I am officially on Spring Break now. Tomorrow, I will be flying out of Detroit and meeting Matthew in Minneapolis, then we will fly home together! (via Seattle, which doesn't make sense to me either..oh well) I haven't seen him in six months so I am super excited. We will be spending some relaxing time with his family in Cut Bank and mine in Great Falls. We will also be getting some more wedding plans done. Whoohoo! Needless to say, I will not be updating until after Easter. Happy Easter, Friends!
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. "-1 Corinthians 13:1
Friday, March 18, 2005
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Christians Before a Watching World
Wow. More and more it has come to my attention that there are major issues within Reformed theological circles. You would think that good, solid doctrine would breed good, solid and unified people. Tragically, I am learning that it doesn't always and that the problem is more widespread than I had previously imagined. If the dissention isn't over doctrine, what is it? Rob Schlapfer, although having recently come into controversy over his websites antithesis.com and discerningread.com, has some good things to say about this very topic. I am going to repost his newletter article from last year here. Enjoy!
Christians Before a Watching World
The Dangerous Pursuit of Reformed Theology
Why is it that, with all too many of us, themore familiar we are with sound Christian teaching the less Christ-like we become in our daily lives? Why are so many "Reformed" belivers, in particular, so lacking in love, kindness, patience, gentleness, meekness- the fruit of the Spirit's work within us? Why so cold- abstracring trith fromt eh real world of people with needs? Is there a danger pursuing theology- especially, in our times, Reformed Theology?
Yes. There is a very real danger. I can testify to it personally...with tears. If left unchecked it can cut us off from brothers and sisters whom we are called to love and serve- simply because they do not hold our same convictions. And it undermines our proclamation of the good news of Christ's kingdom to a lost world in need.
How? By presenting a caricature of the Christian faith- exaggerating certain areas of truth and pushing them to the forefront- that, as Francis Schaeffer puts it, "is hard and lacks beauty." It creates "ugly Calvinism" that is more a reaction to the "easy-believism" of our times than "thorough, Biblical Reformation." Sad, but all too true.
What are its salient features? It places undue emphasis upon God's Holiness, at the expense of His Love. It speaks often of our integrity- the need to maintain a good conscience before God and people- but rarely about the fervent love we are to have "one for another." It has little room for mercy when wronged, and will carry a grudge for years if offended. It dwells on the wrongs of others and seems oblivious to teh idea that love conquers a multitude of sins. It is quick to got to war in defense of some personal conviction, forgetting that "peacemakers" will be called the sonsof God. In short, it lacks the very grace it seeks to promote. (How ironic.)
In many respects, it has similarities with one of the reformation movements found on the pages of the New Testament: the Pharisees. Sinclair Ferguson notes well that,
"The Pharisees were men who had originally set out to restore God's people to orthodox, supernatural doctrine. They were men who had sought to promte holiness of life. They were men who knew something about what it was to have a God who was concerned about the details of men's daily walk before Him...
Many of the doctrines that we love were also loved by the Pharisees. And yet, the tragedy of their lives was that- through mistaken application of God's truth and a failure, especially, to see that the doctrines of God's grace are meant to show us the grace of God Himself- they used their doctrines and their application and their ethic to hide their souls from God. They needed to learn that the doctrines of Grace need to be lodged in hearts of grace in order to produce live of grace...
There is a perennial danger in the religious heart: thatin the midst of all our desire to understand precisely and to live precisely we may lose sight of the grace of God who [after all] sent His Son to be the Saviour of the World. [Not its judge-now.]"
A Question of Balance
Don't misunderstand me. I am grateful that I was introduced to the riches of Reformed Theology some twenty years ago. But the study of such theology is not an end in and of itself. It is always to make us more like Jesus-the gentlelamb of God who conducted a gracious ministry amongthe poor, describing Himself as gentle and lowly of heart. (Matthew 11:29) When Biblical-Theological study produces something other than that it is worse than useless- it can, in fact, be damning. And it presents a watching world with a distorted vision of The God who is There. As Paul, the Biblical scholar, aptly puts it, This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up.
rob schlapfer, christiancounterculture.com
Christians Before a Watching World
The Dangerous Pursuit of Reformed Theology
Why is it that, with all too many of us, themore familiar we are with sound Christian teaching the less Christ-like we become in our daily lives? Why are so many "Reformed" belivers, in particular, so lacking in love, kindness, patience, gentleness, meekness- the fruit of the Spirit's work within us? Why so cold- abstracring trith fromt eh real world of people with needs? Is there a danger pursuing theology- especially, in our times, Reformed Theology?
Yes. There is a very real danger. I can testify to it personally...with tears. If left unchecked it can cut us off from brothers and sisters whom we are called to love and serve- simply because they do not hold our same convictions. And it undermines our proclamation of the good news of Christ's kingdom to a lost world in need.
How? By presenting a caricature of the Christian faith- exaggerating certain areas of truth and pushing them to the forefront- that, as Francis Schaeffer puts it, "is hard and lacks beauty." It creates "ugly Calvinism" that is more a reaction to the "easy-believism" of our times than "thorough, Biblical Reformation." Sad, but all too true.
What are its salient features? It places undue emphasis upon God's Holiness, at the expense of His Love. It speaks often of our integrity- the need to maintain a good conscience before God and people- but rarely about the fervent love we are to have "one for another." It has little room for mercy when wronged, and will carry a grudge for years if offended. It dwells on the wrongs of others and seems oblivious to teh idea that love conquers a multitude of sins. It is quick to got to war in defense of some personal conviction, forgetting that "peacemakers" will be called the sonsof God. In short, it lacks the very grace it seeks to promote. (How ironic.)
In many respects, it has similarities with one of the reformation movements found on the pages of the New Testament: the Pharisees. Sinclair Ferguson notes well that,
"The Pharisees were men who had originally set out to restore God's people to orthodox, supernatural doctrine. They were men who had sought to promte holiness of life. They were men who knew something about what it was to have a God who was concerned about the details of men's daily walk before Him...
Many of the doctrines that we love were also loved by the Pharisees. And yet, the tragedy of their lives was that- through mistaken application of God's truth and a failure, especially, to see that the doctrines of God's grace are meant to show us the grace of God Himself- they used their doctrines and their application and their ethic to hide their souls from God. They needed to learn that the doctrines of Grace need to be lodged in hearts of grace in order to produce live of grace...
There is a perennial danger in the religious heart: thatin the midst of all our desire to understand precisely and to live precisely we may lose sight of the grace of God who [after all] sent His Son to be the Saviour of the World. [Not its judge-now.]"
A Question of Balance
Don't misunderstand me. I am grateful that I was introduced to the riches of Reformed Theology some twenty years ago. But the study of such theology is not an end in and of itself. It is always to make us more like Jesus-the gentlelamb of God who conducted a gracious ministry amongthe poor, describing Himself as gentle and lowly of heart. (Matthew 11:29) When Biblical-Theological study produces something other than that it is worse than useless- it can, in fact, be damning. And it presents a watching world with a distorted vision of The God who is There. As Paul, the Biblical scholar, aptly puts it, This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up.
rob schlapfer, christiancounterculture.com
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