Sermon preached on Saturday, November 28, 2020 (First Sunday of Advent) via Zoom at Church of the Savior in Wheaton, IL. --- If there are two things I hate, they are waiting and staying awake. I hate waiting. Ask anyone who knows me. I am absolutely horrible when it comes to delayed gratification. I’ve been known to open new boxes of cereal on the way home from the store. And I hate staying awake. ...
(To listen to the audio of this sermon as it was preached on June 6, 2020, click here.) Christians believe that there is one God in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Or, as my daughter Eva put it recently after seeing a picture in her book, “Father, Son, and Bird.” We’re working on that… We Christians have been taught that the Trinity is important. No one wants to be a heretic. Trinity, good. Modalism, bad. ...
I’m pondering the “don’t stir the pot” reaction that reliably happens every time we publish something on women’s ordination—most especially anything in favor of women’s ordination—over at Anglican Compass, where I’m the Managing Editor. (Note: This post is not a subtweet of anyone in particular. It’s just me thinking out loud about a phenomenon that keeps occurring.) Almost every time we post something about women’s ordination, a controversial issue has been whether or not doing so needlessly “stirs the pot,” as in “causes trouble, unrest, dissent.” ...
I’m still very much in the weeds, taking a closer look at how Bonhoeffer and Barth read the Sermon on the Mount. Given the importance of the Sermon on Mount for Bonhoeffer’s life and work, I’m persuaded that there’s something important to be found here—something that will hopefully shed some light on the Barth-Bonhoeffer relationship re:their theological critiques of religion. Additionally, there are at least two other tidbits that have me interested in how Barth and Bonhoeffer read the Sermon on the Mount. ...
For a research project, I’m looking for examples of the reasoning that goes into what’s been called, among other things “theological triage,” “doctrinal taxonomy,” or “dogmatic rank.” I’m referring to the process of distinguishing between various levels of importance when it comes to theological statements/positions. So, for example, the Trinity would usually be considered a “first-order” or “primary” doctrine—a “dogma,” if you will. But a specific view of the end times would usually be considered a “second-order,” “secondary,” or “tertiary” doctrine—AKA “adiaphora.” ...
In Discipleship (DBWE 4), Dietrich Bonhoeffer frames all of the Beatitudes in terms of Jesus’ disciples living in renunciation (Verzicht) and want (Mangel). Interestingly, for Bonhoeffer, Jesus is only speaking to his disciples in the Beatitudes (he makes this argument on the basis of Luke 6:20ff.). And the disciples’ renunciation and want are caused by Jesus’s call to discipleship. Jesus sees: his disciples are over there. They have visibly left the people to join him. He has called each individual one. They have given up everything in response to his call. Now they are living in renunciation and want; they are the poorest of the poor, the most tempted of the tempted, the hungriest of the hungry. They have only him. Yes, and with him they have nothing in the world, nothing at all, but everything, everything with God. (DBWE 4:101). ...
Yesterday, I wrote just a bit about interpretive approaches to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. I’m trying to get a better handle on how Barth and Bonhoeffer treat the Sermon on the Mount, and I’m starting with the Beatitudes. However, it’s pretty challenging to situate Barth and Bonhoeffer in light of the “standard” approaches to both the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. A case in point: yesterday, I felt pretty confident that Bonhoeffer does not take the standard “entrance requirements” approach to the Beatitudes. ...
As I said in my previous post, “Interpretive Approaches to the Sermon on the Mount,” I’m working on how Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer read the Sermon on the Mount. Of course, when interpreting the Sermon on the Mount, the best place to start is at the beginning! This means beginning with the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1–12. The Beatitudes (Matt. 5:1–12) 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: ...
I’m working on how Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer read the Sermon on the Mount. In order to help situate my discussion of Barth’s and Bonhoeffer’s readings, I’m trying to get a better grasp of the various interpretive approaches to the Sermon on the Mount. So far, the most exhaustive Sermon on the Mount “interpretive taxonomy” that I’ve found has been from Grant Osborne’s Matthew (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 159. ...
Editor’s Note: Thank you to the Rev. Dr. Emily McGowin for writing this rejoinder to Fr. Blake Johnson’s and Fr. Lee Nelson’s responses to her original blog post about the in persona Christi argument against women’s ordination. While we invite this conversation (about McGowin’s original blog post) to continue in our comments section and elsewhere—and we plan to publish more about women’s ordination in the future—we will not be adding surrejoinder blog posts. ...
This is from Robert Jenson, Systematic Theology, Volume 1, p. 11: The church has a mission: to see to the speaking of the gospel, whether to the world as message of salvation or to God as appeal and praise. Theology is the reflection internal to the church’s labor on this assignment. (How) does this definition of “theology” differ from the one you’ve been working with?
> In short, if I am inhuman, I am also stupid and foolish and godless. The great crisis in which all worship and piety and adoration and prayer and theology constantly finds itself derives of course from the question whether and how far in these things we really have to do with the true and living God who reveals Himself in His Word, and not with an idol. But this question is decided concretely in practice by another one which is inseparable from it—whether and how far in these things we come before God together and not apart from and against one another. True Christianity cannot be a private Christianity, i.e., a rapacious Christianity. Inhumanity at once makes it a counterfeit Christianity. > > Barth, Church Dogmatics IV/2, 442.
O Loving Father, we commend to your gracious keeping all who are near and dear to us. Have mercy upon any who are sick, and comfort those who are in pain, anxiety, or sorrow. Awaken all who are careless about eternal things. Bless those who are young and in health, that they may give the days of their strength to you. Comfort the aged and infirm, that your peace may rest upon them. ...
The following is from Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship (usually known as “The Cost of Discipleship” in English, although the original title in German was simply Nachfolge). Bonhoeffer considers how we might respond to Jesus if Jesus were to show up and make the same kinds of concrete commands that he did in the Gospels. NOTE: I’ve taken two paragraphs in the original and broken them up into smaller chunks to facilitate reading here. ...
Which theological terms would make your shortlist? Here’s the list of terms found in “Jargon-Busting: A Glossary of Theological Terms,” at the back of Alister E. McGrath’s excellent Christian Theology: An Introduction (25th Anniversary Edition). adoptionism aggiornamento Alexandrian School allegory Anabaptism analogy of being (analogia entis) analogy of faith (analogia fidei) anthropomorphism Antiochene School anti-Pelagian writings apocalyptic apologetics apophatic apostolic era appropriation Arianism atonement Barthian beatific vision Beatitudes Calvinism Cappadocian fathers Cartesianism catechism catharsis catholic Chalcedonian definition charisma, charismatic Charismatic movement Christology circumincessio conciliarism confession consubstantial consubstantiation contemplation creed Deism dialectical theology Docetism Donatism doxology Ebionitism ecclesiology Enlightenment eschatology Eucharist evangelical exegesis exemplarism fathers fideism filioque Five Ways fourth gospel fundamentalism hermeneutics hesychasm historical Jesus historico-critical method history of religions school homoousios humanism hypostatic union icons ideology incarnation justification by faith, doctrine of kenoticism kerygma liberal Protestantism liberation theology liturgy logos Lutheranism Manicheism modalism monophysitism neo-orthodoxy ontological argument orthodoxy parousia patripassianism patristic Pelagianism perichoresis Pietism postliberalism postmodernism praxis Protestantism Quadriga radical Reformation Reformed Sabellianism sacrament schism scholasticism Scripture principle Socinianism soteriology synoptic gospels synoptic problem theodicy theopaschitism theotokos Thomism transubstantiation Trinity two natures, doctrine of typology Vulgate Zwinglianism