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There’s an intriguing passage in Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison where he discusses the relationship between “spirit” and “flesh,” in the context of discussing “restoration” and “sublimation,” in the context of discussing lyrics from certain hymns and songs that were meaningful to him in prison. Here it is, from a December 19, 1943 (the Fourth Sunday of Advent) letter to Eberhard Bethge: In recent weeks this line has been running through my head over and over: “Calm your hearts, dear friends; / whatever plagues you, / whatever fails you, / I will restore it all.” What does that mean, “I will restore it all”? Nothing is lost; in Christ all things are taken up, preserved, albeit in transfigured form, transparent, clear, liberated from the torment of self-serving demands. Christ brings all this back, indeed, as God intended, without being distorted by sin. The doctrine originating in Eph. 1:10 of the restoration of all things, ἀνακεφαλαίωσις—re-capitulatio (Irenaeus), is a magnificent and consummately consoling thought. (DBWE 8:229–30) ...

Last night, the scale read 192.4. I’d really like it to read 180 or less. So, in lieu of how effective putting money on the line via StickK has been for my daily writing habit these past two weeks, I’ve decided to put money on the line as motivation to stick to the Slow Carb Diet for a month. For my writing habit, I’ve committed to writing 500 words toward my dissertation every day for 8 weeks. For every week I’m unsuccessful, $35 goes to the NRA. (I’m a pacifist. I do not like the NRA.) ...

In The Epistle to the Romans, Barth writes the following concerning the false image of God at the heart of religion: What men on this side resurrection name ‘God’ is most characteristically not God. Their ‘God’ does not redeem his creation, but allows free course to the unrighteousness of men; does not declare himself to be God, but is the complete affirmation of the course of the world and of men as it is. This is intolerable, for, in spite of the highest honours we offer him for his adornment, he is, in fact, ‘No-God’. The cry of revolt against such a god is nearer the truth than is the sophistry with which men attempt to justify him (Romans, 40). ...

I argue that, although Barth’s interpretation of the Genesis passages changed between The Epistle to the Romans and the Church Dogmatics, his mature readings of Genesis 2–3 still support his overall theological critique of religion as idolatry, the self-justifying positing of false gods. Specifically, in Romans (240–57, esp. 246–51), Barth interpreted “the knowledge of good and evil” as the divine secret that humans are merely humans. The prohibition of eating from the tree of knowledge thereby concealed the creator/creature distinction and was meant to enable a direct relationship between God and humans. Instead, human disobedience revealed the distinction and led to the rise of religion as worship of God, an independent action over against their creator. In the Church Dogmatics (esp. CD III/1, 257–76, but also IV/1, 418–78), Barth interpreted the knowledge of good and evil as God’s prerogative to judge between what ought to be and what ought not to be. ...

(Note: Read more about my work on Barth, Bonhoeffer, and the Bible here.) I’m really looking forward to reading these two Barth (and Bonhoeffer) books coming out from Baker in 2019: Freedom under the Word: Karl Barth’s Theological Exegesis. Edited by Ben Rhodes and Martin Westerholm. Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologians for a Post-Christian World. By Wolf Krötke. Translated by John P. Burgess. Freedom under the Word (May 2019) According to Baker: ...

To start off the semester the other day, we prayed this prayer of confession together as a class. The professor didn’t remember where the prayer was from, so I tracked it down online. According to Justin Taylor, it was written by Bob Kauflin. Holy and righteous God, we confess that like Isaiah, we are a people of unclean lips. But it is not only unclean lips we possess. We are people with unclean hands and unclean hearts. We have broken your law times without number, and are guilty of pride, unbelief, self-centeredness and idolatry. Affect our hearts with the severity of our sin and the glory of your righteousness as we now acknowledge our sins in your holy presence. ...

Right now, I’m using the RSS readers Inoreader and Reeder to subscribe to the following blogs: Snakes and Ladders – by Alan Jacobs Farnam Street — A Collection of Signal in a World Full of Noise. Seth’s Blog Study Hacks – Decoding Patterns of Success – Cal Newport James Clear Barking Up The Wrong Tree – How to be awesome at life. The Appademic » Technology, productivity and workflows for academics, students and other nerds McSweeney’s Internet Tendency Lifehacker – Do everything better What are you reading? ...

I need to finish this dissertation. To do so, I need to write regularly. For me, that means writing every day—a minimum of 500 words every day. Last spring, I did a pretty good job of writing regularly. However, I’ve fallen off the wagon for various reasons, and it’s been a bear to get back on! So, I’ve decided to put some money on the line, using a service called StickK. ...

Based upon my own reading of Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison [DBWE 8], here is my attempt at a summary list of the facets/aspects of Bonhoeffer’s view of “religion” in prison. Religion emphasizes inwardness. [DBWE 8:362, 364, 455–57] Religion emphasizes conscience. [DBWE 8:362] Religion is a temporary phenomenon. [DBWE 8:362, 364] Religion is manipulative and exploitative. [DBWE 8:363, 366, 426–27, 450, 455–57] Religion ignores human strength/knowledge/autonomy and instead focuses on human weakness, ignorance, and boundaries/limits/limitations. [DBWE 8:366, 405–7, 426–27, 450, 455–57, 475–78] Religion is metaphysical, otherworldly, and escapist. [DBWE 8:364, 372–73, 447–48, 480, 485–86, 501] Religion is privileged. [DBWE 8:364] Religion is, like circumcision, no longer a condition for salvation. [DBWE 8:365–66] Religion posits a false “God” (a “deus ex machina,” “working hypothesis,” and “stopgap”) on the other side of human boundaries (a shrinking area, as humanity matures) in order to solve human problems. [DBWE 8:366, 405–7, 426–27, 450, 455–57, 475–80, 500–1] Religion is driven by anxiety. [DBWE 8:366, 478] Religion is individualistic. [DBWE 8:372–73] Religious language has lost its power.[DBWE 8:390] Religion is a particular posture towards life, capable of being exemplified, not only by pastors, but also by existential philosophers and psychotherapists. [DBWE 8:427, 450, 457] Religion is a partial and segmented posture towards life. [DBWE 8:455–57, 482] Religion ignores the world’s increasing godlessness. [DBWE 8:480, 482]

As a part of my “pedagogical experience” at Wheaton College this semester, I was required to draft a syllabus for an introduction to Christian theology. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. Note: the length of this syllabus doesn’t necessarily correspond to the difficulty of this course Contact Information Email: [REDACTED] Phone: [REDACTED] Office Hours (Buswell Library Carrell): T, W, R, 15:00–17:00. Course Description This course is an introduction to the methods of systematic theology and the major topics within biblical revelation. Special attention is given to the rationale for these Christian doctrines, their systematic interconnections as well as their development within the history of Christian thought, and their contemporary challenges. This class is your opportunity to reinforce why you believe what you believe and to examine how it impacts your life. ...

Previously, I wrote about how the Scripture search tool in the Digital Karl Barth Library was broken. Thankfully, it appears to have been fixed (although it still has issues). This means I can search Barth’s “Collected Edition” (Gesamtausgabe) if needed. However, I’m now having some issues with the copy of Barth’s Church Dogmatics I purchased via Logos Bible Software. Before I complain, let me first say how grateful I am that Logos is MUCH more user-friendly than the Digital Karl Barth Library. ...

(Sermon preached at Church of the Savior in Wheaton, IL.) I’d like to pray this week’s collect again: Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. ...

I recently wrote about a problem I found in Alexander Street Press’ Digital Karl Barth Library: the Scripture citation search function no longer worked! I’m happy to report that, though the DKBL is still far from user-friendly, the Bible search works again! Now we just need some angel investors and programmers to produce a user-friendly version of the Digital Karl Barth Library! 🙂 Any takers?

Just wanted to give a quick shout-out to this fantastic pencil: the Mitsubishi 9850. It’s cheap, writes well, erases well, and looks great! For more on wooden pencils, read this JetPens guide to the best wooden pencils. And, while you’re at it, check out JetPens’ recommendations for the best pencil sharpeners.

As I slowly make progress on my dissertation (“Scriptural but Not Religious: Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and a Biblical Critique of Religion”), I’m longing for the day when: Karl Barth’s Gesamtausgabe (Collected Edition) is finished. They are translated into a critical English edition. They are available within the same database/framework as Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Works in English and German (DBWE and DBW). In the meantime, the Digital Karl Barth Library, provided by Alexander Street Press is the best resource out there for searching the text of Barth’s works. ...