Christianity 201

Christology: It ain't just about "knowledge" of Christ...

     ...can I just say...YA'LL ARE SOOO AMAZING!  I seriously wish each of you could share the pleasure I've had in reading your testimonies/stories and how you've come to the knowledge of Christ!  TRULY AMAZING!  it all reminds me of C.S. lewis' keen insight:

 “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal...But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of the kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinners--no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ, the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.”

...and so thank you for unveiling some of that Christ already hidden in you!  (and may we dare to do so more and more...2 Peter 1:3-9)  =D

 

Unveiling the Veiled...

    Whether we're talking about last week's NYT article about Bishop Paul Moore, Jr. (who spent a lifetime "unveiling the secrets of God" while "veiling his gay relationships") or whatever other real-life "hide & seek" stories there might be ...there's a freedom and joy in knowing we don't have to continue living veiled lives before a merciful and loving God! 

    So as we continue to progress in this whole "faith seeking understanding" thing...this whole "understanding the unveiled" thing...let's also make sure we don't fall into the trap of veiling ourselves/hiding behind all these awesome truths, doctrines, dogmas, and theology!  The truths of God should draw us closer to Him (and even ourselves and others) nothing less!  =D

1 + 1 + 1 = 1?!?

1 God…3 Persons…
God has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  These three are co-equal and are one God.

1 Molecule (H2O)…3 Forms…
Two hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to one oxygen atom can take on various states including: Gaseous (vapor), Solid (ice), Liquid (water).  These three states share the same one chemical property. 

…is this a good illustration of the doctrine of the Trinity?  Why or why not?

Extra Credit: Is this why we’re called Liquid Church???  =P

Now What Say YOU?

Even more reliable than Plato & Aristotle: Check
Verbal Inspiration: Check
Plenary Inspiration: Check

And here's what some others are saying:

Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand. --Mark Twain

You may as well quit reading and hearing the Word of God, and give it to the devil, if you do not desire to live according to it. -- Martin Luther

Too often we see the Bible through whatever lens we get from our culture. --Brian McLaren

To preach the Bible as 'the handbook for life,' or as the answer to every question, rather than as the revelation of Christ, is to turn the Bible into an entirely different book. This is how the Pharisees approached Scripture, as we can see clearly from the questions they asked Jesus. For the Pharisees, the Scriptures were a source of trivia for life's dilemmas. --Michael Horton

One of the many divine qualities of the Bible is that it does not yield its secrets to the irreverent and the censorious. --J.I. Packer

Voltaire expected that within fifty years of his lifetime there would not be one Bible in the world. His house is now a distribution center for Bibles in many languages. --Corrie Ten Boom

Any number of people assume that the Bible says that Eve ate an apple, or that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Yet the Bible never says a word about whales or apples. In the former case it refers to a fish, which might imply any sort of sea-monster; and in the second, to the essential experience of fruition, or tasting the fruit of the tree, which is obviously more general and even more mystical . . . The things that look silly now are the first rationalistic explanations rather than the first religious or primitive outlines. If those original images had been left in their own natural mystery of dark fruition or dim monsters of the deep, nobody would have quarreled with them half so much . . . But it is unfair to turn round and blame the Bible because of all these legends and jokes and journalistic allusions, which are read into the Bible by people who have not read the Bible.--G. K. Chesterton

....So now what say YOU?

Pipes, Piper, and the NYT...

Some thoughts from our last meeting about Theology Proper:

"Most Christians would rather die than think; in fact they do."  -Bertrand Russell

"God is most glorified in us as we are most satisfied in Him..."  -John Piper

"In parts of Africa where bandits and warlords shoot or rape anything that moves, you often find that the only groups still operating are Doctors Without Borders and religious aid workers; crazy doctors and crazy Christians."  [which one are you?]  (NYT: Evangelicals a Liberal Can Love; 2/3/08)

Rationalism? Maybe Empiricism? How about Revelation?

So what do Plato, Socrates, a glass of water, a picture partially covered by a garbage bag and Psalm 32:8-9 have to do with KNOWLEDGE?  And what are some of the things you've been thinking about since we last discussed the things above? 

Welcome!

Life outside of class!  =D

Chances are if you're reading this blog you're here with a purpose (in other words, you probably didn't just stumble upon this url by doing a google search for taxonomy or something)...and even if you did, WELCOME! 

This is a place where we can continue our discussions, explorations, and discoveries from the previous week of study as well as venture off into new territory for the week to come!  Feel free to ask questions, make comments, and move about the cabin as much as you'd like.  =D