Theology Ditty 11: “How is Our Understanding of God Related to History?”

Ditty 10 is lost right now – hoping to restore it when/if I find the paper copy!

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We understand God because we have experienced Him in relationship. In colloquial terms, we have history. The Bible is the record of God’s history with Israel and the early church. Tradition is the reckoning of His dealings and leadings with the later generations of the church. The experiential clothing of the basic doctrines as applied to our lives is the result of our personal history with God.

Beginning at Sinai (maybe before that at the burning bush), God initiated a relationship with Israel through miraculous signs and His words communicated through the prophets. As they cycled between obedience to and outright rejection of his revelation, He continued to interact with them and in doing so taught them and us about Himself and His desires for humanity. Culminating in the early church and the apostles, God completed the authoritative record of His direct dealings with mankind, though He has not stopped acting in human society and history.

Once the Scriptures were adopted as canonical, God began what might seem to be a more indirect path of revelation. As the Church Fathers and ecumenical councils struggled with the implications of the Gospel and the logical underpinnings of doctrine to the biblical narrative, God through their discussions, debates, and disagreements continued to reveal the truth of His plan and His character. As tradition took center stage and trumped God’s word as authority, God worked in the hearts of many to reform His church and return to the purity of biblical faith. As human society and knowledge has advanced, God continues to reveal Himself afresh to each generation in its terms and to its need through His modern-day messengers, the ministers.

More narrowly, I and you understand how God is by what He has done with and through us. As we realize our need for a Savior, we find a Creator and a Lord beyond our belief and naive hopes. Along the path of growth and Christian maturity, we find a Friend and Comforter who is more than willing to rebuke us to shape us in His image. In dark days and hard times, we find a Rock and a Shelter whose love is the strongest of nets to catch us. In all things, throughout all generations, God has worked to make Himself known through our history.

Theology Ditty 9: “What is the relationship between natural revelation and non-Christian religion?”

After more than a month of silence (working and those seminary papers really eat up your waking time!), I’m back! Hopefully, I’ll post twice a week for May to catch up for lost time….

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Non-Christian religion is simply the expression of mankind’s realization of God’s truth paired with the distortion of His nature. Man-centered religion is the attempt to adapt what we know to be true and right in the framework of a wrong answer to one or both of the questions: “Is there a God?” and “What is the nature of mankind?”

Buddhism and Eastern mysticism answers both questions incorrectly, in that they see mankind as inherently good, but mistaken about his place in reality and that they see the non-existence or palpable absence of God. From that foundation, they take the ideas that we must act rightly and that we inherently seek for something beyond ourselves to mean that by releasing our hold on this world will ultimately free us from its corruption and its limitations. Thus the East seeks to satisfy God’s demands for perfection through self-denial and meditative transcendence.

Works-based religions, whether polytheistic or monotheistic, rightly recognize that there is a God, but that our nature is such that we have the capacity to please Him and earn a life with Him in our own deeds and choices. From that, they discern that God (or Allah or Brahma or whoever) has put in us the desire to act rightly and seek Him/It. Thus many of the world’s religions attempt to fulfill the innate morality God has given us through the strictures of legalism.

Naturalism, best typified by evolutionary thought and practice, answers the question of God’s existence falsely, but does recognize that mankind is inherently wicked and violent. From that atheistic anthropology, they deduce that we act rightly because it benefits us in ever-increasing circles of influence with concomitantly decreasing benefit to us. So the rationalist view is that we are moral people because our biology (our extended desire to survive through reproduction) leads us to behave that way.

Theology Ditty 8: “What are the Sources of Natural Revelation?”

Natural revelation, that is the way that we know God and His nature apart from Scripture, is found in four locations. We find God’s providence for His own in the balance of creation. We find God’s nature in the order of the universe. We find God’s character in the uniqueness of human nature. We find God’s love in society and the
family.

When one looks at the complexity of relationships within nature, how every organism at some level is dependent and interrelated to every other, we find that God provides for His creation. He has ensured that every being made is taken care of, that they are fed and sheltered, that they have all that they need to live as He plans (Matthew 6:25-31). This providence is apparent to all men, even when they choose to see it as the result of evolution or natural processes.

The universe, in its simplicity of processes (that the same forces acts at all levels of scale and time) and its complexity of form (molecules, galaxies, and so forth, belies a orderliness that should strikes us as odd. That we find structure and organization as commonplace, even routine, in our world should tell us that we do not live in such a random universe after all. We perceive God as not arbitrary or incomprehensible, but desiring and providing order and ease of understanding.

In the human experience, we discover how God is by His nature and how we are to relate to Him. As with Adam, we instinctively know that we are different from other animals – we see that we are special. We then deduce that a Creator that seeks order and provides for His own is not unlike we are, that we share some characteristics with God. From the love of the family and the structures we find and support in larger society, we learn next how God relates to us, as Father and Lord.

Theology Ditty 7: “Is Natural Revelation Enough to Save a Person?”

No, natural revelation is insufficient to save someone because it lacks the ability to reveal in whom that person must rely for salvation. While creation testifies to the goodness and ultimate existence of God, it does not speak to His plan of salvation as such. This might be explained as the result of creation, apart from mankind, not being in active rebellion to Him and thus not needing His salvation.

What is needed to be saved is the knowledge of the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ two millennia ago. This was difficult for the people living proximate to him to understand (thus a reason for the resistance of the Pharisees and the Athenians to accept him as Lord and Savior). This is even more true for us living today, some of who doubt Jesus’ very existence. Beyond the mere facts of the gospel, we must also have assurance that our sins are forgiven. Again, this was a difficult concept for those of the ancient Near East to rest in and more so for us today.

Without a clear revelation of how God is acting in history and in our individual lives, we cannot be saved. We need Scripture to flesh out what creation has taught us: that God exists and loves us. Without that explanation, we cannot be saved by mere natural revelation.

Theology Ditty 6: “What is the Holy Spirit’s Relationship to Special Revelation?”

Since the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer and the church is manifold, I will limit my discussion of His role in special revelation to that of the Scripture. At the time of its composition and canonization, the Holy Spirit played the vital role of interlocutor for the Trinity, guiding the thoughts and choices of the authors and the assemblers to produce the Bible that we have today. In the reading of the Bible and its understanding today, the Holy Spirit acts as the interpreter, guiding our thoughts and responses to the Holy Word.

In ancient days, as God revealed Himself to mankind, the Holy Spirit interceded in the lives and writings of the biblical authors to produce the dual source, human and divine, in which God’s revealed truth was transmitted to the people of their day and to us. Through Moses, by bringing recollection of stories passed down the generations and the common law of the civilized peoples of his day, the Holy Spirit codified God’s righteous law and its practical out-workings to the children of Israel. Through David and the other psalmists, the Holy Spirit transmitted the beauty of God’s nature and truth to us in song and poem. Through the prophets, culminating in Jesus Himself, the Holy Spirit expanded and expounded upon the foundations of faith laid down by the forefathers. Through the apostles, the Holy Spirit explained the fulfillment of all revealed truth, as well the higher call of the Christian life and the church as He dwelt within us.

Now as we read the Scripture, the Holy Spirit continues to teach and proclaim the ageless truths of God. He corrects our errors and guides our thoughts to reconcile the mysteries of the spiritual realm with the realities of the world in which we live. He comforts and rebukes by teaching us how to live, showing how we are cared for in life, and bringing remembrance to us out of the storehouse of our memory and meditations.

Theology Ditty 5: “Does Special Revelation Exist Outside of the Bible?”

When God reveals some truth to us, be it during Bible study or prayer or even in some reflection on creation or life experiences, that truth in order to be special revelation must certainly align with existing Scripture (Deuteronomy 13:1-3) and must be a previously unknown truth. In this regard, much of what is proposed to be new insight or revelation in recent years is in fact false teaching meant to distract us from the worship of the true God and from obedience to His eternal precepts and requirements. So is that insight I had two days ago during quiet time really revelatory or something else?

Some insights are not revelatory, but merely inspiratory. Sometimes when we read and meditate on Scripture, we see something new, but not something not already known or revealed. Maybe we find a new reference to Christ in the Old Testament. Maybe we see a new connection in the wording or themes of two different biblical authors. Perhaps we find a refreshing hope or renewed joy from an obscure passage. These are not revelatory, in the sense that they tell us and all other believers something not previously understood. These have been revealed by the inspiration of the Spirit, but being not unique, are not equal to a new addendum to Scripture.

Some insights are not revelatory, but sadly contradictory to the tenor of previous revelation. Much of the re-interpretation that results from a reader-centered view falls in this category. Along with this heterodoxy, there is outright heresy as is seen in contemporary and recent cults, where major doctrines or whole passages are ignored or re-worked. In doing so, this “revelation” achieves nothing more than springboarding off the name or reputation of Christianity in order to promote a new (or old) alternative to true faith. It is this kind of insight that the Deuteronomy passage seeks to guard against. These are not revelatory because this “new light” often seeks not to support previous revelation, but undermine it.

My New Year’s resolution (that one I hope to keep)

As I was cruising the Internet today, I stumbled upon Newsweek’s 50 Most Powerful People for 2009 and the Lord laid upon my heart that I (and I hope you too) should pray for these leaders in world society. I Timothy 2:1-4 invokes us to pray for “all those in authority”. So I took some time and organized the list so that each person is prayed for 3 times (there are three exceptions, for which a general prayer request is replaced when a person would be prayed for twice in the same week).

Feel free to copy and re-post this as I want as many people as possible to be anointing these people. I am planning to pray for one person from the list each week as my Sunday School class’s focus, one for my on-campus prayer group’s focus, and one for my personal focus for any moments of “redeeming the time”. I also encourage you to write each person during that week and tell them that you have prayed for them.

This is a resolution for the year, with benefits in eternity!

Prayer list of 2009 50 most powerful people:
(Newsweek, www.newsweek.com, 12/20/2008, for issue dated 1/5/2009)

1/4/2009 Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud (Saudi Arabia)
Barack Obama (USA)
E. A. Adeboye (Nigeria-leader of Redeemed Christian Church of God)

1/11/2009 Amr Khaled (UK-Muslim televangelist)
Hu Jintao (China)
Nuri al-Maliki (Iraq)

1/18/2009 Angela Merkel (Germany)
Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (UAE)
Nicolas Sarkozy (France)

1/25/2009 Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud (Saudi Arabia)
Ben Bernanke (USA)
Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (Pakistan)

2/1/2009 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Iran)
David Axelrod (USA-senior adviser)
Jean-Claude Trichet (EU Central Bank)

2/8/2009 Barack Obama (USA)
Masaaki Shirakawa (Bank of Japan)
Pope Benedict XVI (Vatican)

2/15/2009 Ben Bernanke (USA)
Gordon Brown (UK)
that greed and vice will not overwhelm the souls of America

2/22/2009 Angela Merkel (Germany)
Jeff Bezos (USA-Amazon.com)
Pope Benedict XVI (Vatican)

3/1/2009 Bill Clinton (USA)
Michael Bloomberg (USA-NYC mayor)
Vladimir Putin (Russia)

3/8/2009 Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud (Saudi Arabia)
Bill Gates (USA)
Gordon Brown (UK)

3/15/2009 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Iran)
Carlos Slim Helú (Mexico)
Warren Buffett (USA)

3/22/2009 Dr. Margaret Chan (WHO)
Kim Jong Il (North Korea)
The Dalai Lama (India)

3/29/2009 David Axelrod (USA-senior adviser)
Hillary Clinton (USA)
The state of the Union

4/5/2009 Bill Clinton (USA)
Gen. David Petraeus (USA)
The Holy Spirit to convict all men of sin

4/12/2009 EASTER

4/19/2009 Dominique Strauss-Kahn (IMF)
The Dalai Lama (India)
Timothy Geithner (USA-Treasury)

4/26/2009 E. A. Adeboye (Nigeria-leader of Redeemed Christian Church of God)
Gen. David Petraeus (USA)
Jamie Dimon (USA-JPMorgan Chase)

5/3/2009 Eric Schmidt (USA-Google)
Mike Duke (USA-WalMart)
Sonia Gandhi (India)

5/10/2009 Gordon Brown (UK)
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil)
Rahm Emanuel (USA)

5/17/2009 Hassan Nasrallah (Lebanon-Hezbollah)
Sonia Gandhi (India)
Warren Buffett (USA)

5/24/2009 Bill Gates (USA)
Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (Pakistan)
Hillary Clinton (USA)

5/31/2009 Hu Jintao (China)
Melinda Gates (USA)
Nuri al-Maliki (Iraq)

6/7/2009 Bill Gates (USA)
Jamie Dimon (USA-JPMorgan Chase)
Timothy Geithner (USA-Treasury)

6/14/2009 Carlos Slim Helú (Mexico)
Jean-Claude Trichet (EU Central Bank)
Melinda Gates (USA)

6/21/2009 Jeff Bezos (USA-Amazon.com)
Nancy Pelosi (USA)
Valerie Jarrett (USA-senior adviser)

6/28/2009 Hu Jintao (China)
Jim Rogers (USA-Duke Energy)
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (UAE)

7/5/2009 John Lasseter (USA-Pixar)
Mike Duke (USA-WalMart)
Steve Jobs (USA-Apple)

7/12/2009 Katsuaki Watanabe (Japan-Toyota)
Kim Jong Il (North Korea)
Rahm Emanuel (USA)

7/19/2009 Eric Schmidt (USA-Google)
Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (Pakistan)
Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (UAE)

7/26/2009 Amr Khaled (UK-Muslim televangelist)
Jamie Dimon (USA-JPMorgan Chase)
Kim Jong Il (North Korea)

8/2/2009 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Iran)
David Axelrod (USA-senior adviser)
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil)

8/9/2009 Dr. Margaret Chan (WHO)
Shahrukh Khan (Bollywood star)
Valerie Jarrett (USA-senior adviser)

8/16/2009 Dominique Strauss-Kahn (IMF)
Masaaki Shirakawa (Bank of Japan)
Osama bin Laden (Afghanistan?-Al-Qaida)

8/23/2009 John Lasseter (USA-Pixar)
Melinda Gates (USA)
Rex Tillerson (USA-ExxonMobil)

8/30/2009 Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil)
Michael Bloomberg (USA-NYC mayor)
Steve Jobs (USA-Apple)

9/6/2009 Angela Merkel (Germany)
John Lasseter (USA-Pixar)
Mike Duke (USA-WalMart)

9/13/2009 Michael Bloomberg (USA-NYC mayor)
Nancy Pelosi (USA)
Rupert Murdoch (Australia-NewsCorp)

9/20/2009 Hassan Nasrallah (Lebanon-Hezbollah)
Nicolas Sarkozy (France)
Pope Benedict XVI (Vatican)

9/27/2009 Barack Obama (USA)
Katsuaki Watanabe (Japan-Toyota)
Nuri al-Maliki (Iraq)

10/4/2009 Nancy Pelosi (USA)
Oprah Winfrey (USA)
Rupert Murdoch (Australia-NewsCorp)

10/11/2009 Gen. David Petraeus (USA)
Jeff Bezos (USA-Amazon.com)
Osama bin Laden (Afghanistan?-Al-Qaida)

10/18/2009 Rahm Emanuel (USA)
Shahrukh Khan (Bollywood star)
Vladimir Putin (Russia)

10/25/2009 Jim Rogers (USA-Duke Energy)
Osama bin Laden (Afghanistan?-Al-Qaida)
Rex Tillerson (USA-ExxonMobil)

11/1/2009 Hassan Nasrallah (Lebanon-Hezbollah)
Nicolas Sarkozy (France)
Rupert Murdoch (Australia-NewsCorp)

11/8/2009 Dr. Margaret Chan (WHO)
Eric Schmidt (USA-Google)
Shahrukh Khan (Bollywood star)

11/15/2009 Carlos Slim Helú (Mexico)
Masaaki Shirakawa (Bank of Japan)
Sonia Gandhi (India)

11/22/2009 Dominique Strauss-Kahn (IMF)
Steve Jobs (USA-Apple)
The Dalai Lama (India)

11/29/2009 Oprah Winfrey (USA)
Rex Tillerson (USA-ExxonMobil)
Timothy Geithner (USA-Treasury)

12/6/2009 Amr Khaled (UK-Muslim televangelist)
Jean-Claude Trichet (EU Central Bank)
Valerie Jarrett (USA-senior adviser)

12/13/2009 E. A. Adeboye (Nigeria-leader of Redeemed Christian Church of God)
Katsuaki Watanabe (Japan-Toyota)
Vladimir Putin (Russia)

12/20/2009 CHRISTMAS

12/27/2009 Jim Rogers (USA-Duke Energy)
Oprah Winfrey (USA)
Warren Buffett (USA)

Theology Ditty 4: “How is the Bible Special Revelation?”

Well, shiny things distracted! Between mid-terms, my teaching schedule, getting laryngitis (twice!) and finals, I have been elsewhere than blogspace. My apologies — now that school has wound down, I will again try to post at least every other week (so embarrassing when people ask when I’ll post again!) In future events, once I get it revised, I will post a link to my theology paper, “The Trinity and the Gender of the Pastor”

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The Bible is special revelation in two senses: it is revealed in a manner unique to the human understanding and it is revealed in a manner unique in the human experience. That it utilizes language, unlike general or natural revelation, means that it can only be engaged at the human level, by means of our consciousness and intellect. That it involves relationship with God means that it is tailored to our place in creation as His images.

Beyond the mere fact that words and language were utilized to bring us special revelation, the ideas that expand and expound upon what is seen and understood (Romans 1:19,20) are best explained and presented in language. Think only of the difficulty of our attempts to transmit the Word and the truth of the gospel across linguistic and cultural barriers, where we lack the words or even the common framework of ideas to address even the simplest and most obvious aspect of the human need for Christ. That the gospel, and God’s progressive plan of history, is logical and easily discerned in His Word testifies to the idea that the advent of language and culture have enabled the transcendent God to reach finite mankind.

The Bible is also special revelation at a more personal level: it speaks to me individually even when it uses corporate terms. The truth of the gospel is not merely an intellectual proof or logical system. It is also a deeper, emotional and spiritual fulfillment, a completion and expansion of who I am and what I desire to be. The communion with the Father through the Son by means of the Spirit brings me into a community of love in the spiritual sense while I am brought into fellowship with a community of faith and hope in this physical realm. The Scripture speaks to me, to my condition, to my needs, hurts, and longings and it does so for all who have been enlightened by the Spirit’s power.

Theology Ditty 3: “How Does Theology Impact the Local Church?”

After a long hiatus (hey, I have mid-terms to study for!), I have returned…hopefully to be much more frequent in my posting! Prayer request: I am in the process of writing my theology term paper and need the energy and time to get it done…and to not get distracted by shiny things!

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Theology impacts the local church by challenging it to reach a better understanding of God and of their relationships. It confronts false beliefs and wrong assumptions by bringing to light the truth of Scripture and the inconsistency of the prevailing logic. It corrects wrong attitudes and behaviors and shows a better way to live as Christ.

Past are the days in the church were the major heresies and misunderstandings about Christ, the Trinity or any other central doctrine of the faith. So today theology confronts the more personal and idiosyncratic beliefs and propositions. For example, most church goers popularly believe a view of heaven similar to that portrayed in the movies or on television: white, puffy clouds with child-like angels with white, fluffy wings, playing golden harps and floating blissfully above our heads. In this, we miss the majesty of the throne room of God, the powerful testimony of the countless multitudes before Him, and the ethereal symphony of their praise and songs to Him in worship. Theology restores that by bringing truth, as revealed in Scripture, to the forefront and demanding a reckoning of the popular with the praiseworthy.

In the present age, as with all generations of the church visible, we struggle with how to live like One without sin while still in bodies plagued by the aftermath of corruption. Theology rails against this barrier to the Kingdom as well. It forces us to see ourselves in the mirror of the Holy Spirit’s conviction, to be painfully faced with how far we still have to go to portray Him fully. And so it will continue to do, by means of the Spirit and the Word, until we are made whole and holy in the age to come.

Theology Ditty 2: “Where should a study of God begin?”

The study of God should first begin with the realization of the seeming futility of the task. The scope and depth of coverage one might pursue in terms of logic or revelation is stunning and overwhelming. Yet the awe that such an endeavor should engender should not dissuade from its pursuit, but instead shape its expectations. To begin the journey of discovery and understanding is a choice to follow its course, however difficult and winding it may seem, for the rest of one’s days.

The next step in the process of theology, in the purest sense of that word, is to find the dimensions of the problem. Biblical revelation is often most clear in terms of what God is, by nature and character, and what He is not. Excluding these alternatives and possibilities from one’s consideration thins the thicket of confusion and distraction. In fact, knowing this most basic of descriptions of God will illuminate the proper questions and areas of study to next pursue. Two modes of approach should be simultaneously taken: an understanding of the progressive and expansive revelation of God’s nature and character as He interacts with mankind through a sequential and thorough study of the entire Bible, as well as an organized and systematic organization of relevant passages from the various writers and ages of the revelation. By seeing both the stream of thought and comparing its individual components against one another, one can easily find how contradictions seem to fade and coherence arise from the mists of naive assumption.

Though there is no final step, the last one before returning to the process of reconsideration and awe is reflection of the description of mankind in the Bible in contraposition to this definition of God’s nature that has been developed. By seeing what we have retained and lost in terms of God’s image as a result of the corruption of sin, we can then more clearly see how God’s revelation of Himself to us both resonates with who we are and with who we want to be. Also, often depictions of our behavior and our character are antonymic to that we find in God and thus we learn about Him by observing ourselves.

The study of God is, as stated before, a progressive and endless pursuit. As with any relationship, we will never exhaust its fullness, but we must also see that not as a warning to not proceed, but a goal, a challenge which we nevertheless will seek to complete.