I have been thinking, as of late, about the various strategies in evangelicalism to navigate the marketplace of ideas. It seems to me that the typical evangelical strategy to “win” (sorry, I don’t mean this to be polemical (yet) but I can’t think of another word which is accurate), is simply to create something of [...]
Archive for October, 2009
Evangelical Idolatry
Posted in Evangelicalism on October 29, 2009 | 12 Comments »
The Bible in the Economy of Salvation: Telford Work on Scripture
Posted in Scripture on October 27, 2009 | 8 Comments »
[A]n adequate doctrine of Scripture [contra B.B. Warfield and C. Hodge] depends circularly on the very doctrines that Scripture helps establish. It fits equally well at the end of a systematic theology as at its beginning. Indeed, it arguably fits best throughout one’s theological system, developing along with its other categories in order to inform [...]
“The Bible is endlessly a surprise”: Brueggemann on Scripture
Posted in Scripture, Walter Brueggemann on October 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
“The Bible is inherently the live Word of God that addresses us concerning the character and will of the gospel-giving God, empowering us to an alternative life in the world…Given inherency…the Bible is endlessly a surprise beyond us…
The Bible is not a fixed, frozen, readily exhausted read; it is rather a “script” always reread, through [...]
Luther on Proper Meditation: Part 1 – Evils
Posted in Luther, Spiritual Formation, Uncategorized on October 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I will continue our look at Dennis Ngien’s book, Luther as a Spiritual Advisor: The Interface of Theology and Piety in Luther’s Devotional Writings. The chapter we will look at here is entitled: “Gems for the Sick: Proper Meditation on Evils and Blessings,” and is taken from Luther’s work Fourteen Consolations. Ngien summarizes:
In all these [...]
Theology on the Way to Emmaus: A Theology of History
Posted in Theology on October 19, 2009 | 2 Comments »
We continue our look at Lash’s volume, Theology on the Way to Emmaus with the chapter “How Do We Know Where We Are?” As good a question as any I suppose! Lash muses that our trouble with a theology of history is that we have no summit from which to stand beyond and view our [...]
Baptism and Christian Identity: Part 4
Posted in Sacraments on October 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Mikoski engages Gregory of Nyssa in a chapter entitled: “Baptism, Trinity, and Ecclesial Pedagogy in the Work of Gregory of Nyssa.” Mikoski claims that while Gregory did not offer any unique contributions to the liturgical framework of his time and place, “His unique contributions to the complex rites of Christian initiation came in the form [...]
Reading Visual Art as Theological Text
Posted in Art, Book Reviews, Theology on October 8, 2009 | 1 Comment »
What would it mean to read visual art as theological text?
I have been increasingly interested in the intersection between aesthetic and conceptual theology, and given that interest I was supremely delighted with Richard Viladesau’s two volumes The Beauty of the Cross and The Triumph of the Cross (many thanks to Oxford University Press for review copies).
The [...]
Theology on the Way to Emmaus: Performing the Scriptures
Posted in Scripture on October 7, 2009 | 22 Comments »
I return now to Nicholas Lash’s book Theology on the Way to Emmaus, looking at the chapter entitled: “Performing the Scriptures.” He starts with a comparison:
There are some texts the interpretation of which seems to be a matter of, first, ‘digging’ the meaning out of the text and then, subsequently, putting the meaning to use, [...]
Baptism and Catechesis
Posted in Sacraments on October 3, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Ben Myers recently posts on baptism and ordination with some helpful thoughts, and so I have decided to post some remarks from Gregory of Nyssa on baptism as well. The following passage is from his Catechetical Oration, but I’m quoting from Mikoski’s volume that I am reviewing here on page 119:
If the washing is applied [...]
