We Talk of Holy Things

The C. S. Lewis Bible #BookReview

2018-04-30T23:17:00.000-04:00

Bibliographic Info

FROM WORLDCAT
Title: The c.s. lewis bible
Author: C S Lewis
Publisher: HarperOne, 2014.
Edition/Format: Print book : Graphic : Fiction : Juvenile audience
Genre/Form: eBook : Document : English
Material Type: Document, Internet resource
Document Type: Internet Resource, Computer File
ISBN: 9780062213587
OCLC Number: 877989210
Description: 1 online resource
Responsibility: C.S. Lewis.
Subjects:
Bible.
BIBLES -- New Revised Standard Version -- General.

Background

I don't know what's going on with Barnes & Noble, but I keep getting settlements which mean more money for my ebook library. That can't be good for their company. But I benefit from it... so I got The C. S. Lewis Bible NRSV.

Additionally, I was challenged by a series of lectures on the cannon of scripture. The speaker called out the fact that we all ascribe to our own "cannon within the cannon." He also asked if we had ever read Nahum... While I probably have read Nahum, I couldn't remember it at all. So I vowed to read the Bible through from begining to end.

Further, I became increasingly frustrated with the shallowness of the reading plans available in the Bible App and other places. Single verse readings, pithy devotionals... none of these things fit the bill for my needs.

Therefore, I resolved to read 10 chapters a day starting with Genesis on January 1. Tonight, I finished the Revelation of Jesus Christ on April 30. That's 66 books in 4 months. It feels good to set and meet a New Year's goal. And I learned a few things along the way.

Review

C. S. Lewis' Writings as Bible Notes

I had sky-high expectations for this Bible. I expected valuable insight from one of my favorite writers ever. I thought this Bible would intricately weave Lewis' key points into scripture at key points to illuminate and inspire my mind. And yes, there were a few points where selections were perfectly selected for the passage.

But sometimes the quotations were not quite right. Also, there were some repeated pieces. My gripe is probably more directed at the editors than at Lewis at this point.

The New Revised Standard Version is a great, academic Biblical Translation. It was my first time using this translation for daily reading and I really enjoyed it.

Reading in Context

By reading ten chapters daily, I was able to read in context. I was able to read selections that I would not have typically read in the same sitting.

Additionally, I was able to read books like Genesis in the space of 5 days and the Psalms in two weeks. This allowed the entire book to remain fresh in my mind during the entire reading.

The flow from book to book was also fascinating to note as I read through the scriptures. I was able to read the Torah in the space of a couple weeks. Joshua, Judges and Ruth was next. The prophecy of Jeremiah and poetry of Lamentations complemented one another beautifully and tragically. And so on...

Reading Out Loud

One major boon was the fact that I have children that need to be put to bed at night. This was getting in the way with my readings for a while until I decided to read the Bible to my children at about the book of Job.

Scripture was always intended to be read aloud. I was able to not only consume the text cognitively, but I was about to feel the Word vibrate my vocal chords and resonate in my ears.

Next Steps

I plan to start it up again with a new translation. The founder of my faith tradition has his own translation of the Bible. Tomorrow, May 1 (my kids and) I start reading the Darby Bible! (You can also find it on the Bible App)

Keep reading!

Just As I Am

2018-02-22T09:23:00.000-05:00

Billy Graham, 1918-2018

A brief letter.

Billy,

Thank you for your dedication to God's Word and your heart for souls. Thank you for showing your faith to us in real ways that go beyond preaching and into social living. A lot of people owe a spiritual debt to God for sending you to preach His word. As Romans 10:14 says, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?"

Now you are in Glory with your God. You approach him as you have encouraged others your entire life, just as you are. Rest in peace, brother...

Just As I Am
Lyrics: Charlotte Elliot
Music: Woodsworth & Bradbury

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
Here for a season, then above,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

The Atonement: Ransom

2018-01-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

THEOLOGIAN: Irenaeus (c. 130 - c. 200) Bishop, Theologian, and Saint. [1]
WORK ON SUBJECT: Aversus Haereses V
ANGLE: Transactional
THEME: Satanward [2]
IN HIS OWN WORDS:

"the mighty Word, and very man, who, redeeming us by His own blood in a manner consonant to reason, gave Himself as a redemption for those who had been led into captivity. And since the apostasy tyrannized over us unjustly, and, though we were by nature the property of the omnipotent God, alienated us contrary to nature, rendering us its own disciples, the Word of God, powerful in all things, and not defective with regard to His own justice, did righteously turn against that apostasy, and redeem from it His own property" [3]

Basically...

Ransom theory is a natural outgrowth, or meditation, on the Christus Victor Paradigm that dwells on the human condition and what God actually did to redeem (buy back) his creation. In the fall, humanity subjected itself to a kind of enslavement to sin (Romans 6:20) that requires a payment. God's order of Man's dominance over all creation is now no longer seen as a result of this fall, and something must be done to reverse the perverted course of history.

The Global Dictionary of Theology crystallizes Ransom theory into the following three parts:

(1) Satan gained mastery over humanity when the first couple chose the path of sin in the garden. Satan retains this hold on humanity through the powers of the kingdom of darkness (sin, fear, death, etc.).
(2) Through death, Jesus’ innocent life became the ransom price that was acceptable to Satan for the liberation/redemption of humanity. The New Testament passage often used to support this idea came from the very lips of Jesus: “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28; Mk 10:45; cf. 1 Tim 2:6).
(3) Finally, the ransom theory typically emphasizes that Christ's victory was achieved by outwitting the devil. The inherent injustice of taking an innocent life as a ransom is the basis on which Christ defeats Satan (a notion tied to the words of Paul in 1 Cor 2:8). [2]

We know that we have been "bought with a great price" (1 Corinthians 6:20) and in Revelation 5:9 the Lamb was "slain, and purchased for God with [His] blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." When viewing the Atonement form this lens, it is easy to view it as "the deliverance from captivity by the payment of a ransom." [4] While I credit Irenaeus for expounding Ransom Theory in its embryonic stage, let it be known that there was agreement among Church Fathers on the validity of this view, including Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and Rufinus of Aquileia [2]. Even Augustine wrote the following, which is heavily influenced by Ransom language:

The Redeemer came, and gave the price; He poured forth his blood and bought the whole world. Do you ask what He bought? See what He gave, and find what He bought. The blood of Christ is the price. How much is it worth? What but the whole world? What but all nations? [5]

As has already been mentioned, Ransom Theory can be seen as an extension of the Christus Victor Paradigm. Therefore, its Angle and Theme remain Transactional and Satanward, respectively. This is not a substantially different stance, merely a new viewpoint on the topic.

Precedent

Bondage/captivity and rescue underpin the entire biblical narrative from Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Persian, Greek, and Roman oppressors. The Israelites are always warned to obey the Lord their God with the threat of oppression looming over them. Hence, the Messiah was viewed as a leader who will lead the people into political freedom from the tyranny of human government into the Kingdom of God.

Note also that this freedom from tyranny is not to usher in a state of autonomy or anarchy, but the freedom to worship their God as He desires (Exodus 8:1). This dovetails nicely when spiritualized as freedom from the bondage to sin into the dominion of righteousness.

...present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. —Romans 6:19b-20, NASB

Problems

The big problem with Ransom theory has to do with its tendency to promote an extreme Satanward Theme. One might begin to wonder, To who is this ransom paid? One might be led to conclude that since Man was deceived by Satan that he was taken captive by Satan and now God must pay the ransom to Satan. Therefore, God must subject himself to Satan's pleasures in order to redeem man. Indeed, the following statement immediately precedes the aforementioned quote from St. Augustine:

Men were held captive under the devil and served the demons, but they were redeemed from captivity. For they could sell themselves. The Redeemer came, and gave the price; He poured forth his blood and bought the whole world. [5]

This horrendous conclusion, however natural it may seem to come to given the premise, is rightly inconceivable. God owes nothing to the devils. The Catholic Encyclopedia explains their response to this conclusion as follows:

...however useful and illuminating in their proper place, figures of this kind are perilous in the hands of those who press them too far, and forget that they are figures. This is what happened here. When a captive is ransomed the price is naturally paid to the conqueror by whom he is held in bondage. Hence, if this figure were taken and interpreted literally in all its details, it would seem that the price of man's ransom must be paid to Satan. The notion is certainly startling, if not revolting. Even if brave reasons pointed in this direction, we might well shrink from drawing the conclusion. And this is in fact so far from being the case that it seems hard to find any rational explanation of such a payment, or any right on which it could be founded. [4]

Who, then, is paid? We are left to conclude that Sin itself is Man's captor and the recipient of this debt. Justice deems that this price is paid before Man can hope to be free.

Conclusion

This last quotation may well be a wise warning for all theology. We use figures to help us understand cosmic truths. Figures are good things. Figures are limited things. We must understand their limitations, use them as they shed light on our experiences and help us understand scripture, and promptly discard them when human experience begins to contradict Biblical principles.

Ransom Theory helps us to understand the cost of our Atonement. We can conclude that Grace is free but not cheap, depending on one's perspective. It is free to us who were in bondage and are now set free. It is costly to the redeemer, who paid dearly to gather his own back to himself.

References: 1. "Irenaeus (c. 130 - c. 200)." In Who's Who in Christianity, Routledge, by Lavinia Cohn-Sherbok. 2nd ed. Routledge, 2001.
2. Eddy, P R., and J Beilby. "Atonement." In Global Dictionary of Theology, edited by William A. Dyrness, and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen. InterVarsity Press, 2008.
3. Irenaeus. Aversus Haereses V. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/irenaeus-book5.html
4. "Doctrine of the Atonement." Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02055a.htm
5. Augustine. Enarration on Psalm 96, no. 5. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1801096.htm

The Atonement: Penal-Substitution

2018-01-10T17:00:00.000-05:00

THEOLOGIAN: Anselm (c. 1033 - 1109) Archbishop, Saint, and Theologian.
WORK ON SUBJECT: Cur Deus Homo [1]
ANGLE: Juridical
THEME: Godward (understands the work of Christ as primarily addressing a necessary demand of God [2])
IN HIS OWN WORDS:

"It may, indeed be said, that the Father commanded him to die, when he enjoined that upon him on account of which he met death. It was in this sense, then, that "as the Father gave him the commandment, so he did, and the cup which He gave to him, he drank; and he was made obedient to the Father, even unto death;" and thus "he learned obedience from the things which he suffered," that is, how far obedience should be maintained." [3]

Basically...

The basic premise of this theory is expressed quite often in certain circles when discussing how Jesus died in our place. As the name of the theory suggests, Jesus died on the cross as man's substitute. Often, John 3:16 is quote in this way:

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. —John 3:16, NLT

A lot of times it is explained as a simple switch, but that's not all that is at play here. In fact, the parts that involve mankind are actually quite small. This theory has everything to do with God's Holiness and Wrath. Hence, why it has been said that the theme of this view is Godward.

God, as a holy and just judge of this world, must condemn sin when he sees it—and he sees it covering his creation. God's wrath is kindled against Man. It says so in the Bible:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. —Romans 1:18, NASB

According to the natural course of justice, God must pour out the full measure of his wrath on human beings for their rebellion. But there is another way. The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ, best explained (again) in Romans:

being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. —Romans 3:24-26, NASB

This brings us to another important word for this theory: Justification. The end-goal of this theory (from man's perspective) is to get us to the point where we can stand justified before God. To be justified is a legal term that declares the man/woman righteous by imputation. God looks at us, we point to Jesus, and God says, "OK, He's righteous so I'm satisfied." The end-goal of this theory then (from God's perspective) is to have his wrath (and love) satisfied.

Or consider this outline from Saint Anselm:

(1) The essence of sin is humanity's failure to render to God what is rightfully due him; sin dishonors God.
(2) It is humanity's responsibility to restore to God what they have robbed him of, as well as to make reparation above and beyond for injuring and offending him. God's honor inherently demands such restoration and reparation.
(3) Humanity can never restore such a debt. Even if humans did their best and did not sin further, they would only be rendering what God is already due; the necessary reparation above and beyond would always be left undone. Beyond this, humanity lives in a state of bondage to the devil.
(4) God is left with two basic options: punish humanity as they deserve, or accept satisfaction made on their behalf.
(5) But now the predicament: satisfaction can only be made by a human since it is humanity that owes God the debt, yet no mere human has the resources to make satisfaction for the race.
(6) The sole solution is to be found in the mystery of Jesus Christ, the God-man. As God, he has the ability to make satisfaction; as man, his satisfaction can be made on behalf of humanity. [2]

* It should be clarified at this point that while Anselm certainly laid the groundwork for the many subsequent objective theories of The Atonement, it did not develop into properly understood Penal-Substitution until John Calvin and the Reformers. Yet, they can be looked at as developers of a theory more than innovators of one.

Precedent

Related to the comment about love, the tension between God's wrath and God's love is ever-present in scripture. In the OT, God is constantly vacillating between burning anger and burning desire for his people. He gets angry but preserves a remnant. Even before he establishes Israel, God floods the earth but saves Noah. When these two elements are viewed in tandem, God places himself in an apparent bind. He cannot uphold one without violating the other. But he cleverly finds a way to uphold both by the perfect sacrifice of his son.

Problems

Proponents of this theory may have a tendency to emphasize the wrath of God at the expense of his love. A punishment must be made, God must be satisfied. Some very important attributes of God must then be minimized in order to amplify this part of the truth.

The idea of justification and imputed righteousness leaves this theory open to the charge of neglecting the sanctification of the believer. It leaves the Christian justified, but not intrinsically righteous. In that sense, it's only a covering or deflection and not a removal of sin. Thus, the fragmentation of salvation into justification then sanctification becomes a major new contribution made by this theory.

Conclusion

This theory is very personal. Jesus becomes the substitute for me so I can read my name into John 3:16. A lot of the ideas in the Penal-Substitution Theory of Atonement certainly lends itself to the individualism we see in current Christendom and leads to even more theological innovation when taken as the sole basis of Atonement Theology. A lot is happening when man's sinful state is atoned for, especially from God's perspective.

References:

1. "Anselm (c. 1033 - 1109)." In Who's Who in Christianity, Routledge, by Lavinia Cohn-Sherbok. 2nd ed. Routledge, 2001.
2. Eddy, P R., and J Beilby. "Atonement." In Global Dictionary of Theology, edited by William A. Dyrness, and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen. InterVarsity Press, 2008.
3. Anselm. "Cur Deus Homo?" https://www.ewtn.com/library/CHRIST/CURDEUS.HTM

The Atonement: Christus Victor

2018-01-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

THEOLOGIAN: Gustaf Aulen (1879 - 1977) Theologian, Ecumenist, and Bishop.
WORK ON SUBJECT: Christus Victor [1]
ANGLE: Transactional
THEME: Satanward [2]
IN HIS OWN WORDS:

“the idea of the Atonement as a Divine conflict and victory; Christ—Christus victor—fights against and triumphs over the evil powers of the world, the ‘tyrants’ under which mankind is in bondage and suffering” —Gustaf Aulen [3]

Basically...

The basic premise of Gustaf Aulen's work is that since mankind is under bondage to the Prince and Power of the Air, God's atoning work must undo the havoc his enemies wreaked on his creation. The Cross now becomes the battlefield where two rulers fight for the right to assert dominance over their property.

Hence, this theme can be considered Satanward; Jesus' primary objective is to defeat him. On that Beautiful Scandalous Night, Satan brought death to the sinless one—thus crossing a line bringing wrongful death. Therefore, Jesus is now the glorious victor. He can now say in Revelation 1:18:

I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave. (NLT)

Consider that scripture contains a thread of competition between Satan and the Almighty. Note the temptation in the wilderness as Satan tried to lure Jesus into wrongdoing. It is conceivable that these trials do not simply stop after a few unsuccessful attempts. It is more likely that Satan simply modified his plans.

Perhaps Satan's missives came in the form of doubters and potential followers and religious leaders. What does Jesus say to Peter when the disciple rebuked him? Oh yes:

Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's." (Matt. 16:23, NLT)

You can say this is a figure of speech. I tend to agree, but it is interesting that this comment comes as Jesus tried to explain his mission: The Atonement. It also cannot be denied that the text of scripture clearly pits Satan against Jesus. After all, the name Satan means adversary.

As a final observation, it is Satan who begins Passion Week in Luke 22:3 when he "enters" Judas Iscariot and strikes a deal with the priests to betray Jesus to them.

Precedent

There is also Old Testament precedent for direct satanic involvement in the course of human events. The Serpent of Genesis (a clear figure of Demonic suggestion) introduces and entices mankind to disobey God, thus ushering in The Fall. The criterion for those subject to death is laid out here; if you sin then you will certainly die. Finally, the epic battle between the Seed of the woman and this Serpent is predicted with the Serpent bruising the Seed's heel while the Seed crushes the Serpent's head. (Genesis 3)

The epic poem of Job also comments extensively on Satan's desire to manipulate and affect humans on this earth. The oft-repeated observation that Satan is accountable to God for all things holds true as Satan must request and receive permission before exerting any power in Job's life. There are limits to Satan's power. Hence, it stands to reason that when Satan put the innocent, blameless Jesus to death, the sentence would not hold up and Jesus must necessarily rise up victorious.

Problems

While it is completely orthodox to claim that the Lamb, freshly slain, is worthy to take the scroll and loosen the seals (Revelation 5), it is also possible to get lost in this discussion and take the figure too far.

It has been observed that this atonement theory takes a focus that is traditionally viewed as secondary and makes it the primary focus. [4] It would be easy to read the aforementioned Christus Victor argument and think that our primary problem was enslavement to the Devil when our real issue is, in fact, death itself.

God's holiness and satisfaction are also not properly highlighted. Mankind—the objects and recipients of The Atonement—are reduced to mere pawns on a cosmic chessboard, waiting to see who the final victor will be. In other words, it can be easy to read Christus Victor as cosmic vengeance rather than a redemption story.

Finally, God's love can be minimized. Souls are collateral in an ultimate struggle. Domination and sovereignty take the place of benevolence and kindness. While this might accurately describe Satan's motivation, God has higher and greater goals.

Conclusion

Christus Victor has a lot of great points and calls attention to several aspects of The Atonement that are sometimes forgotten in our current age when more emphasis is placed on the personal experience than an overarching cosmic reality. As with every paradigm, we must remember that the figure can only hold a snippet of the immense reality of God's atoning work through Jesus Christ and react accordingly.

References:
1. "Aulen, Gustaf (1879 - 1977)." In Who's Who in Christianity, Routledge, by Lavinia Cohn-Sherbok. 2nd ed. Routledge, 2001.
2. Eddy, P R., and J Beilby. "Atonement." In Global Dictionary of Theology, edited by William A. Dyrness, and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen. InterVarsity Press, 2008.
3. Aulén, G., Christus Victor: An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of the Atonement (Macmillan New York, 1969 [1931])
4. Mccormack, Bruce Lindley, and Bruce Lindley McCormack. "Atonement." In Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology, edited by Ian A. McFarland, David A. S. Fergusson, Karen Kilby, and et. al.. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Atonement Theology: Introduction

2018-01-02T07:00:00.001-05:00

Introduction

In recent weeks, I have considered various theories of The Atonement that have been held by Christendom and how they inform our faith. Typically, I avoid such speculation because there is room for divergent beliefs in the actual mechanism of The Atonement because they tend to grasp at earthly figures to describe heavenly truths. Thus, I tend to echo C. S. Lewis' sentiments as follows:

"The central Christian belief is that Christ’s death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start. Theories as to how it did this are another matter. A good many different theories have been held as to how it works; what all Christians are agreed on is that it does work." -- Mere Christianity, Ch. 4 [1]

Yet, as I read up on the theories, I find incredible depth and scope to Christ's work. In this series, I will attempt to recreate arguments for the three most common theories of the atonement and explain how they relate to the Christian experience. Further, I plan to show how, when taken to an extreme, each of these theories falls apart when taken past the point of good use.

So each theory enlightens truth when considered properly and obscures truth when abused. At the end of this study, we will likely say that The Atonement is like Christus Victor in this sense, but not in another, where it is like Penal-Substitution, except where a Ransom applies. In other words, most Christians probably have a blended understanding of these theories and can find some harmony between them while rejecting aspects that are not profitable.

The Atonement: A Definition

The word Atonement is actually one of the few theological terms that derive their origin from the English language [2]. It may be read as: "at-one-ness." Or to bring to unification/reunification. In this sense, it is synonymous with reconciliation -- to be made friends again.

Propitiation is another word that regularly appears in Atonement discussions. This word refers to the turning aside of God's anger toward sin [3] and to thereby regain favor with Him. It is a general term for the deterrence of God's holy wrath so we can approach Him.

A narrower term that falls under propitiation is expiation. Expiation means to make amends or to make reparations [4]. It's typically used in a tit-for-tat situation. You hurt me so before I accept you back, you must do the following... You must make reparations or make it up to the offended party. The goal is to make things right again.

The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary describes the relationship between propitiation and expiation as follows:

"Expiation speaks of the process by which sins are nullified or covered. Propitiation, taking a personal object, speaks of the appeasement of an offended party--specifically the Christian God--from wrath or anger. Expiation falls under the concept of propitiation. In Scripture, it cannot exist without propitiation." [5]

Thus, The Atonement is the process by which man is reunited with God. The Fall is presupposed as the problem to which God has responded. His Holiness is the barrier which Man cannot hurdle. His Love is the motivation which drives the action. But how is this accomplished? This is the question that theologians have wrestled with for centuries.

The Atonement: Two Angles

The two major angles from which The Atonement is typically viewed can be described as transactional and juridical. A transactional viewpoint describes The Atonement as a "price paid" or "just for the unjust." On the other hand, a juridical viewpoint describes The Atonement in legal terms, showing how God is satisfied by The Atonement.

Note that both views have a place in scripture. In subsequent posts, we will explore that place and what happens when these theories are taken further than their usefulness. Truly, the biggest problem we have is when we take the figures too far and apply them where they have no business being applied.

The Atonement: Three Views

As mentioned, in this mini-series I will explore three views of The Atonement, highlight the key Theologian(s) involved with each theory, the philosophical strengths and weaknesses of the theory, and the scriptures from which these theories are derived. Note that these theories grow from Church development and the influence of many Church Fathers. Hence, while one person may be named or credited for each theory as the principal promoter, several Church Fathers likely contributed to the development of these ideas.

Specifically, the three views that I will consider in this mini-series are:

Christus Victor
Penal-Substitution
Ransom

1. Mere Christianity, by Clive S. Lewis.
2. Eddy, P R., and J Beilby. "Atonement." In Global Dictionary of Theology, edited by William A. Dyrness, and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen. InterVarsity Press, 2008.
3. "Propitiation." In Macmillan Dictionary of the Bible, by Martin J. Selman, Martin H. Manser, and Stephen Travis. Collins, 2002.
4. "expiate." In The Macquarie Dictionary, edited by Susan Butler. 6th ed. Macquarie Dictionary Publishers, 2013.
5. "EXPIATION, PROPITIATION." In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, by Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England. Holman Bible Publishers, 2003.l

Jesus Flips the Script: Reversals During Passion Week

2017-12-19T18:42:00.001-05:00

Jungwoo Hong

A Passion for Reversals

A few weeks ago, a series of thoughts came to mind during the Lord's Supper which I did not have the opportunity to share but have been bouncing around between my ears. Jesus, naturally, is a fascinating subject of study and passion week is the most fertile, poignant period of his earthly career. During this week, Jesus either offers to reverse the fortunes of many. In fact, he reverses the fortunes of the entire world whom he so loves.

Specifically, however, Jesus tries to flip the script for three persons as he marches to Calvary. He extends his arms to them as they were stretched out on a cross. He offers the olive branch while facing death on a tree.

Jesus Calls The Traitor, "Friend"

And Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you have come for." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. —Matthew 26:50, NASB

Judas had worked out a deal to betray Jesus. Leave aside the details of why this was done and whether or not it was truly necessary for anything other than prophecy, it was clearly a slap in the face. It was a clear act of treason for a supposed subject of the King of Glory to turn him over to the priests for any reason. And by kiss no less!

How does Jesus respond? Friend¹. Jesus knew Judas' intentions, however noble or ignoble they may have been. Yet, he still calls Judas friend. In this simple phrase, Jesus illustrates his entire atoning work: to reconcile a hostile populace back to himself. Scripture tells us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8

Jesus Reveals Truth to the Judge

Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." —John 18:37, NASB

Pilate is quite the cynical judge to ask the question, What is Truth? Did he now know truth from falsehood? Was he disillusioned from moral philosophies, religions, politics, and other schemes of men? Here he has the embodiment of Wisdom that was spoken of in Proverbs 8:22 who was both present and active in the creation of the universe. But he could not recognize the Truth.

Jesus brings a lesson on Truth to this judge. He brings his testimony to all the world and says, Now, you be the judge. Can you discern truth from falsehood? Can you decipher between truth and the noise that the world makes around it? Jesus says quite simply, I am the way, the truth, and the life. —John 14:6

Jesus Grants Paradise to the Condemned

And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." —Luke 23:43

Jesus was numbered with the criminals. When people looked up, they saw no difference between the dregs of humanity and the Lord of All Creation. Not only that, but these filthy dregs joined in and mocked the Holy One, hurling insults and profanity at him as only the profane can. Certainly, such scum has a special hole reserved in hell for their torment.

Yet, Jesus reverses even this disdainful scene. One criminal recognized both his own woeful state and his only chance for salvation: Jesus, the Christ. He calls out to the King of Kings and pleads for entry into the kingdom; Jesus was willing and able to make that promise. He offers this to any and all who realize that they are destined for a lost eternity on their own and call out for his salvation.

Conclusion

Jesus is in the business of reversing man's standing before God. Where we were once traitorous heathens, we can now be called friends. Where we were clueless judges of our own lives, we can now have the truth. And where we were alone and lost, we are now found in him.

Notes:

1. There is good textual evidence that this may be a gracious interpretation of the Greek term employed by Jesus. While friend works, the term might actually be applied as punk or knave. Comparable texts even use this word as a condescending term, like when referring to a child as buddy. Still, for the purposes of the devotional, Jesus offers reconciliation to those who are hostile to him. That truth is evident from scripture.

The Gates of Thanksgiving

2017-11-23T13:18:00.001-05:00

Photo by Peter Mason on Unsplash

A quick thought while on the go...

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4. NLT

THE GATE: Usually part of a fence. Fences are used to keep property and loved ones safely inside while keeping predators and malicious ones outside. The gate is the way through which one is translated from the outside in or booted out from within.

There is a common phrase, “I’m on the fence about it...” meaning “I’m not so sure. I can see from both sides.” Have you ever seen someone literally on a fence? It looks ridiculous. It’s not sustainable. You either need to be in the perimeter or out. There’s no middle ground here.

Another case where one might be found on the fence typically happens in the middle of the night... when a thief jumps the fence to do evil. To penetrate. Thieves rarely enter through the gate. They are not welcome.

We can enter the gates of heaven because they have been opened wide for us. We come in and should be overcome with gratitude. We are thankful for the privilege of close community with Almighty God.

We are thankful that we are considered guests.
No! We are friends.
No! We are family.

Holy Mobile! July 09, 2017 at 10:26AM

2017-07-09T10:27:00.001-04:00

A quick thought while on the go...

High Priest of the good things that have come.

Hebrews 9:11 What a title for the Lord Jesus! What good things have come?
* A single, effective sacrifice for all
* A promised eternal inheritance
* A covenant not based on a physical place, but which spans both time and space
* An ultimate deliverance when our spiritual state is fully actualized physically

Most importantly, we have an eternal mediator who is both faithful and true. Israel had good, bad and wicked priests. They could only hope the next one would be as good as or better than the last. We have the High Priest of Good Things forever.

All Your Strength: The antihero

2017-06-23T15:54:00.001-04:00

Samson: The Antihero

A cautionary tale

When I embarked on this study several years ago, I intended to seek the scriptures for a positive example of each command (heart, mind, soul, strength). Sadly, the Bible doesn't go out of it's way to fabricate success stories. Sometimes we need to learn from failure.

When thinking of strength in the Bible, you have to think of Samson. There really is no one who compares to the lore of Samson's strength. Sure, Caleb is a close second. He did conquer the land of Giants in his generational twilight years. But Samson is the icon of strength--it is the thing for which he is known.

It was also his downfall.

Samson is an interesting case study. We have 4 episodes of his life. Four snippets of a 20-year ministry. (Or 40-year ministry depending on you interpretation of the two verses stating he judged Israel for 20-years.) This begs the following question:

What if...

What if God decided that your four biggest failures were more important to posterity than the remainder of a successful ministry? What would your weaknesses be? Samson's Achilles heel was women and pride. What are yours? Where are the weak points in your love for the Lord?

I would not like that and I doubt anyone would feel comfortable writing down their failures for the world to see. I've seen many people lay into Samson. I've seen precious few who use Samson's life as a mirror reflecting the human condition--a condition inside me/you--right back at them.

A Revealing Prayer

It's easy to gloss over Samson's prayer in Judges 15:18-20. After all, he just fought with the jawbone of a donkey! But it is his first prayer in the narrative, and it reveals some interesting details.

Consciousness: He acknowledges God's work through him.
Relation: He considers himself God's servant, even if his behavior is inconsistent.
Victory: He recognizes the enemy and desperately wants to avoid falling victim to the enemy.

I think these elements, if we're honest, can be found in our prayers.We know what to say to God. Sometimes we actually believe what we say. However, we fall so short. We don't have the strength.

The First Step...

So where are we? How can we live a successful life and love the Lord with all our strength? I guess our first step is to realize our weakness. We must admit that the strength we have in the flesh is not enough, though we wish it were.

The next step is to acknowledge the desire we have within us to please God. And to realize that this desire is likely only there because God placed it in us to begin with. Note the frequency with which "The Spirit of the Lord" comes upon Samson. It's not something he prays for or waits on, it's something that takes hold of him.

At first, it comes upon him for every mighty act. But, slowly, it becomes replaced by his own strength. Finally, in the case of Delilah, he doesn't even realize that the Spirit of the Lord was not with him. It is a sad state of affairs that has direct correlation with the ability of a believer to grieve the Holy Spirit.

I'm sorry that this is not an "uplifting" message. But it is an important warning to hear and realize as we journey towards a more perfect love for the one who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Bible Map Viz: The Pauline Epistles

2017-04-25T15:38:00.001-04:00

Bible Map Viz: The Pauline Epistles

In getting ready for an overview of the first Epistle to the Corinthian church, I decided to create an all-out visualization of this data to complement my Bible Maps. Hope you enjoy it! I also like feedback. So if you have any information to share, I'd love to incorporate it.

As with my other visualization, here's the link if the embed code doesn't pan out. It gets kinda crunched in Blogger sometimes...
Bible Map Viz: The Pauline Epistles

Little Flock. Large Transfiguration

2017-04-08T14:22:00.000-04:00

Data Visualization and Digital Scholarship is HUGE in my profession. So I thought I'd play around with Tablaeu and some data I came across on the development of the Little Flock and other hymnals used by the Plymouth Brethren. If the embed doesn't play nice in the post, check out the viz on it's own here: https://public.tableau.com/views/HymnsoftheLittleFlock/Story1?:embed=y&:display_count=yes

3 Fold Nature of Man

2016-12-30T16:05:00.000-05:00

I'm getting ready for Sunday morning, when I will be preaching on the third part of my series on the Greatest Commandment: The Soul. Here is a little graphic to which I will refer during the message.

See it here as a web page!

Holy Mobile! December 25, 2016 at 07:41AM

2016-12-25T07:41:00.001-05:00

A quick thought while on the go...
Come all ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant.... This carol always made me feel uneasy 😳. Come if you're faithful, but if not you'd better stay away. To this day, it gives me a shiver of doubt. Am I faithful enough to come near? The answer is always no. We don't hear 👂 much about the Magi's 🐫 Theology, just that they came based on what they knew. We don't know much about the shepherd 🐑 fidelity, just that they came based on what they knew. And so I come with what little I have. Dear Jesus, thank you for being faithful to your Father's commission. Thank you for meeting my deficiencies with your grace.
via http://ift.tt/2hEgITo

Holy Mobile! December 25, 2016 at 06:41AM

2016-12-25T06:43:00.003-05:00

A quick thought while on the go...
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.... that's a strange pairing. Comfort. Joy. At first glance, it is a positive➕ set of words. But really think about it; who needs comfort? Those who are in distress. This carol doesn't bring tidings of pleasure and happiness. This world 🌎 is a dark and fallen place. We need comfort. We need a reminder to be fearless. Better yet, we need someone to take our fears away and leave behind relief. Comfort. That fills our hearts 💕 with joy. Dear Jesus, thank you for appearing one blessed night to meet my needs and comfort my soul.
via http://ift.tt/2ifmtY6

Holy Mobile! December 25, 2016 at 06:41AM

2016-12-25T06:43:00.001-05:00

Holy Mobile! December 25, 2016 at 04:36AM

2016-12-25T04:36:00.001-05:00

A quick thought while on the go...
We three kings of orient are. Bearing gifts 🎁 we traveled afar.... I'm about to jump in my car 🚗 for a 5-hour drive to worship service and Christmas 🎄 festivities with my in-laws. Seems far at 4 am with 3 screaming kids in the backseat.... Travel for family. Sure. Travel for fun. Done that before. Travel for the King of Kings. I don't know that I've ever done that before. Have I ever been through discomfort of any kind for my Lord and Savior? My drive will be in air conditioned comfort on heated leather seats 💺. The guys in the song did their thing through the wilderness on a camel's 🐫 back. Lord of Lords, as I journey this morning I remember that my life is a journey through this world 🌎. May my focus and destination be you always. May my shining star ⭐️ be the very Light of the World who pierced the darkness one ☝️ fateful night in Bethlehem.
via http://ift.tt/2i4Sm5Y

Holy Mobile! December 25, 2016 at 12:32AM

2016-12-25T00:32:00.001-05:00

A quick thought while on the go...
Away in a manger --no crib for a bed!-- the little Lord, Jesus, lay down his sweet head.... Thank you "little Lord" for proving that you care for me. Thank you for reaching out to me in the exact spot I find myself. Thank you for experiencing my condition. Thank you for being with me. Thank you for Advent. Thank you for Christmas. Thank you for Easter. Thank you for planning this through from humble beginnings through bitter times unto a glorious end. Thank you for the mission of Emmanuel.
via http://ift.tt/2hjYNUb

Kind Truth

2016-12-03T10:20:00.000-05:00

Traditionally Untraditional

2016-12-02T21:05:00.000-05:00

The Flying Inn. G.K. Chesterton #bookreview

2016-11-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

The Book

The Flying Inn
G. K. Chesterton

I saw this book on a friend's GoodReads list and decided that since I like Chesterton I'd give it a try. As a bonus, since Chesterton's works are in the public domain, I was able to get the book free of charge (and you can too!). So there really is no excuse for not cozying up with a little G. K. Chesterton.

To add to my bonus, I scored an audiobook from LibriVox. If you are not familiar with LibriVox, you can go to their website. In short, people volunteer to record books in the public domain and distribute them. You can actually subscribe to a book in your favorite podcast app and listen to it that way!

NOTE: While this is not a review of LibriVox, and beggars really can't be choosers, but note that when you subscribe to a LibriVox audiobook you are at the mercy of the readers who volunteered. Some readers are top notch. Some should be encouraged to volunteer to do other things. Some need better equipment if they plan to continue doing this type of work. Enough on this. Overall it's a great service you should totally look into!

The Review

G. K. Chesterton was bold, brash and british. He writes with the dry wit one commonly associates with his type. As a result, it takes some time to acclimate to his prose if you are completely unfamiliar with his writing. But once you get used to it, there are many gems embedded in his writings.

The premise of The Flying Inn is that the English government is slowly being infiltrated by a group of Muslim extremists while in the process of enforcing the Temperance Movement. Inns (pubs/taverns) can only sell alcohol if they retain their sign as an inn, something that law enforcement has been restricting.

Enter Humphrey Pump, hero of the story. Pump is an innkeeper who owns and operates The Old Ship. After a scuffle with Lord Ivywood, Pump and Captain Patrick Dalroy grab their sign, rum and cheese and canvas the countryside serving liquor under their traveling sign.

The pair effectively executes their subversion by finding other such loopholes throughout the story as the law becomes more and more restrictive.

The Conclusion

Chesterton cleverly uses this backdrop to present a critique on Christianity more so than Islam. While the heroes are struggling with the Muslim impetus for temperance, Chesterton offers a blazing critique on Christian ascetics who would prohibit the sale and consumption of alcohol and meat (forced vegetarianism is also covered in this book).

This is an interesting book in that it anticipates a world where extremists may successfully take over a major metropolitan area and use their sectarian views as the basis for their governance. Chesterton was not contending with Isis when writing The Flying Inn. Though fanciful, it is an interesting mental exercise and reinforces the positive aspects of the separation of Church and State.

Screwtape Letters #bookreview

2016-11-15T16:04:00.002-05:00

The Book

The Screwtape Letters
C.S. Lewis

As is my tradition, I try to read a C.S. Lewis Signature Classic every year. This year, the lot fell on The Screwtape Letters.

The Review

The Screwtape Letters serves as a window to the correspondence between a young devil and his affectionate uncle named Screwtape. Being a novice tempter, he seeks advice to properly ruin his assigned human being. Screwtape offers his advice in letter form. You only read what Screwtape has written throughout the entire book.

This is another example of Lewis' masterful work. This is still my least favorite of his works due to the limitations of the format. Although, it can be argued that the format he chose was apropos to the subject matter. It would have been far more difficult to get all the content into a traditional prose-style work of fiction.

Note that since this is a collection of letters, the chapters are really small. This makes it a great on-the-go read when you are not sure if you have 30 minutes or just 5 to get a chapter in.

Content wise, Screwtape generally advises to use current culture as a means to distract the human through life. It does not matter which side of any issue the mortal takes, so long as he confuses it for Christianity. Extremism, whether it be extreme pacifism or extreme warmongering, is really the goal.

Below are a few of my favorite bits of Screwtape's awful advice:

It is funny how mortals always picture us putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out. (p 16)
The safest road to hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. (p 61)
The characteristic of Pains and Pleasures is that they are unmistakably real, and therefore, as far as they go, give the man who feels them a touchstone of reality. (p 64)
Parochial organization should always be attacked, because, being a unity of place and not of likings, it brings people of different classes and psychology together in a kind of unity that the Enemy desires. (p 81)
The earliest converts were converted by a single historical fact (the Resurrection) and a single theological doctrine (the Redemption) operating on a sense of sin they already had... The 'Gospels' come later and they were written not to make Christians but to edify Christians already made. (p 126)
[Substitute] negative unselfishness for the Enemy's positive Charity. You can, from the outset, teach a man to surrender benefits not that others may be happy in having them but that he may be unselfish in foregoing them. (p 141)
Since we cannot deceive the whole human race all the time, it is important thus to cut every generation off from all the others; for where learning makes a free commerce between the ages there is always the danger that the characteristic errors of one may be corrected by the characteristic truths of another. (p 151)

The Conclusion

The Enemy is very tricky. As mentioned in the book, they have no resources of their own and must pervert God's goodness. This book helps the reader to think sinisterly and really consider their own struggles in light of the cosmic battles being fought around them.

I recommend this book heartily to anyone willing to give it a read. It is actually a very easy book to pick up and complete.

Retrieving the Tradition & Renewing Evangelicalism #bookreview

2016-10-31T13:28:00.002-04:00

The Book

Retrieving the Tradition & Renewing Evangelicalism: A Primer for Suspicious Protestants
D.H. Williams

This is the second in a series of books recommended by a colleague centered around a discussion on Sola Scriptura and it's validity as a protestant argument. While an older work (published in 1999), it still holds an important conversation around several pertinent questions of tradition and the Church's catholicity.

The Review

As another scholarly piece, the text is not readily accessible. That is, if you are not familiar with Patristics or any Church history, you may get a little lost. Sadly, D.H. Williams is keenly aware of the fact that most Protestants, particularly Free Church Protestants are out of touch with the history of the church. He apologizes right away for all the historical discussion he must have in order to prove his points and advises unfamiliar readers to catch up on the topic.

Once critique I have at this point is the lack of supplemental material to help with the historical part of his argument. There is a lot of text when a chart or timeline could have provided a nice visual to go with the sentences and paragraphs explaining the flow from the Apostles to the Church Fathers. He argues that, historically speaking, the Church Fathers arose sequentially and naturally from the Apostolic age. A chronology could have illustrated this point powerfully and elegantly.

In addition to a seamless transition from the Apostles to the Church Fathers, Williams argues against the notion of Constantinian corruption, explains the place of councils and creeds and discussed how Luther and the Reformers protected Patristics as a guide to Orthodoxy.

However, William's main point centers around the fact that Scripture does not live in isolation. We have Sacred Scripture because Church Tradition venerated and preserved it. Conversely, whatever was proposed as Church Tradition was first measured by Sacred Scripture as part of acceptance. The two go hand-in-hand and could not be separated.

Tradition (capital T) is different than tradition (lower case t), which can also be called mere custom. Scripture itself refers to the Traditions that were being "passed down". In fact, the term "passed down", Williams points out, is a form of the word translated "tradition". Hence, Tradition refers to how the Church interprets and hands down doctrine from generation to generation. In other words: Jesus teaches the Apostles who pass the teaching on to the next generation of believers who encounter challenges to the faith and draw from the teaching to answer said challenges. Doctrine is synonymous with Tradition in the sense that it is the extraction and communication of a coherent system of belief based on the Bible.

Without Tradition, doctrines of the Church must be re-formed and re-argued while heretical beliefs will need to be re-refuted. Things that are settled in orthodox teaching will be up for grabs once again. I close this out with the following quote from the text:

Whereas Scripture does indeed define the center of gravity of the true faith, it does not set the limits of its reading or knowledge. The Reformers' appeal to scriptural sufficiency was crafted on the assumption that the Bible was the book on the church's faith. That faith of the church, New Testament and patristic, was seen as contiguous with the biblical narrative, so that the only proper way to read the Bible was within the framework of the church's teaching and practice. (Williams, 200)

The Conclusion

I would argue that everyone reads the Bible within the framework of a "tradition." Whatever you grew up being taught, that's the tradition that you will hold. Unfortunately, when the tradition once grew up with turns out to be a- or even un-historical, you begin to undermine the entirety of Christendom. D.H. Williams believes that reading scripture through the framework of the Church Fathers is the historical path to orthodoxy which has been unnecessarily undermined by some in Free Church traditions.

Note: He is not arguing for a return to Rome. He looks to a pre-Roman catholic (Little 'C') Church (though he concedes that this church eventually became the Roman Catholic Church). He cites early church sources all the way to Luther, Calvin and beyond as groups that looked to the Fathers for a framework to the reading and interpretation of scripture.

If this review piques your interest, go read the whole book. It is a bit dense but not very long (243 pages including index). I recommend it to anyone interested in church history and biblical interpretation.

A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and A Great War #bookreview

2016-09-03T11:18:00.003-04:00

The Book

A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and A Great War
Joseph Loconte

One of my duties at work is to serve as liaison to the History Department. It's a bit tricky because I do not work with people in the department who do Latin American history because we have a Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) specialist who plucks those researchers, leaving me with the rest of the world. Given my location in Miami, Fl., it is understandable that most of the research conducted in the department is LAC oriented. However, in my searches I realized that a section of the community is gearing up for one big event: The Centennial Commemoration of the U.S. involvement in WWI (The Great War). So I put together a research guide on that topic with a colleague and in the course of my research I came across Joseph Loconte's book. Any time you can bring Tolkien and Lewis into the conversation, you do it. Immediately.

So this background, coupled with the fact that Barnes & Noble keeps settling lawsuits by sending me in-store credit, drove me to this book. Note the tag line on the cover, "How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis rediscovered faith, friendship, and heroism in the cataclysm of 1914-1918."

The Review

This is a very accessible book. It reads very much like a conversational lecture. Lecture because it is clearly structured to be informative. Yet, conversational in diction and in it's explanatory mature. It is an easy read. It contains just over 200 pages of content, making it an easy weekend reader if you have that kind of time to devote to reading. For this, and for excellent content, I give the book a five-star rating. It simply is a great book for historians and inklings alike.

Loconte begins the book by describing the pre-WWI world attitude towards scientific progress. Technology improved man's lifestyle enormously. Science was learning new things and implementing them for man's benefit constantly. The industrial revolution made the future look brighter than ever. This also reached into philosophy when men took Charles Darwin's Evolution of Species and ran it through to an extreme conclusion when applied to mankind. Thus, the idea that man is also evolving and improving with every generation. Loconte calls this "The Great Myth."

The Great Myth has many implications. The first of which manifested itself in the notion that evolving man will be able to negotiate peace without conflict and, eventually, wars will shrink in magnitude and carnage until it disappears altogether. But to achieve this peace—this ultimate state of evolution—man must help nature by participating in a program called Eugenics. Essentially, Eugenics is natural selection applied to mankind where only the best human specimens are allowed to breed.

There seemed to be no stopping this train of thought. Steam engines, railways, light bulbs, etc. all provided great conveniences to mankind. Science was not something that could be argued against. So the church did not. Here, we get the rise of Liberal Theology, which went along with science and called for increased eugenics programs and sought to bring the kingdom of heaven down to earth's level. It's a nice idea, though clearly unethical by today's standards. This wave of theology is what Tolkien and Lewis was dealing with.

But WWI smashed The Great Myth to pieces. Instead of eliminating conflict, Europe was embroiled in it. Instead of limiting the scope of conflict, the entire world was engulfed. Instead of minimizing casualties, this secular war killed more men than any previous war could have even conceived. Both sides, believing in this Myth, believed they would leverage new technologies and bring a swift end to the war. New machine guns, mustard gas, trench warfare, and naval improvements, unchecked by ethical restriction, mowed soldiers down with frightful speed and force.

This is the conflict that Tolkien and Lewis fought on the front lines and survived. Not only does the brutal experience of war inform their writings, but also the disillusionment that follows. After the war, mankind saw The Great Myth as a failure and subsequently lost all hope in this life. Tolkien and Lewis also fought to restore hope. Hope in the living God who moves in this world. They do this by creating their own mythologies that echo the Romantic myths they adored and, ultimately, echoes the True Myth delivered to man in the scriptures.

The Conclusion

I suppose I could continue writing, but I will not give up everything Joseph Loconte has written on the subject. Know that he goes into greater detail and provides more supporting evidence of The Great Myth and on the great casualties sustained during the battles of WWI. He also weaves passages of The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy throughout the book, showing how the war absolutely influenced their respective author's writings.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in history, literature or theology as this book touches on each of those topics.

SIDE NOTE: Loconte dwells on TLOTR more than Lewis' works as it is written for a more mature audience and displays some of the gruesome details not found in Narnia.

The Bible Made Impossible #bookreview

2016-08-19T09:45:00.000-04:00

The Book

The Bible Made Impossible: Why Biblicism is not a truly Evangelical reading of Scripture
Christian Smith

I was given this book to read by my colleague. He has recommended books for my edification before and I greatly appreciate this gesture. Over the past couple weeks I have been able to digest this book section by section.

The Review

I have to give the author only 3 out of 5 stars for the actual composition of this book. While it is extremely well reasoned, I believe the points could have been articulated in a clearer, more organized manner. This is possibly due to his perspective as a sociologist writing on religion. However, his intent was clear: Smith began with the problems of Biblicism and continued toward (not a formed conclusion, but, rather, the beginning of a discussion) a better understanding of the Bible within an evangelical context.

Biblicism, as commonly defined within Evangelical circles, typically includes some version of the following nine arguments about the Bible:

Divine Writing
Total Representation of God's will
Complete Coverage
Democratic Perspicuity (anyone with common sense can understand the Bible)
Commonsense Hermeneutics (read the Bible plainly)
Solo Scriptura (no need for tradition when you have the Bible)
Internal Harmony (the Bible fits together like a puzzle)
Universal Applicability
Inductive Method (anything can be learned by study)

In addition to these nine points, Smith argues that there is an unstated "Handbook Model" of reading scripture that pervades Evangelical Biblicism. This is seen by a simple stroll through the Christian Bookstores and noting titles like: Cooking with the Bible: Recipes for biblical meals, The Biblical Guide to Alternative Medicine, Biblical Psychology, & Gardening with Biblical Plants. In essence, the Bible is understood to be an authority on everything it covers, therefore opening God's credibility on every front under the sun.

The problem with this outlook is something Smith calls Pervasive Interpretive Pluralism. In short, you can give four evangelicals a single passage of scripture and potentially get four different interpretations of the passage. The problem here is that these outcomes are inconsistent and—as highlighted in the title of his book—actually impossible given the theory of biblicism. It should not happen.

Yet, it happens all the time. Particularly among the educated biblical scholars. Consider that Christian Bookstore again. In the book, Smith lays out the titles of over thirty "Four Views" books. That is, four different interpretations of biblical doctrine. These include four views on baptism, Christ, Hell, Divorce & Remarriage, Eternal Security, etc... This should not be.

Smith continues to address the typical responses which, no doubt, my readers currently have in their minds. In fact, you (my reader) may have already dismissed the problem posed by this book by your own rationale. Please note that Christian Smith addresses each response and deftly shows how their arguments do not hold up. In essence, most arguments are actually a deviation from biblicism.

Smith proposes a few ways to read the bible that might be more in tune with evangelicalism as a whole. His main potential solution (though, admittedly, not a complete solution) is a Christocentric reading of scripture. In other words, Christ is the main point of scripture. Everything else either leads up to him or stems from him. Even though most evangelicals will nod their heads and claim that they actually do read the bible Christologically, it is clear from the literature that they fall short in practice.

Other potential solutions include a redefinition of our beliefs into a tier system. There is dogma, doctrine and opinion. Dogma is the small circle of common christian beliefs. Doctrine is the slightly larger circle that includes assembly distinctives but are not necessary for a Christian Classification. Finally, opinion is just that, an opinion that can find deviations within a denomination. This paradigm allows for disagreement and unity within the same umbrella of christendom.

This is just a taste of what you will find in this book.

Conclusion

I had some real problems with this book. I kept arguing with him in my head. Going in, I felt that I was essentially an open-minded biblicist. I come from a tradition where biblicists abound and I grew up believing a lot of these things about scripture. Yet, after reading this book and analyzing my own arguments over the past few years I had to come to the conclusion that I am no longer a Biblicist. I still respect the Bible as God's communicative tool for us to learn about his nature and will. Yet, I do not read it as a handbook for life and science and history and psychology and gardening and cooking and... The Bible is so much more than that. It is about God's only Son who came to redeem me. That's the point and that's what I want to stick with.

I would not recommend this book to most of my Biblicist friends. I do not feel that most of them are ready to really question their reading of scripture in an honest way. The text of this book is also highly academic and potentially inaccessible to a lot of people. Granted, if my reader is ready to read with an open mind (and maybe an open dictionary) then I absolutely would recommend picking up a copy of Christian Smith's book. It may do you good.