Theolatte
Nothing goes better with a steaming latte than an engaging discussion about theology and philosophy. Sit down with your favorite caffeinated beverage and peruse the thoughts of a pseudo-intellectual.
Theology, Worldviews & Philosophy
The Clash of the Gospels
April 29th, 2010
The philosopher-king Solomon once said, “There is nothing new under sun.” Like Solomon, every generation learns this the hard way.
For some odd reason we attempt to refute this statement. We always think, “We are going to be the ones to come up with something really new!” Solomon’s perennial principle always resurfaces. What we discover as novel always turns out to be rather historical. Whether it’s the archeologist digging down, or the astronomer looking up, our explorations always lead to ancient realities.
Quit looking for something new. It doesn’t exist.
I was reminded of this today. I guess everyone considers their Sitz im Leben (situation in life) as unique. It’s not.
I reviewed two documents today – a debate on creationism & Darwinism, and then my sermon notes from Galatians for the campus church. I was surprised to find a striking similarity. Both writings center on one basic distinction, either man’s fate is up to man – OR – it is up to God.
About the Cosmos: Either God exists and made the world – OR – nature is all there is, or ever was, or ever will be (to parapharase Carl Sagan).
About the Gospel: Either it is from man – OR – it came from God (see Galatians 1:11,12).
About Justification: Either it is up to man – OR – it is completely contigent upon God (see Galatians 2:15,16)
There has always been a cosmic clash of the gospels: the gospel of man and the gospel of God.
People have always believed in one or the other. In the book of Galatians, Paul is astonished that some believers left Christianity for another gospel. They had found something new. The problem is, what they found was really only something old. In the clash of the gospels, they chose to exalt man and deny God.
You either believe in some form of a man-centered gospel or you believe in a God-centered gospel.
You do believe the gospel, make no doubt about it. The question is, “Which gospel do you believe?”
Pro Bono
April 22nd, 2010
We are kicking off our summer study for the campus church tonight at the Old Louisville Coffee House.
We are going to spend several weeks in the book of Galatians in a series entitled Pro Bono. This is a Latin term used to express something that is done for the public good, free of charge. Often lawyers will donate their services for clients of humble means, calling it “pro bono” work. This term provides a fitting description of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians.
In this letter Paul provides the watershed manifesto of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Martin Luther believed that it is by this single doctrine that the church would stand or fall. Luther emphasized the believer’s absolute dependency on the grace of God for salvation. Luther explained this as passive righteousness, that is a righteousness that can only be received and not earned. In this manner, redemption is the result of the pro bono work of Christ.
In Luther’s day the Roman Catholic church had perverted this doctrine by teaching that one must merit, or earn, God’s favor. This distortion reached a climax in the selling of indulgences, where grace could actually be purchased through monetary means. Luther’s growing dissatisfaction led to his public challenge of the church’s doctrine and authority. Luther believed that religion is the “default mode” of the human heart. In order to prevent the legalistic pull of self-righteousness, Luther encouraged believers to “speak the gospel” to themselves daily.
Grace is not earned. It is the free gift of God in Christ. It is not merited. It is pro bono. The following words from Luther remind us to resist legalism and rest in God’s unmerited favor:
“O law! You would climb up into the kingdom of my conscience, and there reign and condemn me for sin, and would take from me the joy of my heart which I have by faith in Christ, and drive me to desperation, that I might be without hope. You have overstepped your bounds. Know your place! You are a guide for my behavior, but you are not Savior and Lord of my heart. For I am baptized, and through the Gospel am called to receive righteousness and eternal life…So trouble me not! For I will not allow you, so intolerable a tyrant and tormentor, to reign in my heart and conscience—for they are the seat and temple of Christ the Son of God, who is the king of righteousness and peace, and my most sweet savior and mediator. He shall keep my conscience joyful and quiet in the sound and pure doctrine of the Gospel, through the knowledge of this passive and heavenly righteousness.”
The Gospel of Zeus
April 18th, 2010
Zeus needs to eat his spinach.
He comes off a little weak in the recent Hollywood production Clash of the Titans. As a child I vividly remember watching the 1981 production of this story. I was eager to see the story retold with all of the technological bells, whistles, and effects of our modern day. I did enjoy some of the action scenes,but generally speaking, the movie was far from captivating. Additionally, I found the subtle jabs at Christianity to be laughable.
No one should be surprised that a movie about Greek mythology presents elements that are incompatible with the biblical worldview. I was not surprised by the polytheistic nature of mythology. You cannot recount mythology apart from such elements. However, I was a little surprised by a few themes the movie seemed to emphasize. I would like to highlight three points I think might be “water cooler conversations” throughout your work week with those who have seen the movie.
1. Worship is evil
The movie portrays worship as a mere outward act required by the gods. Worship of Zeus is depicted as slavery. The Christian worldview presents a very different picture. God explicitly states that he hates false worship. The true gospel calls believers to sincere worship out of love. Zeus’ worship is motivated by fear. However, worship that is not a personal choice is not worship at all. If God is the source of true joy then the worship of anything other than him is a lesser calling in life. Therefore, worship is man’s highest calling and not a mandated artificial act.
2. Man’s autonomy is ideal
While Zeus is portrayed as the creator of mankind, it seems that the earth would be better off if he would leave it alone. If I believed in Zeus I would want to be a deist. However, the Bible presents the one true and living God as our only source of peace and joy. The Psalmist said that we should taste and see that God is good. The Psalms declare to us that the nearness of God is our good.
3. Zeus’ love is superior
The line that stands out the most from the movie comes from the end when Zeus says to Perseus, “I wanted to save the humans but not at the expense of my own son.” This is funny on a couple of levels. First, it is a jab at the Christian gospel. Secondly, Perseus is but one of Zeus’ many illegitimate children who are half moral and half divine. The comment is almost comical because Zeus is presented as an absent father type with Perseus, his bastard child, filled with hatred. The line seems to be forced into the script. I’m not playing the “hurt feelings” card on this one. I really don’t care if Director Louis Leterrier, or the script writers, wanted to add it in. I do think it worth evaluating though.
I think some skeptics will see this and smirk as if Zeus’ love is in some way superior to that of the God of the Bible. In contrast, the gospel story tells of a Creator God who has written himself into human history. The Bible tells us “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” The love of God is made manifest in the fact that he would pardon our sins and provide salvation. The gospel presents a much stronger view of God and God’s love than Clash of the Titans.
Zeus’ love is weak indeed. The film did, however, remind me of the power of myth. As C.S. Lewis’ atheist friend once commented, and I paraphrase, “All of these myths about a dying god…rum thing, it really must have happened once.” The truth is – it did happen – once. Unlike Zeus, the real God loved the world so much he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Hey Jude
April 12th, 2010
It was on a long car drive that Paul McCartney created a simple song “Hey Jules” as words of comfort for a child by the name of Julian who was struggling to cope with the news of his parent’s divorce (son of John and Cynthia Lennon). The song would later evolve into “Hey Jude” and after its 1968 release would become one of the Beatles biggest hits.
Every time I read the New Testament letter Jude I cannot help but think of the melody from this song. While they share little in common other than name, they are both written to troubled audiences. Jude was one of Jesus’ brothers, and like James, he did not become a believer until after the resurrection. He quickly went from spiritual skeptic to an astute defender of the faith.
Some of the greatest Christian minds throughout the history of the church have been former skeptics. Perhaps that’s why I enjoy dialoging with agnostic, skeptic and atheist students. I know that the power of the gospel can breakdown the worldviews they are hiding behind. Like a C.S. Lewis, or a Francis Collins, God can use them in an amazing way.
Jude’s letter hits at the heart of this theme. He begins describing our great salvation in Christ, but out of necessity moves to a charge to defend the truthfulness of the gospel:
Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1-2)
John Piper points out that the opening verses utilize three passive verbs to describe a believers position: called, loved, and kept. This deepening appreciation for our position in Christ is intended to be multiplied in the life of the believer. In other words, we are to grow in grace; to grow in our understanding of our common salvation.
But Jude felt compelled to move beyond a foundational understanding of salvation to apologetics:
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. (Jude 3)
There is a necessary balance to speaking the truth and defending the truth. We must do them both. God help us to do them in love.
This admonition to defend the faith smacks against the cultural mentality to acquiesce to a politically correct agenda. To say that one worldview is true and others false is neither popular nor safe these days. However, followers of Christ are not given the option to water down the claims of Christ.
Jude could speak with such clarity and conviction precisely because of a “faith” which hand been “handed down.” This is reminicient of the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15 where he quotes an early creed of the church that was likely formulated just a few short years after the death, burial and resurrection of Christ:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep, then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. (1 Cor. 15:3-8)
This is the faith that was handed down. It was a basic, clear, non-negotiable core of doctrine summarizing the ministry of Christ that is neither open for edits nor revisions. Jude was in essence saying that truth is a closed case. It’s not open for re-imagining. We don’t need a “new kind of Christianity.” In fact, such a title is an oxymoron. There is no such thing. The faith was “once for all” handed down by the apostles, the eye-witnesses of the resurrected Christ.
The Beatles sang, “Hey Jude, take a sad song and make it better.” Some, like Brian McClaren, have sought to do that very thing to the gospel. However, the gospel is not a sad song that needs improvement. It is the true story of a gracious Creator God who has lovingly written himself into our story. The best words of comfort for troubled hearts is the old, old story of a rugged cross on a hill far away.
The only true and abiding source of comfort for humanity is found in the faith once for all delivered to the saints.
Jerusalem Obits: Jesus is Dead
April 3rd, 2010
2,000 years ago the Jerusalem Courier Journal would have carried Jesus’ obituary.
Can you imagine the timid disciples reconvening somewhere in the dark hours of Saturday morning. Just the day before, on that bloody Friday, they had watched Jesus breathe his last breath. His bruised body now laid in a sealed tomb. They could barely believe the words that were coming out of their mouths, “Jesus is really dead.”
This Sabbath was likely spent with recounting the events of the day prior, comforting one another, and trying hard to imagine how different life would now be. This day would be dark and desolate. But it was only Saturday. As one great preacher liked to remind us, “Sunday was coming.”
The gospels tell us that early on Sunday morning Mary and the disciples found an empty tomb and an angelic being with a message of resurrection. The angel’s words would be confirmed by the multiple appearances of the risen Christ.
Saturday’s headlines may have read “Jesus is dead,” but the truth of Easter Sunday would forever change the world: Jesus is risen. Hallelujah.