or correspondence between the creation and God that makes theological conversation about God possible. While many would say that finite beings with finite language cannot describe an infinite God, theologians of the medieval era discussed this problem, seeking to resolve it by developing a theory which alloted the communication of words into three separate categories.

1) Some words are univocal (always used with the same sense)

2) Some were equivocal (used with very different senses)

3) Some were analogical (used with related senses).

It is this third sense that the analogia entis finds meaning.

While finite man cannot describe and infinite God perfectly (univocally), he can do so truly being that God has created man in his image and, through this, has provided and analogical way of communicating himself. To deny the analogia entis is thought, by some, to be a self defeating proposition since it would present the situation where an all-powerful God is not powerful enough to communicate himself to his creation.

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After an always exhausting and worrisome trip over the ‘Pond,’ I arrived in London with three friends on August 16 (or, as the Brits say, 16 August).

Exhausting? Yes, because I choose not to go to sleep the night before flights to Europe so that I can sleep on the plane. OK, maybe ‘choose’ is too strong of a word. The reality is that I have so much work to do before I leave for the airport that I don’t have time to sleep. But it’s a great plan for curing jetlag. Of course, if there are crying babies in the vicinity, then my scheme fails miserably. Or if one of our team happens to lose his lunch due to a migraine and turbulence, and if he happens to be my son, it’s hard to fall asleep. It’s also exhausting hauling 17 large pieces of luggage, paying the increasingly exorbitant extra luggage costs, and wondering if we’ll ever see our bags again. If we don’t, the expedition is over before it begins.

But worrisome? I admit: I’m a worrier. I wish I weren’t. I wish I trusted God much more, especially since he has a pretty decent track record with me. I wish I didn’t get heartburn as I park my big derriere in a tiny seat and try to take my mind off of all that we have to do. I wish I could just relax, believing that our gear is going to be OK, believing that we won’t have hassles from the passport folks or the customs agents when we land, believing that the four of us can haul everything to the next vehicle to take us somewhere without incident. I don’t relax until we get to our new home and I see that the gear is still in one piece. Even though it’s all insured, it’s a lot of delicate equipment. Each person is allowed to take one bag for personal belongings; the other 13 are for our work of photographing manuscripts. Continue Reading »

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Don’t be enamored to quickly by “change.” Barak represents those in a long line of liberal socialists. His call for “change” is nothing of the sort. It may be a change from our current system, but what I mean is that it is nothing “new.”

From an economic standpoint, he is calling for an internal redistribution of Americas wealth. If redistribution is the way America wants to go, that is fine…it is the beauty of a democracy. But people must realize what this means. It is not simply a matter of fixing our current crisis, but placing ourselves under an entirely different type of government sanctioned economic situation which causes “opportunity” to function under the umbrella of a new paradigm. Obama wants to decide who is rich and who is poor. If you are too successful, then you will be punished.

This may sound attractive to the poor. Why wouldn’t it? If you cannot afford health-care, if you cannot pay your mortgage, if you cannot find a job, then the government will take from those who can to provide for you. The government ends up being the hero! Right? Well there are a more than a few major problems with this direction. Let me describe a couple

1. The motive of the labor force will be quit limited. People are motivated by success. There is nothing wrong with this, biblically or otherwise. This does not amount to greed. Even in the Scriptures, we are told to seek treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:20). But when wealth is redistributed the old idea that “hard work pays” will no longer be true. The entrepreneur mentality that has made America great will be drowned as people recognize that, if successful, they will be giving a major portion of their success to the government. Very few people will succeed in this type of socialism because they will have no motive to do so. We will eventually have to reinvent our popular description of America from “The Land of Opportunity” to “The Land of government sanctioned equality.” Continue Reading »

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Here are my basic thoughts about the Presidential debate:

Both were functioning withing the common Rep and Dem framework. Dems want more of a socialist government (which is not wrong in and of itself). Rep want opportunity which prioritizes itself over the lower class.

Mcain sounded like he knew what was going on because of experience, Obama seemed very book smart.

In the end, as I said to my brother-in-law, I could have said everything that Obama said because it was standard liberal politics. Mcain was a different story…he really knew from experience. Really, whatever you are, Dem or Rep, it is the ideals of the party that will be your first step. If you are truly undecided, Obama did not seem equipped to take the most powerful position in the world (from a human perspective).

Frankly, I would not be too scared if Obama becomes pres simply because he will be a non-voice that people pat on the head and say “thanks for you input” but the balance of powers will eventually leave you without a relevant voice. He is not a qualified leader. Mcain seems to be able to have influence and respect.

Here is a good way to put it:

I would like to take a college class from Obama.

I would like to be discipled by Mcain.

Thoughts on the debate?

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With all the renewed conversation about the emerging church that is blanketing the web once again, I thought that I would enter the “conversation” in a somewhat atypical way.

Some are proclaiming the death of the emerging church saying, “The emerging church is dead—at least in nomenclature, if not in spirit.” Others such as Scot McKnight, Andrew Jones, and Dan Kimball are calling this a nominal death, believing the name itself is no longer descriptive of the original intent of the group, but that the principles expressed will move on. Scot’s post had the spirit of a “call to arms” of the emerging ethos. Others, such as Brian McLaren and Tony Jones may to be holding on to its designation with some hesitant resolve (if you you will allow me to combine those two words).

For those of you ready to sing a courtesy dirge, for those who are preparing their “I-told-you-so” sermon for this Sunday, for those who are breaking out the campaign, hold on. Put the cork back in. I don’t think this type of celebration is yet in order. In fact, I think that this is simply setting up for the second coming of emerging.

To me, this is a good thing that has been in the works for the last few years. It is a natural result of any attempts to reform. The movement is correcting itself. As a result, we see emergers distancing themselves from one another. It is interesting to see the way they are distancing themselves. There are no rope burns on either side. Really, it is just a matter of starting a walk together, holding  the hands of many shared concerns. But while this walk initially allowed some close associations, the ever so slight angle of the direction has proven that they were never really headed the same way to begin with. Its a matter of geometry.

How about a chart to describe this! (Start from the bottom).

(Click to Enlarge) Continue Reading »

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Warning: an imbalanced and emotionally non-irenic post ahead. Don’t read as it may only cause disappointment among many of my more progressive friends.

The latest Barna survey was published last night. Its intent was to evaluate the Evangelical position concerning the environment. In sum, it argues that Evangelicals are “going green.” You can find it here.

One paragraph in particular caught my attention:

“Most Christians are not satisfied to be mere observers of the green movement. Three-quarters of self-identified Christians (78%) agree they would like to see their fellow Christians take a more active role in caring for God’s creation in a way that is both informed and biblical. Among evangelicals, 90% would like Christians to take a more active role in caring for creation, with 67% agreeing strongly. This sentiment is firmly endorsed by a majority of active churchgoers who are Catholic (52%), mainline Protestant (62%), and non-mainline Protestant (67%).”

I would agree with the basic thrust of this as I too am concerned about the environment. However, I am not going “Green” or even “going Green” in any way. Continue Reading »

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Continuing our studies on why people leave the faith, I offer you George. Please read this and let’s discuss what is going on. I will add some questions at the conclusion.

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“My story is as messy as life itself. I’m in the early processes of going public with my deconversion, but it also feels liberating to finally admit the truth out loud, and in the open.

I became a Christian in high school through a youth ministry called Young Life. I went to a week long camp where the gospel was packaged and delivered with great polish and skillful delivery, which was designed for maximum emotional impact. Many girls in the audience at night were in tears as they listened to the account of Jesus. We were all encouraged the final night to go off by ourselves in the dark and commit our lives to Christ. I remember that time vaguely thinking to myself that god really wasn’t there, but I think I prayed to him anyway, just in case. It wasn’t a fervent prayer however, because I wasn’t entirely sure I WANTED him to exist. Still, my friends were doing it, and they seemed cool and nice, so I’d do it to.

I came back from camp somehow oddly pumped up for Christ. I threw myself into bible studies, and developed my Christian friendships a great deal. I still have those Christian friendships, and love my buddies - although now that is a problem (more on that in a moment). I still had nagging doubts in the back of my mind, but kept pushing them aside and just tried harder to be a good Christian. The next few years in college I would vacillate quite a bit. One year I was a volunteer actually helping Young Life. The next year I joined a fraternity and was elected VP, partying heavily and enjoying relationships with sorority women. Continue Reading »

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I have been asked this quite a few times over the years and the issue was brought up again recently. Can homosexuals be Christians? Or, better, is there such a thing as a “homosexual Christian.” Many would believe that someone who engages in a homosexual life style is necessarily excluded from the Kingdom of God unless they repent. Repentance here would mean a change of thinking about and, shortly following, action to change this lifestyle. In other words, while some would be willing to say that a homosexual can be saved, their salvation guarantees their change of lifestyle within a short period of time. Continue Reading »

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Article 2. Whether it can be demonstrated that God exists?

Objection 1. It seems that the existence of God cannot be demonstrated. For it is an article of faith that God exists. But what is of faith cannot be demonstrated, because a demonstration produces scientific knowledge; whereas faith is of the unseen (Hebrews 11:1). Therefore it cannot be demonstrated that God exists.

Objection 2. Further, the essence is the middle term of demonstration. But we cannot know in what God’s essence consists, but solely in what it does not consist; as Damascene says (De Fide Orth. i, 4). Therefore we cannot demonstrate that God exists.

Objection 3. Further, if the existence of God were demonstrated, this could only be from His effects. But His effects are not proportionate to Him, since He is infinite and His effects are finite; and between the finite and infinite there is no proportion. Therefore, since a cause cannot be demonstrated by an effect not proportionate to it, it seems that the existence of God cannot be demonstrated.

On the contrary, Continue Reading »

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I am a Calvinist, others are Arminian. I believe in a premillenial eschatology, others are amillinial. I am a traducianist with regards to the creation of the soul, others are creationists. I believe in inerrancy, others believe that this is an archaic naive doctrine. There are many points of doctrinal division that I am going to have with people, some of which are much more important than others.

Why doesn’t everyone agree with me? Who is causing this disunity in the body of Christ, them or me? Do these division demonstrate the doctrinal bankruptcy of sola Scriptura? Should we elect of a Pope of Protestantism? Or could it be that God has a purpose in his allowance of disagreements?

There are a few different ways that I could answer this.

1. Others don’t agree with me because they have not studied deep enough (lack of scholarship).
2. Others don’t agree with me because they have not studied broad enough (lack of perspective).
3. Others don’t agree with me because they have not studied long enough (lack of wisdom).
4. Others don’t agree with me because their traditional prejudices have created a learning disability that keeps them from the truth (lack of freedom of thought).
5. Others don’t agree with me because they have sin in their life that is blinding them to the truth (lack of holiness).
6. Others don’t agree with me because we don’t have an infallible authoritative interpreter of Scripture that would bring doctrinal unity?
7. Others don’t agree with me because they are not Christian. If they were, well . . . they would agree with me! (lack of salvation).

Generally speaking, I do not default to these possibilities. Don’t get me wrong, these are all possibilities. It could be that people deny the truth (assuming that my position is such) due to ignorance, lack of perspective or wisdom, traditional bindings, sin, lack of authority, or a presupposition of godlessness. But I think we need to be careful about any negative prejudgments about people motives and the ultimate reasons for disagreements. Continue Reading »

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Join Michael Patton and Lindsey Price as they discuss reason #4 on the Top Ten Reasons NOT to be a Christian series.

#3 If I become a Christian, God will make me healthy and wealthy.

During this lesson, Lindsey and I draw from the Bible and personal experience concluding that the health-wealth Gospel is not only a different Gospel, but it represents a different God.

 

 Theology Unplugged - Top Ten Reasons NOT to be a Christian - Because God Will Make Me Healthy and Wealthy [27:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2408)

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