I am the product of a sub-emerging evangelical theological conversation which recognizes the validity of both the postmodern and modern ethos.

Go ahead, label me!

But read me first.

Those who are like me find themselves in an ocean of hope and despair holding on to two anchors at once. The modern anchor sinks because of its reliance on absolute certainty in all things. The postmodern anchor sinks because of its lack of certainty about anything. We hope to keep both anchors from setting so that theological progression can continue, all the while trying to keep themselves from going down with either (which is not easy).

You might be a like me if . . .

1. You don’t take yourself too seriously. Continue Reading »

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A few items:

Parchment and Pen: One Year Later
It has been one year (give or take) since I started the Parchment and Pen blog. Many people said “Don’t do it!” It will eat up your time. They were certainly right; It does eat up a lot of time. But I think that it has been worth it. Blogs are odd. It is a scary thing to put yourself out in the public in such a way. Sometimes you say to yourself “Why did I hit publish.” For compulsive personalities like me, blogs are dangerous. Nevertheless, when at their best, there are not many better ways of communication. Special thanks to Michael Spencer for all his support. I am not sure we would have the audience we do without him.

To all our readers: Thank you.

My Mother
I have not given much of an update on mom recently. I guess that it is one of those things that may come across as pouting, and I don’t want it to be seen as such. Mom is still the same. Two years after the stroke (this month—can you believe it has been so long?) she still can’t really speak, no walking, and has the mentality of a 5 year old at 58 (at least it seems that way most of the time).

Since she is too young to get the financial assistance for a nursing home, we divide the time between me and my sisters. That is why I moved here in Oct. I spend Fridays with her. It is “my day.” It is not really, as of yet, a burden. I enjoy spending time with her and my sister. We go to Old School Bagel in Okla City EVERY Friday at 1pm. (If you are in town, come by and see us. We sit at the booth.) Continue Reading »

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Did God change his mind? What about when God repents for making man on the earth in Gen 6.

Genesis 6:1-6 When humankind began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humankind were beautiful. Thus they took wives for themselves from any they chose. 3 So the LORD said, “My spirit will not remain in humankind indefinitely, since they are mortal. They will remain for 120 more years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days (and also after this) when the sons of God were having sexual relations with the daughters of humankind, who gave birth to their children. They were the mighty heroes of old, the famous men. 5 But the LORD saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended.

I make the argument that we need to move beyond the idea that this is simple antropomorphism since 1) it does not fit, 2) it does not answer the question that is raised.

This is the beginning of a series of difficult passages of Scripture.

**iTunes users: Give Theology Unplugged a review on iTunes.

 

 Theology Unplugged - Problem Passages (Part 1): Does God Change His Mind [27:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3282)

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Julie, a long standing member of your church (non-denominational) and a good friend, asks to meet with you. She has always been a rather quiet and unhappy person, but this day she seemed more upbeat. You meet her for lunch as she has told you that wants to share with you some news. The news, however, comes as a shock and produces quite a dilemma.

You see, Julie has been in a very bad marriage. Her husband does not attend church and is very antagonistic to the her faith. He often ridicules her for her beliefs. Not only this, but he goes out drinking three to four times a week, sometimes not coming home until the next morning. He neglects her and the kids always telling her that if she is so unhappy she needs to find some “preacher boy.” While he has never been physically abusive to her or the kids, Julie feels abused emotionally. Even when her husband it home, he only watches TV. Julie cries often, wanting to find love—real love.

Her news? She is finally happy. She has met someone at work. Another man. She is glowing with excitement telling you, “I have never felt so alive, so needed, and worth so much. He spends time with me, makes me feel like a lady again, and is such a gentleman. I am the center of his world. It is like a dream.” Continue Reading »

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As many of you already know, I love Chuck Swindoll. Thoughts of him always reignite a passion for the Gospel. His example and leadership have stablized me many times as I stumbled on the evangelical road.

In 1993, living a dichotomist life of bar-hopping, womanizing, and Sunday night church attending (just before Sunday night penny beer at the Dugout!), I caught his radio series every morning on the way to work at the Copy Stop in down town Oklahoma City. Grace Awakening. That was the name of the series God used to ignite my soul. Of course, it was not the program itself, but what Chuck was teaching. Grace. Not sure I had ever understood it before. At least my ears were not attune to it until then. Grace. If what Chuck said was true, I was missing much of the Gospel and the character of God.

What is grace?

It is told that during a meeting on comparative religions in Britain that many scholars gathered together to discuss what, if anything, was unique to Christianity. Many different elements were discussed and debated. Was Christianity unique because of its concept of truth? No, other religions have this. Was it unique because of the doctrine of reconciliation? No, other religions have this. Was it unique in terms of inspiration of a particular book? No, again, other religions have this. It is told that C.S. Lewis entered the room during the debate and asked what the discussion was all about. “We are discussing what makes Christianity unique, if anything.” “That’s easy” Lewis responded, “its grace.” Continue Reading »

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Is the Roman Catholic Church unorthodox?  

From the perspective of a Protestant understanding of “orthodoxy,” relations to other traditions can vary. Protestants can be found who believe that any deviation from the developments and articulations found in the Reformation, particularly with regard to justification by faith alone, amounts to abandoning the Gospel completely.

The question is this: Does a denial of sola fide (justification by faith alone) amount to the production of a different Gospel and to what degree?

If a denial of sola fide produces a different Gospel in an absolute sense, then it is, by definition, unorthodox in the most severe way. However, if it deviates from the Gospel causing a distortion of the Gospel, but not a destruction of the Gospel, can it be said to be unorthodox to the degree that the Catholic church is a heretical institution? Continue Reading »

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Update: Listen here as you read this post.

Do you feel out of place as a Christian? I suspect you sometimes do. I think everyone, at some time in their lives, feels like a misfit within the Church. I do. Often. Believe me, I have my stories.

We are all different kinds of Christians. We are different due to upbringing, personalities, genetics, differing passions, and the like. Many times we will get discouraged because of our differences. Sometimes we ask ourselves “What is wrong with me?”

Here are some of the feelings that you might have.

• I don’t like to fellowship with other believers very much, whats wrong with me?
• I haven’t even felt the presence of God like others do, what’s wrong with me?
• I don’t love to read my Bible like other Christians do, what’s wrong with me? Continue Reading »

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According to N.T. Wright, justification is a subset of election, which, in turn, is an issue of ecclesiology. Justification therefore is intrinsically tied to being a part of the covenant community. Jews were by definition part of this community and, because of this, they were justified de facto. In Wright’s understanding, the Jews of Paul’s day, including Paul himself, were not seeking to justify themselves by their own works, but to remain a part of the covenant community. Therefore, the traditional Augustinian/Reformed view of justification by works vs. justification by faith is not what is a issue with Paul. In other words, the Jews never believed that they were justified by works. Wright believes that justification = “To be declared righteous due to initiation into the covenant community,” not “To be de righteous do to the imputation of Christ’s righteousness.”

Piper argues that such a definition cannot bear the weight of the New Testament text, especially Paul. Using Romans 3 and 4, Piper demonstrates that justification is not a recognition of a status with in a covenant community, but a declaration of a position before God. Piper notes, “. . . [J]ustification does not denote or mean covenant membership, but it does imply covenant membership” (p. 44). Continue Reading »

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John Piper has proven once again that underneath his passionate commitment to exposition and inspiration, his thinking, judgment, and exegetical rigor is not clouded by emotional commitments and traditional brick walls. Piper represents that rare combination between the pastor, theologian, and exegete. His most recent work The Future of Justification is a scholarly defense of the Gospel in the wake that has left many scrambling toward the reinterpretation of justification by NT Wright and those who are mesmerized by the “New Perspective on Paul” (henceforth NPP). Continue Reading »

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In my last post on hyper-Preterism, I pondered whether hyper-Preterism is a false Gospel. This post is simply meant to be an interlude as to where I presently stand.

As I may have said before, I have had very little contact with hyper-Preterism. I don’t even know anyone personally who believes such. In a lot of ways, the arguments remind me of flat-earth arguments. As Simon Cowell would say, “Sorry.” From a theological standpoint they seem to be very unsophisticated and short-sighted, without a broad knowledge of theological inquiry. It would seem that they take a few problem issues and suppose “simple” solutions that create many more serious problems that seem to escape their notice. Because of its viability, biblically and historically, I did not even include it in the course on eschatology in The Theology Program. (Plus, I ran out of room.) Continue Reading »

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Here is an ALR New Release about the CSNTM find:

DALLAS, March 25, 2008 – Normally, two or three New Testament manuscripts handwritten in the original Greek are discovered each year.

Last summer, the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) found a treasure trove of them during a trip to Albania. The Center, based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas, devotes itself to the high-resolution digital preservation of these early copies of the New Testament.

Scholars tried for decades to gain access to the National Archive in Tirana with little success, partly because Albania is a former police state. Until now, only two manuscripts of the 13 there known to Western scholars had been photographed, both with microfilm many years ago. Continue Reading »

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Here is the interview that we had from Converse with Scholars last Thurday with Dan Kimball. We talked about his book The Like Jesus but Not the Church.

We talked about the legitimacy of contextualizing the Gospel.

We talked about how America is a mission field.

Among the questions I asked Dan: 

• Many people accuse emergers, including yourself, of compromising the Gospel for the sake of relevance. How do you respond?
• Some of the popular emergering leaders seem to be rethinking the doctrine of Hell. Where do you stand on this? Is Hell expendable to the Gospel?
• People say they like Jesus but not the Church, but do they really like Jesus? Or do they have an unbiblical perception of Jesus that they like?

Dan even stuck around after I left and answered questions. He was a great guest.

Dan’s Website

 

 Dan Kimball - The Emerging Culture [93:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1945)

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In a recent episode of Theology Unplugged (solo version), I made a comment that I was challenged to reconsider through an email correspondence. My statement had to do with my position concerning the viability of full or hyper-Preterism as a Christian option. Hyper-Preterism is the belief held by some (a growing number) in the Church concerning the the end times. In essence, it is the belief of hyper-Preterists that all the prophetic events of Scripture have already been fulfilled. Christians are not waiting for the coming of Christ in any sense or the judgment. As well, the resurrection has already happened (in a spiritual sense) and we are living in the new heavens and the new earth. Once we die, our body simply goes to the grave. . . . Bummer, huh? Continue Reading »

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Here is a letter from a recent anonymous leaver of Christianity that was sent to me by email from exchristian.net (a site I keep up on). I want to see your responses. 

Did the Church fail her? If so, how?

Did she ever get the true Gospel? (I know you cannot really know, but what do you think?)

Her new pastor shunned her upon hearing that she was a homosexual. Was this right? What is the right response to such a situation?

She said she cried “tears of joy” when she no longer felt judged by the church (my words, not hers). How could separation from the church cause someone to cry tears of joy?

Do you think that she was shown grace?

___________________________________________________

“I realized at an early age that something was very wrong with the Baptist church I went to. It was pretty bad when a eight year old child can tell a place is corrupt.

My first of many churches was in north Alabama, a very horrid and dim place where half the population cannot read or write. At the early age of four I was taught that homosexuality was wrong, and if you were you would go straight to hell. In fact, you would go straight to hell for lots of things it seemed. Continue Reading »

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This is an Easter repost—Happy Easter! 

I have a special interest in the death of the Apostles. We all should. Every Christian should spend some time looking into the historical records. There are many legends concerning their deaths which makes the historical evidence hard to interpret. Many times the accounts conflict with one another. Most early Christians wanted their home to be crowned with the stature of having been the final resting place of one of the twelve. It is probably for this reason that there were embellishments forged.

Sifting through the wheat and the chaff is not easy task. The martyrdom of some of the Apostles is more certain than others. Historians will have different degrees of certainty concerning the circumstances of their deaths. For instance, unbiased historians will not take issue with the historical credibility of the martyrdom of Peter, Paul, and James the Apostle. Many of the other accounts have decent historic validity as well. Some accounts, however, raise the eyebrow and cause us to remain agnostic.

However, when boiled down to their least common denominator, it is very feasible to believe that all but one of the Apostles suffered and died a martyr’s death, even if we can’t be sure of the exact details. Continue Reading »

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