Archive for August, 2008
Pneumatological Exploration: What’s in a Name?
It is difficult for Western Christians to conceive the Spirit as person and not merely a force or energy. Persons generally at least have names, gender, and emotion, after all. On a one level, the Spirit seems to have none of these. The problem is exacerbated when we read Augustine and he speaks of the [...]
The “Heresy” Boundary
Religion Overthrowing Heresy and Hatred by Legros the Younger
I know I ask this ‘bout once a year, but what do you do with the category of “heresy?” I keep wondering about the distinction between someone having a wrong doctrine and someone being cut off from fellowship and naming by other Christians.
On the one hand, [...]
The Acts of Thecla and Notions of Gender
A few Mondays ago we completed our analysis of the two major story arcs in the Acts of Thecla. Today we’ll take some time to recap the two previous posts.
The first arc of the Acts of Thecla serves to introduce Paul and Thecla and to begin the critique of the opponents of the writer’s community. [...]
The Opening of 1st Corinthians
The Church at Corinth was all kinds of broken. The had problems over charismatic gifts. They had problems over class divisions. Gender roles split their spirit. And on and on.
But, in light of all of that, look how God lead Paul to open his second letter to the Church there:
I am writing to God’s church [...]
Should Xians be concerned with this?
I try to stay out of politics as much as I can. However, I did leave some feedback on a column over at Worldview Network that I bloged about the other day. Much to my surprise, it survived moderation and even received two responses. Since all of this reflects how I see the Kingdom of [...]
Experiencing Theology: Reflections on the Holy Spirit
A few months ago I wrote a post charging myself with being Too Skeptical for the Holy Spirit. I lamented, really, the fact that my Pneumatological Hermeneutic of Suspicion is always in over-drive. A few weeks later I wrote a post delineating those Christian beliefs I considered Dogma, Doctrine, Opinion or Heresy. My friend Bryne [...]
I just don’t get Calvinists
Is Al Mohler a deterministic Calvinist? It does not seem so: So . . . Why Did I Write This? The Delusion of Determinism where he is responding to Free Will vs. the Programmed Brain.
As a matter of fact, this capacity and accountability is rooted in the biblical concept of the imago Dei — the [...]
Boyd and Book Reviews
Check out Greg Boyd’s site for reviews of Pagan Christianity, Re:Mission, and Overcoming Evil God’s Way.
Question on Hebrews 4:13
I need some help. I am having some trouble translating Hebrews 4:13.
Isaiah 3:16-26
Father,
we are children who have been given much. You have blessed us with an abundance of all things: food to fill our stomachs, every kind of entertainment to distract and occupy our minds, and every opportunity to adorn our bodies with things
stuff
the trappings of our culture that we think make us beautiful.
Father,
you teach us that [...]
Terminology Question of the Day
If Jesus is the “Word,”1 and we don’t want to be sloppy with our language and steer ourselves away from confusing the Word with the Bible, then what ought we call the Bible to emphasize it’s nature as God-breathed scripture?
I don’t like using “the word of God” because it confuses the Bible and Jesus and [...]
BC Response Watch - Day 4
It has been four days since I asked if Biblical Complimentarians ever use Jesus to suppor their claims. So far no one has chosen to respond. I find this interesting. I don’t want to win an argument because of silence, but I am starting to wonder. I know you guys are out there, I see [...]
דמות and Aramaic Terms in Dating the OT
I thought this post series would be interesting considering Tom’s earlier post on Genesis 1:26-27. While the post did not address the issue of Egalitarianism vs Complementarianism, the issue of the date of the text is very interesting considering previous conversations here at MassTheo. The balshanut blog has been summarizing some interesting articles on linguistic [...]
Arc Two – Completing the Reversal
Friday we looked at how Thecla began her journey from the standard Roman passive feminity on through standard Roman active masculinity toward the early Christian ideal of nongendered activity. Today, we will look at the second arc of the Acts of Thecla and see how she completes her journey.
The second arc begins in much the [...]
Book Recomendations
Scott, over at Grace is Unfair, asked his readers for book recommendations. Since Tom has asked for a list of readables from us, I thought I’d double-dip my recommendations here. This is not a list of essential books, nor the most influential books I have read. Instead, they are some good books that will help [...]