tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37999034928547328082024-03-12T18:06:33.500-06:00En RouteSteve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-52661385254863966802010-03-09T14:42:00.003-07:002010-03-09T14:49:17.381-07:00Headed to a Different Blogging LocaleRegular readers and responders are, to say the least, few and far between at Theologia Viatorum, but I wanted to communicate that I'll be joining Kent Eilers and Kyle Strobel in blogging at Theology Forum. Kent and Kyle consistently deliver good content and blog in a thoughtful, charitable manner. If you're interested, you can follow TF at <a href="http://theologyforum.wordpress.com/">http://theologyforum.wordpress.com</a>. <div><br /></div><div>Blessings,</div><div>Steve</div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-67480592642281859852010-02-27T12:35:00.006-07:002010-02-27T15:24:23.674-07:00Sovereignty and Simplicity: Why the Two Belong TogetherRecently, when asked how God could be in the right in slaughtering women and children in certain OT narratives, John Piper responded, "It's right for God to slaughter women and children any time he pleases. God gives life and he takes life....So God is God! He rules and governs everything. And everything he does is just and right and good. God owes us nothing" (to read the text in full, see <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/AskPastorJohn/ByTopic/9/4535_What_made_it_OK_for_God_to_kill_women_and_children_in_the_Old_Testament/">here</a>). He goes on to underscore the pertinent implication of our sinful state, namely, that our sin is sufficient reason for God to deny us the gift of life. <div><br /></div><div>Bracketing the unnerving effect of some of the language in this piece, I'm in agreement that God is blessedly sovereign over all of life and that he does not owe something to sinful humanity. However, Piper doesn't clarify how God's actions constitute enactments of justice, righteousness, goodness. Does God willing something render that something a righteous action (so nominalism). Or, does God submit himself to an external standard of righteousness and then act accordingly (so hard realism)? This is a well-known issue in both philosophy and theology often called the Euthyphro problem. Neither option seems to be satisfactory inasmuch as God is neither capricious (<i>pace</i> nominalism) nor subject to anything external to God (<i>pace</i> what I would call a hard version of realism about universals like justice and goodness). In my mind, the appropriate response is to maintain that God is subject to a standard of goodness and righteousness, but that this standard is his own nature. To confess God's simplicity is, negatively, to hold that he is not composed of parts. To unpack this, God is not really distinct from any of God's perfections but just is, when viewed under a particular aspect, his corresponding particular perfection (holiness, omniscience, love, goodness, etc.). So God's essence is his own righteousness and this righteousness, internal to God, is the standard according to which God must act and does act in the world. </div><div><br /></div><div>What does this mean for Piper's statement? It means that, while God is free to act how he pleases, not least in relation to rebellious sinners, he is, contra nominalism's doctrine of God's absolute freedom, not free to contradict his own goodness and righteousness. The pastoral and apologetical import of God's sovereignty is more firmly established if God's sovereignty is wedded to God's simplicity and his commitment always to enact his own goodness in all his dealings with his creatures. </div><div><br /></div><div>Any thoughts on this? </div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-55511066091531403342010-02-20T14:35:00.007-07:002010-02-20T19:38:30.256-07:00Metaphors, Carrots, Sticks, and the Divine Authorship of Scripture: A Few Thoughts on Richard Hays' The Moral Vision of the New TestamentI've enjoyed engaging recently with Richard Hays' book <i>The Moral Vision of the New Testament</i>, not least because he is convinced that, for the Christian, moral reasoning is an exegetical matter. As the best theology centers on unpacking and integrating the teachings of the canonical writ, so developing a Christian ethic centers on attending to and practicing biblical directives for the church. Another strength of the volume is Hays' affirmation of both the determinacy of the meaning of biblical texts and possibility of genuine knowledge of that meaning and also the culturally-conditioned nature of our exegesis and attempts at principlizing our way from the sacred page to the contemporary setting. This leads his work away from the mire of hermeneutical and ethical relativism, but not without a firm grasp of the primacy of the particularity of the text and the significant limitations of abstracting from the <i>Sitz im Leben</i> of the original readers in order to relate Scripture to the church's current milieu. In turn, he lays stress on the need, under the tutelage of the mind-independent meaning of the text, to exercise the imagination in order to discern ways in which the world of Scripture connects up metaphorically with the world in which we now dwell and must make decisions. This, he says, fosters proper contextualization in the task of Christian moral reasoning as we seek to deploy and enact the normative teaching of Scripture, once displayed in previous historical-cultural situations, in the church's present situation. In short, contextualization depends less on pristine principles and more on discovering analogies that enable us to relate the canonical to the contemporary. <div><br /></div><div>One of the helpful points he makes in examining the Pauline ethical material is that "Paul generally prefers suasion to sanctions." That is, the apostle will endeavor first to hold out the incomparable riches of new life in Christ before using the dangers of rejecting Christ as motivation for repentance. He opts for "the carrot over the stick as a strategy of moral exhortation" (p. 40). Of course, as Hays adds, Paul isn't afraid to spell out the real prospect of divine judgment in hopes of prodding Christians to pursue a life of obedience. However, the point is still worth noting for our own interactions with other believers: amplify the joy of a faithful life before resorting to the threat of divine condemnation when aiming to persuade someone to continue along the path of Christian maturity. </div><div><br /></div><div>In addition to these positive remarks, there are a few questions I would raise. Chiefly, I wonder how a certain subterranean perspective on God's relationship to Scripture affects some of Hays' exegetical and methodological judgments. For example, when he considers the difficult passage on women and teaching in 1 Timothy 2, Hays concludes that the author (not Paul, in Hays' mind) ventures a "lame exoneration of Adam" (p. 67). However, if we believe that in each biblical text we find both the divine and the human voices harmoniously addressing the church, and, if we believe that central to the exegetical task is determining the (unified) "normative stance" (Wolterstorff's phrase) of those two authorial agents, then it seems that both complementarians and egalitarians must do better than to concede a poorly devised bit of argumentation in the Bible. If God through the human author and without violating said author's personality and agency inscripturates the normative stance found in each section of the biblical literature, including a section that posits arguments, I would hesitate to dismiss even a seemingly odd thread of reasoning as "lame." The other options seem to be 1) downplaying God's involvement with certain texts or aspects of texts (which texts? which aspects?) and/or 2) broadly rejecting the claim that God is speaking to the church in the text. (Notice that this concern could be shared by those who do believe Paul wrote all of the Pauline epistles and by those who do not. The question is one of God's relationship to the Bible.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Any thoughts?</div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-351146432311098742010-02-10T16:30:00.009-07:002010-02-10T23:55:48.652-07:00Sacramental Political Theology: More on Moltmann<div>Moltmann's <em>The Crucified God</em> begins with musings on the place of the church in society and, after he presents a provocative revision of the doctrine of God founded on the event of the cross, he concludes with some more developed thoughts on constructing a theology of Christian political engagement. To start, he mentions two options for construing the church's role in society: "the model of unburdening" and "the model of correspondence." The former, he says, argues that the church should be freed from politics and politics from religion. For Moltmann, this contains an element of truth in that there's nothing to be gained from establishing a church state or a state church. However, he thinks the model is undesirable for several reasons: it opens up the possibility of the liberation of faith enjoyed in the church simply awkwardly co-existing with oppression in the surrounding society; it also leaves room for spiritual liberation to serve as a substitute for "real political liberation in the world" (p. 319). In the end, the distinction between ecclesial life and politics is indispensable but "of little help in the individual case when the decision is made" (p. 319). </div><div><br /></div><div>"The model of correspondence" assumes the ecclesial-political distinction but aims "to build a bridge from the realm of free faith and the liberated church into the realm of politics by means of correspondences, reflections, and images." So "liberations from the prisons of capitalism, racism, and technocracy must be understood as parables of the freedom of faith" (p. 320). The problem here, judges Moltmann, is that this construal can be cast in "too hierarchical terms," with the church "idealized so as to become the model of society" (p. 320). Ultimately, the "unburdening" and "correspondence" perspectives share certain deficiencies: both relegate social action to merely "the realm of the possible and arbitrary"; both envision liberation "in general terms first and only then look for 'concretions' of the abstract" (p. 321). </div><div><br /></div><div>Enter Moltmann's doctrine of God with its eschatological "openness." The trinitarian event of the cross is taken up into the very being of God and from the separation and mutual surrender of the Father and Son the Spirit goes forth to bring new life to humanity (p. 244). With such an emphasis on God in history and, indeed, history in God, Moltmann confesses himself unhappy with only images of spiritual liberation showing up in society. He proposes to begin with the notion of "God <i>in</i> the world," "anticipations and promises in the process of (eschatological) realization, in which the ultimate announces itself in the penultimate" (p. 321). This, says Moltmann, implies "a perception of God's identifications in history" (p. 321). As God identified in the crucified Christ is really present in these "anticipations," "history is the sacrament of Christian ethics" (p. 321). </div><div><br /></div><div>Moltmann is an interesting character and I have my disagreements with his doctrine of God and his theology of political engagement, but I find that he makes a good dialogue partner on at least these topics. Any thoughts on the above themes in theologizing about the relation of the kingdom and the church to contemporary society?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-34066590122980657202010-02-04T09:46:00.013-07:002010-02-05T20:31:46.836-07:00Mary, Martha, and MoltmannI often think one of the most pressing needs for the church today is to become better acquainted with the rhythm of redemptive history and, of course, the church's place in it. Because of an incomplete or even distorted perspective, a variety of theological, ecclesial, practical anomalies and aberrations crop up. Charlemagne styles himself a new King David, though the time of the people of God as a geo-political entity passed with our shift from old covenant to new covenant mode. A church leader welcomes the congregation to the church building as the "house of God" on a Sunday morning, though the concept of the temple of God is no longer applicable to a building with walls of literal stone but to the church, the people of God who are living stones (see, e.g., Jn. 4; 1 Cor. 6; and so on). <div><br /></div><div>We have several different options for tracing the flow of redemptive history: the Reformed covenantal model, the dispensational model in its diverse forms, the model found in the biblical theology of George Ladd, the five-act model advanced by N. T. Wright, to name a few. Some are more defensible and more suggestive than others, but all should feel the need to clarify the relation between church and society. In reading Moltmann (mostly for the sake of understanding his doctrine of God), I stumbled across some of his material on maintaining both Christian identity and Christian relevance in and to society. He writes:</div><div><br /></div><div>For Christian faith to bring about its own decay by withdrawal into the ghetto without self-criticism, is a parallel to its decay through uncritical assimilation. And the decline into pusillanimous faith and superstition is a parallel to the decline into unbelief. How close this parallel is, is shown by the way debates within Christianity become polarized in false alternatives....The tension between identity in faith and solidarity in action can no longer be tolerated by either side. Polarizations come into being,which break down this productive Christian tension....In many churches similar polarizations have come into being between those who see the essence of the church in the evangelization and the salvation of souls, and those who see it in social action for the salvation and liberation of real life. But in Christian terms evangelization and humanization are not alternatives (<i>The Crucified God</i>, pp. 21-22). </div><div><br /></div><div>Put differently, Moltmann rejects "the fragmentation of the church into the true 'church of Jesus' and the evil, political 'church of Barabbas'; or the true 'church of Mary' which alone hears the word of the Lord, and the 'church of Martha' preoccupied with useless social activity" (ibid., pp. 20-21). </div><div><br /></div><div>For a good many Christians the wedding of overtly Christian practices (e.g., preaching, baptism, interpersonal evangelism) and social action is something of a "no-brainer." And yet I've always wrestled with having such a broad vision of the church's role in society. I have gravitated toward a two-kingdoms approach to the issue and, with recent online contributions from Michael Horton (on the two-kingdoms theory, see <a href="http://www.whitehorseinn.org/archives/210.html">here</a>; on the notion of calling, see <a href="http://www.wscal.edu/faculty/wscwritings/Horton_discover_calling.php">here</a>) and the publication of David VanDrunen's <i>Natural Law and the Two Kingdoms </i>(which I hope to read in the near future), there is momentum for articulating a Reformed rendition of the two-kingdoms take on things.</div><div><br /></div><div>Moltmann is right that "Mary church" versus "Martha church" is too crude a distinction, but here are a few of the reasons why I have been on a pilgrimage toward the two-kingdoms view:</div><div><br /></div><div>1) We live in an in-between stage of redemptive history. That is, we live between the time of the Mosaic era with its open amalgam of Israelite faith, society, and government and the consummative establishment of the kingdom of God whose aftermath will again blur the lines between the redeemed community and broader societal life and structure. </div><div><br /></div><div>2) While I am emphatically no dispensationalist, there is something to be said for the futurist hermeneutic when it comes to reading John's Apocalypse. It's tough to read the book of Revelation and not come away with the sense that Satanically-inspired governmental arrangements can, do, and <i>will</i> systemically persecute Christians. I find it a hard pill to swallow that God would have the church as such invest itself in the ins and outs of government only for governments ultimately to turn around and persecute the church. (Note: I'm thinking of the church <i>as such</i>, not individual believers who may be called to serve in government roles for the limited benefit of society in the present. More on this under reason number five.)</div><div><br /></div><div>3) The church is the custodian of the gospel of Christ and, in my mind, is meant to specialize in proclaiming and offering redemption in Christ, rather than, as the church, busying itself with political affairs of limited eternal significance. (Though it's unpopular to say, I still think that what is eternal is more important than what passes away with time. However, to clarify, salvation is not about merely future incorporeal entrance to heaven but the reclamation of human persons which begins now and reverberates for all eternity in the new creation. Hence the eternal significance of salvation through Christ). In short, the church need not usurp the role of government. But, to clarify once more, this does not mean that church leaders cannot decry, say, the practice of abortion or that individual Christians cannot be called to serve in the realm of social and political action, strategizing to improve society. Rather, it means that the church <i>qua</i> church is not a social activist group designed to concoct and implement social programs. For example, strictly speaking, it is not the mission of the church to teach ESL classes, but, should a church member, along with other Christians and even non-Christians, wish to lead a non-ecclesiastical organization specializing in ESL, this remains a noble and worthwhile endeavor of service to others. We could debate the implications of hosting said organization's ESL classes in a church building...</div><div><br /></div><div>4) As Jesus appeals to certain OT texts to describe his mission, he highlights the themes of justice and social restoration, leading some to conclude that his concept of the kingdom of God includes the impetus for transforming societies in the church age. Yet he doesn't go forth to enter into extended dialogue with political leaders about developing systems for bringing justice to all. It seems to me that he creates a community of disciples that can internally exemplify just, compassionate treatment of others as well as offer participation in this community to others. That is, he doesn't attempt to make the kingdoms of this age the kingdom of God but rather instructs the people of the kingdom (understood as the saving reign of God [Ladd's "dynamic sense"]) to embody the values of the kingdom. In other words, I'm not sure that the church refraining from immersion in social activism will compromise the proper social implications of the inbreaking of the kingdom in the present time. </div><div><br /></div><div>5) The two-kingdoms theory need not begin with an attachment to country which is then open to Christian commitment as an addendum. Rather, we may begin with Christ's reign over all creation and then specify how he rules differently over the spheres of the society and the church. That he does rule them differently and does expect different things of them becomes clear by considering that, for example, only the church is required to practice the Lord's Supper. (Of course, we would hope that all participate in the life of the church and so partake of the bread and the cup.) It seems viable to speak of a "cultural mandate" and a "redemptive mandate" without transforming the former into the latter. In addition, because of Christ's lordship over all, particular Christians may be called to serve in government positions without the nagging feeling of living a compartmentalized life. They can seek to hold society accountable to the tenets of natural law, with Romans 1 and 2 being a good starting place to get a handle on the idea that there are certain ethical imperatives accessible to all. The lordship of Christ, the reality of common grace, and the concept of calling can unify and invigorate believers' lives within the two-kingdoms theory without pressing them to act as if their line of work (government administration, city planning, nursing) in itself is somehow a conduit of salvation. </div><div><br /></div><div>6) My final reason is more of a question: how does a non-two-kingdoms view stop short of encouraging the government to preach the gospel and so delegating the church's unique responsibility. That's not a scathing, sarcastic question (tone is difficult to convey by blog), but more of an invitation to discussion. Comrades at Denver Seminary (an evangelical institution not afraid to speak about social engagement) may disagree with what I've said here and I'd like to hear their voices. Also, doing this post in the midst of Haiti relief efforts could raise additional questions. Thoughts?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-37874004962168727402010-02-02T12:31:00.005-07:002010-02-02T21:25:16.127-07:00The Pastor as Leadership Expert? Confessions of a CynicI've been reading through some of Eugene Peterson's thoughts on the nature and central tasks of pastoral ministry and, while I've never been a big fan of <i>The Message</i>, there's something very endearing about his ability to name (often in rather blunt tones) things that ail the church in America and things that can reorient us to the call of God. In <i>Working the Angles</i> he identifies and exegetes what he believes to be the three practices that enable pastoral ministry to retain its proper shape: prayer, the (contemplative) reading of Scripture, and spiritual direction. In conjunction with Peterson's concerns, it might be worth mentioning Richard Baxter's <i>The Reformed Pastor</i> as well. Baxter has impressed me with his insistence on the pastor visiting regularly with parishioners in order personally to know them and to give them spiritual guidance. <div><br /></div><div>I can't help but notice that neither Peterson nor Baxter seems to have much time for learning the "laws of leadership" or for delving into elaborate schemes for "casting vision" or "getting the right people on the bus." And now I must come clean: over the past few years I've become something of a cynic about the prevalent model of the pastor as leadership expert. Even if one clarifies that this model acknowledges a qualitative difference between corporate or simply non-pastoral leadership and church ministry, I still can't manage to get excited about it. Here are a few of my reasons:</div><div><br /></div><div>1) there's limited mileage to get out of an abstract notion of leadership; leaders always lead as something (a CEO, a coach, a minister of word and sacrament) and this implies limited cross-over in terms of principlizing one's way from the corporate world to the church</div><div><br /></div><div>2) for my money, there are more critical things demanding attention: persistence in prayer, rigorous exegesis of and meditation on Scripture, pastorally-minded explorations in historical and systematic theology, development of spiritually rich, intelligently and compellingly worded sermons and teaching material, the practice of spiritual guidance</div><div><br /></div><div>3) infatuation with sophisticated leadership theories seems to conjure up a sense of impending "success" that might undercut simple, dogged endurance in ministerial labors</div><div><br /></div><div>To clarify, I suppose I'm not in opposition to thinking (or, better, theologizing) through certain leadership dynamics but to the way in which the acquisition and honing of leadership philosophies and strategies loom so large at the moment. However, are these just the cantankerous ruminations of a blogger who is blinded by his love of theology? Your thoughts?</div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-54807654747208432892010-01-24T18:02:00.006-07:002010-01-25T07:16:49.933-07:00On Knowing God and Studying Theology: Reflections of a Newcomer to Church Dogmatics (Part 2)Barth, the man regarded by many as the most significant theologian of the twentieth century, writes, <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>As compared with proclamation dogmatics involves a different mode and function but in no sense <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a higher stage of faith or the knowledge of faith. It was clearly one of the results of the struggle <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>with ancient Gnosticism that the Church rejected an aristocracy of scientific theologians in its <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>midst. But the idea is a natural one, and in practice it can always be a temptation. We must be <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>very clear that the simplest proclamation of the Gospel can be proclamation of the truth in the <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>most unlimited sense and can validly communicate the truth to the most unsophisticated hearer if <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>God so will. Dogmatics is not the technique of certain people who are better placed spiritually <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>(<i>Church <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Dogmatics</i>, I. 1. 3).</div><div><br /></div><div>He goes on a little more, but I think he's made his point. Similar thoughts can be found in Bavinck when he says that those who have no formal theological education and those who do possess knowledge of God that may differ in degree but not in kind. Also, Stephen Holmes opens his book <i>The Wondrous Cross</i> with the claim that theology's job is to clarify what the people of God already know. Hopefully, at Denver Seminary and beyond we theology students (even if we're not Barth or Calvin or Augustine) go about our business with an awareness of this, refusing to locate ourselves in an artificial upper-tier of Christian intelligentsia and aiming to employ theological understanding in a pastoral way. </div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-12321075951001455582010-01-22T08:51:00.007-07:002010-01-22T11:18:55.490-07:00Evangelical Prolegomena: Reflections of a Newcomer to Church Dogmatics (Part 1)I must confess that until recently my only firsthand reading of Barth was of his little book <em>Evangelical Theology</em>. It's a book bursting with insights on the practice of theology and I've come to <em>Church Dogmatics</em> expecting more of the same. So far so good. <br /><br /><br />In section two in the first volume of <em>Church Dogmatics</em>, Barth contends for an Evangelical, unashamedly dogmatic approach to prolegomena: "In order to give an account of the way of knowledge pursued in dogmatics, we cannot take up a position which is somewhere apart from this way or above the work of dogmatics" (p. 41). Again: "We cannot pose the question of formal dogma without immediately entering at these central points (the doctrines of the Trinity and Christ as integral to a doctrine of the Word of God) upon material dogma. Indeed, what is thought to be formal dogma is itself highly material in fact. The only point is that here at the beginning of the whole work it is not to be estimated solely according to its material signficance, but specifically according to its formal significance as the foundation of dogmatic knowledge as such" (p. 43). Formal considerations are indeed formal but are properly governed by the material content of Christian belief. <br /><br />This Barth is working out in contrast to his understanding of Roman Catholic prolegomena and modern Protestant prolegomena. The former, he says, is tangled up in the presumption of a pre-dogmatic "ecclesiastical reality," while the latter is ensnared by a "prior anthropological possibility." Whether by way of enclosing divine action within the confines of the church or by way of concocting an account of the human condition external to the substance of the gospel, these approaches begin in the wrong places when it comes to getting prolegomena off the ground. We are left, then, with "dogmatic prolegomena," the exercise of mapping out the path to dogmatic knowledge from the standpoint of dogma itself. (To clarify, in utilizing this line of thinking I would opt to spell out how it doesn't necessarily entail a vicious circularity. It is possible pre-critically to encounter God and acquire via Scripture knowledge of him and after this to discern the essentials of a strong theological method and from there launch out into more formal theological study.) <br /><br />Any thoughts on developing dogmatic prolegomena?Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-3841146915618691032010-01-18T11:14:00.003-07:002010-01-18T11:36:48.486-07:00Time and History: Tensions in LaddI tend to cringe a bit when in a song for worship or in everyday conversation the Christian hope of the life to come is described as a flight from planet earth or a cessation of creaturely existence in time. On the latter, I resonate with Bavinck: "Time is the necessary form of the existence of the finite" (<i>Reformed Dogmatics</i>, 1:429). Yet, in the new creation, "Time is charged with the eternity of God" (<i>Reformed Dogmatics</i>, 4:729). To develop this a bit further, time just is the creaturely mode of existence and it seems odd to expect this feature of reality to come to a halt with the eschaton and the advent of the new creation. After all, eternality is an incommunicable divine perfection. However, we can expect that the intensification of the presence of God among us, beautifully laid out in Revelation 21, will somehow rework the "feel" of creaturely existence in time. Time continues for us creatures, albeit in an eschatologically revamped sort of way. <div><br /></div><div>With this as a backdrop, I appreciated the comment from Ladd: "In biblical thought, eternity is unending time" (<i>A Theology of the New Testament</i>, 44). But later on he avers, "The Kingdom of God involves two great moments: fulfillment within history and consummation at the end of history" (ibid., 90). To give him the benefit of the doubt, Ladd may not mean that, strictly speaking, history as such reaches its conclusion with the consummation of redemptive history. However, I wonder if it might be better to say simply that the inbreaking of the kingdom has two great moments: an inaugural one in the mission of Christ and a consummative one in the future ("future" instead of "end of history"). I don't mean to pick on Ladd, but I think that, in the name of recovering in the church the earthy, presumably temporal contours of resurrection life, selecting different terminology does have some value. Thoughts?</div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-2989531800070059182010-01-16T10:34:00.007-07:002010-01-16T15:16:11.174-07:00Ladd Parses the KingdomGiven the pervasiveness of the concept of the kingdom of God in the teaching of Jesus and of the Synoptic Gospels, I think the church should still be capitalizing on George Ladd's work to get a handle on the meaning of the kingdom. It's a much thicker feature of the Lord's teaching than not a few churches let on. <div><br /></div><div>In <i>A Theology of the New Testament</i> Ladd treats the kingdom as an integral part of the two-age dualism underlying Jesus teaching. By speaking of a "two-age dualism" he attempts to express only that the people of Israel expected a divine deliverance which would change all the facets of human existence under the rubric of eschatological blessing, distinguishing the present age from the age to come. Ladd champions an "inaugurated eschatology" in which the inbreaking of the kingdom is launched in the mission of Christ and awaits its future consummation. He unpacks the multiple layers of the concept of the kingdom along three lines: 1) "the kingdom" may indicate simply the rule of God; 2) "the kingdom" may indicate the eschatological act of God in which he brings judgment and salvation and thus manifests his kingly power; and 3) "the kingdom" may indicate the future realm in which we will enjoy the blessings of salvation (p. 68). Ladd adds that the kingdom can also be construed as the present realm of salvific blessing or even the present gift of eternal life (pp. 68-71). </div><div><br /></div><div>For my money, this kind of exposition of such an important theme is pregnant with possibilities for shaping the church's and the Christian's self-understanding between the two advents of the Lord. Has anyone heard a really rich sketch of the kingdom in the local church? Any other thoughts on this? </div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-54448211634532596502010-01-12T15:05:00.008-07:002010-01-12T15:58:21.043-07:00When God Becomes FlatAs I've tracked and engaged the writings of the late Stanley Grenz and his theological comrade John Franke, I've tended to use them as dialogue partners primarily with respect to issues of theological methodology and epistemology. However, it's been intriguing as of late to mull over their statements on the doctrine of God. In his <i>Theology for the Community of God</i>, Grenz makes this assertion:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In that God is love apart from the creation of the world, love characterizes God. Love is the <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>eternal essence of the one God. But this means that it is not merely one attribute of God among <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>many. Rather, love is the fundamental "attribute of God." "God is love" is the foundational <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>ontological statement we can declare concerning the divine essence. God is foundationally the <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>mutuality of the love relationship between Father and son, and this personal love is the Holy <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Spirit....Because throughout eternity and apart from the world the one God is love, the God who is<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>love cannot but respond to the world in accordance to his own eternal essence, which is love. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Thus, this essential characteristic of God likewise describes the way God interacts with his world. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>"Love," therefore, is not only the description of the eternal God in himself, it is likewise the <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>fundamental characteristic of God in relationship with creation (p. 72). </div><div><br /></div><div>Love as the "fundamental" divine attribute is picked up in Franke's new book <i>Manifold Witness</i>: "In seeking to know the character of God in response to the action of divine self-revelation, we must seek to understand the <i>fundamental</i> biblical assertion that 'God is love'" (p. 56, emphasis mine). I must add that I have been reasonably optimistic about the methodological progress Franke makes in this book. He seems less insistent on buying into hard linguistic constructivism and focuses more on the notion that the truth of the gospel demands to be set forth in multiple heuristic models (hence the book's title). However, I'm wondering what to do with the thought of combining the claims that love is the fundamental divine perfection and that theological reality should be rendered polyphonically. </div><div><br /></div><div>It seems to me that Grenz and Franke flatten out the divine essence and so pass up the opportunity to stress one vital way in which the testimony of theology should be pluriform. Those of a more classically theistic bent can say, "Yes, love is God's essence. But his righteousness, immutability, aseity, faithfulness, and so on are equally his essence. Each of the divine perfections just is God's essence considered under some aspect." However, it seems to me that Grenz and Franke lose sight of an important piece of the Christian tradition and at the same time shoot down a potentially illuminating feature of doing theology in a multiple-models manner. In short, I would like to hear more on why not only, say, the atonement but also the multi-aspectival divine nature deserves a pluriform theological witness.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also have questions about the biblical case for the centrality of the divine attribute of love. To be sure, the apostle John teaches us that God is love, but the same teaches also that God is spirit and God is light. Why not argue that God's spirituality is his fundamental perfection? Here Grenz and Franke would probably appeal to their doctrine of the Trinity, but that is an issue for another day. Any thoughts on this?</div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-14415889131235645622009-12-06T20:00:00.002-07:002009-12-06T20:04:55.868-07:00Who Said the Doctrine of the Trinity Is Irrelevant?"The transcendent independence of the Trinity, as Wholly Other, allows the act of creation to be a sheer act of the Trinity's loving goodness and freedom. Because they (the Father, Son, and Spirit) possess no self-fulfilling needs, they are motivated solely by their beneficent and altruistic love to bring others into existence and so bestow upon them their goodness" (Thomas Weinandy, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Does God Suffer?</span>, p. 143). <div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-47714676133818786772009-11-27T23:42:00.005-07:002009-11-28T00:38:24.574-07:00What Makes a Good Commentary?A few different bloggers (see, e.g., Michael Bird's <a href="http://euangelizomai.blogspot.com/2009/11/etsibrsbl-2009-reflections-part-two.html">post</a> at Euangelizomai) have mentioned something about Tremper Longman's recent paper on the writing of commentaries. I didn't hear and haven't read the paper myself, but Bird's post outlines Longman's reasons for biblical scholars to continue the practice of producing commentaries even in the midst of a landscape seemingly saturated with them. All that to say, this prodded me to ask what qualities make a good commentary good. I doubt any of us could begin to answer this question in a purely theoretical manner, but, after engaging in exegetical study of different passages with the help of different commentaries, perhaps it's possible for us to extrapolate some rules of thumb. Here are a few of mine in no particular order:<div><br /></div><div>1) sensitivity to the Bible as literature, as a library of literary works employing literary devices that demand explanation and appreciation</div><div><br /></div><div>2) recognition of the continuity between the two testaments, OT commentaries unpacking the forward-looking dimension of the OT and NT commentaries honoring the OT backdrop for the NT</div><div><br /></div><div>3) commitment to the authority of Scripture, even when it challenges modern sensibilities</div><div><br /></div><div>4) treatment of the grammatico-logical connections between words, phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and so on</div><div><br /></div><div>5) specification and fair-minded consideration of interpretive options for difficult passages (both well-worn and newly proposed options)</div><div><br /></div><div>6) respect for theological integration with a view to shaping the mind of the church</div><div><br /></div><div>Any you would add?</div><div><br /></div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-45727515396887681892009-11-19T21:17:00.003-07:002009-11-19T21:33:37.554-07:00Weinandy Waxes EloquentThomas Weinandy's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Does God Suffer?</span> has been, for me, a gem on the doctrine of God. Here are some of his reflections on the teaching of the OT:<div><br /></div><div>"The Old Testament never conceives of God's transcendence in opposition to his immanence, as if that which makes God wholly other is different from that which allows him to be a personal God who lovingly acts in time and history. For the Bible, transcendence and immanence do not describe two divine modes of being or two sets of distinguishing qualities - one as God is apart from the created order and another as he is in relation to the created order. For God to be transcendent in the biblical understanding means that he is wholly other than the created order but not apart from the created order. That which makes him divine, and thus wholly other and so transcendent, is that which equally allows him to be active within the created order and so be immanent. There is no opposition between God's transcendent being and his immanent activity" (p. 56). </div><div><br /></div><div>I may post something on Weinandy's take on impassibility itself, but any thoughts for now?</div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-42262392979908105132009-11-04T22:57:00.003-07:002009-11-04T23:40:06.564-07:00When to Partake: Or The Lord's Supper and the Gift of ObjectivityLately I've been reflecting on a phenomenon that's consistently been a part of the church settings in which I've been involved. At times, though I don't know if it's most of the time, the pastor leading the congregation in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, once the elements have been distributed, will give us the chance to partake "in our own time." In other words, the people are expected to have a time of individual (and silent) confession and prayer and, when each is ready, they eat the bread and drink the cup on their own with a worship song in the background. <div><br /></div><div>My question is this: do we lose something when we do things this way? In light of Paul's discussion of the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians, I wouldn't say that individual examination is out of place. Even so, I've begun to think that we do risk missing something here. Most of us journey through the week operating in a sort of self-contained spirituality. We have to engineer the content and structure for our devotional practices and we have to work at reminding ourselves of the gospel. Perhaps partaking simultaneously with others as the minister instructs us, guides us, reiterates the gospel 1) releases us from having always to contrive an individualized approach to God (this is church, after all!), 2) more readily catches us up in the grander narrative of the church in redemptive history, 3) mercifully reminds us that the gospel comes from without and doesn't depend upon our ability to develop in the moment a manageable way to connect ourselves with God. (Though I've lived and moved in churches of a Baptist orientation, this line of thinking reflects a desire somehow to appropriate the Reformed insistence on the sacraments as signs and seals of the covenant, divine confirmations from without meant to strengthen our faith.) </div><div><br /></div><div>Any thoughts on this?</div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-65527622364098991372009-10-25T19:07:00.004-06:002009-10-25T19:17:06.154-06:00Augustine on The Renewal of Our Minds"Since, therefore, we must enjoy to the full that truth which lives unchangeably, and since, within it, God the Trinity, the author and creator of everything, takes thought for the things that he has created, our minds must be purified so that they are able to perceive that light and then hold fast to it. Let us consider this process of cleansing as a trek, or a voyage, to our homeland; though progress towards the one who is ever present is not made through space, but through integrity of purpose and character. This we would be unable to do, if wisdom itself has not deigned to adapt itself to our great weakness and offered us a pattern for living; and it has actually done so in human form because we too are human" (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">On Christian Teaching</span>, 1.22-23).<div><br /></div><div>I'm always encouraged to hear truly masterful theologians stress the importance of the renewal and sanctification of our minds. (For another look at the sanctification of human reason, see the opening chapter of John Webster's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Holiness</span>.)</div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-48564938329738165102009-10-17T18:04:00.005-06:002009-10-17T18:24:10.918-06:00A Tale of Two Takes on the Atonement as Penal SubstitutionRight now I'm doing some reading on the atonement and over the past two days I've considered Stephen Holmes' book <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Wonderous Cross</span> and Howard Marshall's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Aspects of the Atonement</span>. Both of these scholars have great insights to offer, though, of course, those who retain the legitimacy of the concept of penal substitution will have their intramural differences. <div><br /></div><div>Holmes emphasizes that the Bible has quite a few "stories of salvation" to tell, that is, metaphors employed to unpack the saving significance of the cross. The story of penal substitution is ultimately biblically-based but is, in itself, inadequate and requires the support of complementary analogies (ransom, etc.). I'm still working through Marshall, but from what I can tell he regards penal substitution as the central metaphor used in Scripture to explain Jesus' crucifixion (see esp. pp. 51-52). </div><div>Obviously, as Holmes writes, we want first and foremost to enjoy the redemptive benefits of the cross. Yet, as he says, there is a place for probing the inner logic of Christ's death. The endeavor rightly to construe the atonement and to relate the atonement analogies to one another is, to me, a fascinating and pastorally significant discussion. How do the contours of our presentation of the gospel look if we emphasize the diversity of analogies and don't claim centrality for penal substitution (Holmes)? How do things look if we do claim centrality for penal substitution (Marshall)? What do you think?<br /></div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-73428422854174270142009-10-17T01:51:00.002-06:002009-10-17T02:06:02.438-06:00Hermeneutical Humility: The Complement to 'Augustinian Inerrancy'Below I mentioned that Augustine was committed to the truthfulness of the Bible's teaching and, upon continuing on in his <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Confessions</span>, I was impressed by his humility about biblical interpretation. He acknowledges that he's fallible in interpreting Scripture and even prays for patience in dealing with those critics who are more sure of themselves than he. Later, he asks that, if at some point his exegetical prowess is lacking, someone else would come along and shed light on the meaning of the biblical text in question. <div><br /></div><div>I'm convicted by the piece about letting others step in when we find ourselves unequal to the task at hand. This is a valuable thought for thinkers, teachers, preachers, and Christian leaders of all stripes to meditate upon...<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-66510882912490009082009-10-11T20:51:00.004-06:002009-10-12T07:50:09.695-06:00Ruled Reflection: Learning Restraint from a Little BookSeldom do I read 2 John, but I was struck by this word of instruction included in the apostle's plea for the church to resist Gnostic teaching:<div><br /></div><div>"Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son" (2 Jn. 9). </div><div><br /></div><div>We're meant to abide in Christ's teaching for his disciples and so the task of theology is not to forge new intellectual ground but to explicate and elaborate the gospel. If we stray from ruled reflection, metaphysical-conceptual reflection in service to the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">sacra doctrina</span> of the Bible, and cast out into the high seas of speculation, we generate significant risks for ourselves and for those who listen to us speak of God. Hence Calvin, for example, warns multiple times against the danger of vain curiosity. Let us know and love the gospel and its prophetic and apostolic unpacking in Scripture such that it rules all our thoughts of God!</div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-84751947061982673742009-10-10T19:24:00.005-06:002009-10-10T19:36:21.142-06:00Augustinian Inerrancy...Endeavoring to uncover the meaning of Genesis 1, Augustine writes:<div><br /></div><div><div>"I will have nothing to do with all those who think Moses could have said anything untrue." (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Confessions</span>, 12.23.32)</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not convinced that the Christian tradition is without the doctrine of the truthfulness of all Holy Scripture until Old Princeton comes on the scene. Thoughts?</div><div><br /></div></div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-27856631077591841232009-10-09T12:35:00.002-06:002009-10-09T12:41:25.756-06:00Vying for Content"[W]hen it happens to me that the music moves me more than the subject of the song, I confess myself to commit a sin deserving punishment, and then I would prefer not to have heard the singer." (Augustine, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Confessions</span>, 10.33.50)<div><br /></div><div>How might the worship of the local church be different if we aimed always to delight ourselves in the subject matter of our faith more than guitar riffs and goosebumps? </div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-5325220678213537812009-10-05T10:08:00.007-06:002009-10-06T14:35:13.665-06:00Social Concern, the Church, and the Two Kingdoms<div>We live in a day of advocacy for Christian involvement in pursuing social justice, environmental preservation, and so on. I have to confess my concern that such advocacy may be often inadequately shaped by fine-tuned accounts of the nature of the kingdom, the church, and the eschaton. Here are some words of wisdom on the matter from Michael Horton:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.whitehorseinn.org/archives/141.html">Two Kingdoms Part 1</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.whitehorseinn.org/archives/144.html">Two Kingdoms Part 2</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.whitehorseinn.org/archives/146.html">Two Kingdoms Part 3</a></div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-22670918064535274462009-09-30T16:02:00.002-06:002009-09-30T16:38:26.495-06:00The Vogue: A Brief Exercise in Naming Things Hip (Some Justifiably So, Others...Not So Much)1) new creation over disembodied intermediate state<br /><br />2) voting Democrat<br /><br />3) high church for historical richness<br /><br />4) low church against authority structures<br /><br />5) pitting classical theism against divine love, relationality, and interactivity<br /><br />6) perichoretic dancing<br /><br />7) "missional"<br /><br />8) Christus Victor over penal substitution<br /><br />9) the pastor as leadership expert<br /><br />10) greenSteve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-89970796955105630052009-09-29T23:16:00.003-06:002009-09-29T23:27:37.598-06:00Donald MacLeod on God's Aseity and Pastoral Care"This [the aseity of God], of course, is simply a Latinate and inelegant expression for "self-existence," and at first sight it seems to offer little by way of pastoral application. But it does remind us of the self-sufficiency and inexhaustibleness of God. The bush burns and burns and is not consumed. Age after age God keeps on being and keeps on giving and keeps on loving. Care does not exhaust him, nor do the passing years render him irrelevant. For all other existences, there is a law of entropy - but not for God."<div>("The Doctrine of God and Pastoral Care," in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Engaging the Doctrine of God</span>, ed. Bruce McCormack [Grand Rapids: Baker; Edinburgh: Rutherford House, 2008], 253)<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Theology continues to show itself eminently practical, though not practical in the sense of always meeting felt needs without requiring much thought as to how it shapes life. Perhaps we need a better understanding of "practical."</div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799903492854732808.post-70393621725791026602009-09-23T08:44:00.005-06:002009-09-23T08:52:10.098-06:00On Making Peace with Faith in Our Intellectual WorkOne more reason to befriend Bavinck:<div><br /></div><div>"[T]here are objections and conundrums in every science. Those who do not want to start in faith will never arrive at knowledge. Epistemology, the theory of knowledge, is the first principle of philosophy, but it is riddled with mystery from start to finish. Those who do not want to embark on scientific investigation until they see the road by which we arrive at knowledge fully cleared will never start. Those who do not want to eat before they understand the entire process by which food arrives at their table will starve to death. And those who do not want to believe the Word of God before they see all problems resolved will die of spiritual starvation" (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Reformed Dogmatics</span>, vol. 1, p. 442). </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Steve Dubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05828038560227615426noreply@blogger.com0