what is your theology based upon?

There's no such thing as a pure or entirely biblically-correct theology. As humans, our thoughts and understandings about God, as inspired or 'Spirit-led' as they may be, are still filtered through the mesh of our own humanity and struggling sinfulness.

Are we destined to an impure or polluted interpretation of Scripture? Are we therefore unable to understand what God has revealed in the pages of the Bible? Who can help us? What can we do?

Panic is not an option. While there is no such thing as a pure reading of Scripture (or pure theology), there are things we may recognize and can do.

First, let us recognize that God is sovereign. Most of us reading this will agree that this is the case. And this being the case, we can trust that where God wants us to understand something in Scripture, He will make it known in His inestimable and mysterious ways. Having said that, however, we have a responsibility to be responsible in the way we interpret what is on the page. We can understand this dialectically. God has condescended for His interactions with humanity to allow for us to have some measure of freedom, knowing full well that that we may and sometimes will mess up (we see this happen in every area of life). This being said, we see our reading and subsequent interpretation of Scripture being in operational tension, where somehow, it's a mix between God's Sovereign revelation of self, and our own human intentions and effort.

Second, we must, in as much as it's possible to, both recognize and correct (or even repent of) the things that hinder our reading of Scripture. What I mean by this is simply that each of us is the product of our humanity, our culture, and our own wants and wills. 1) Our own sinfulness (or that of others) may effect our reading and interpretation of Scripture. 2) Our culture(s) that we inhabit will influence both. And 3) our own wants and wills, what we may call our agenda(s), definitely influence our reading and interpretation of Scripture.

There is no such thing as an objective theology. Some within the Liberal Protestant approach to theology may still claim as such, but if we are honest, we can simply acknowledge all of our readings of Scripture are in some way tainted with each of these in some measure. That being said, subjectivity always plays a part in our spiritual journey, for good and for bad. The question we must answer, therefore, is how can we both identify and understand, and where necessary, remove those "things" that influence the making and use of our theologies, both personal and corporate?

We must step back and try to identify them (feel free to make a list). Am I conservative, liberal, black, white, male, female, rich, poor, active, sedentary, urban, suburban, artistic, intellectual, etc.? I think you get my point.

Each of these things influences how we understand our world. Each influences how we interpret and understand who God is based on His self-revelation in the God-man Jesus Christ. Kevin Vanhoozer, Roger Olson, and several others have been propagating a new school of theological development and understanding that acknowledges the need to be "post" - that is post-conservative, post-propositional, and post-foundational. Note that the use of 'post' does not mean an utter rejection of any of the three, but rather that we must move beyond each while respecting what they have brought to the discussion so far.

In the end, our attempts to "purify" our theology is only going to be as effective as the power of the Spirit will allow for. And yet, we are called to pursue a good and proper reading of Scripture. God revealed Himself within a particular human context. We must trust that even within our own cultural, personal, and communal contexts, God can still reveal Himself and His divine will to us.

What do you think? Let me know.

Focus

I need prayer. I am in the midst of trying to come up with options and ideas for what I could possibly present as a valid proposal for a dissertation in some area of Theology. I need to discover the burning questions and issues inside of me. I need to focus these things into a subject that is acceptable for writing a 100,000 word dissertation for a Ph.D.

Would you help?

Please pray that the Holy Spirit would give me ideas, that these ideas would be fruitful, that they would be workable, detailed, and the sort of thing that I can willingly and joyfully invest at least three years of my life into.

Please pray that I might find favor in the sight of the King.

Thanks.

Is There Meaning In This Journey?

I have reached a bit of a crossroads. Though I'm still awaiting my final grades for my summary MTS papers, I've essentially graduated. I am now looking at Ph.D. programs, with most of my professors encouraging me to consider University programs over Seminary programs. I have also been encouraged to look at who is teaching at a particular institution, rather than just choose on name alone. To that extent, I've ruled my decision down to two American schools, Princeton and Trinity Evangelical Divinity Seminary.

But I find myself cornered by my own anxities. I wonder, do I really have something inside of me, trying to get out, something to be added to the ocean of knowledge already out there (and in some cases, drowning Christians?). I must resolutely answer, yes. I know it's in there. I know that it is.

O Lord, please help me. Help me to be patient; to wait upon You. Help me to trust in Your calling me. Help me to trust in what others see You doing in and through me. I am thankful for being a part of a gracious community of faith that seeks to speak faithfully, through Your very Spirit. I feel like You have shown me/revealed to me so much over these last few years. I believe that what I've learned, is, at least in part, pushing me toward this next part of my journey. But lest you, dear reader, think that this is where I root the meaning of my journey, you are wrong. The meaning of this journey comes from the One who first called me. And in the darknest night of my soul, that is not only what I must remember. More importantly, He is the One who reminds me of His call and calling, in the past, and through the present. O Lord, You are the very meaning in this journey. And for that, I am thankful.

And what about you, dear reader... is there meaning in your journey?

New Testament Greek

Today was day #2 of Palmer Theological Seminary's Jan Term intensive of Intro. to NT Greek. It was a good day. I'm the T.A. for Professor Debbie Watson. My job: make copies of quizes, collect and grade quizes, lead the class through new vocabulary, and be available after class to help tutor and go over the day's material.

This is my January. And I like it this way. I enjoy teaching. I enjoy helping others understand and learn. The beauty of learning NT Greek is that it helps us understand a little better the original intent and ideas through the words contained on the pages. One of the benefits is that it will help me learn NT Greek a little better. I want to learn more and more. I want to be able to utilize this tool, to root my theological work within the biblical text, to let Scripture be the foundation of my work.

Today was day #2 of Intro. to NT Greek. It was a good day.

Happy New Year!

As the title implies... Happy New Year!

Our new year's plans changed the day before due to some issues that came up for the hosts of the party we had positively RSVP'd. That being said, we definitely had a better time with our kids than had we gone to said party.

My wife and I looked back on last night and felt like we had made some positive family memories for our kids. We took them to Chuck E. Cheese - not my idea of the way to spend part of New Year's Eve, but good with the kids. We invited our single mom neighbor and her three kids to join us - that was a great opportunity to hang out with them more; and her three kids get along with our three! We ate bad pizza, drank too much soda, and played video games to our heart's content. Then we went home, let our oldest child invite her friend (who was with us at Chuck E.'s) to sleep over, put in a video for the kids, put in a DVD for ourselves, and then went down to watch the ball drop with the kiddies. It was fun.

To top it off, my son and I went to a prayer breakfast at church together this morning. What was shocking was that even though he had been up til after midnight, he was up at 6:45 am, got dressed, and came in to wake me up. We had a great time. He was the youngest their, and I think the older men were really encouraged by his presence. What kept me so happy myself was the knowledge that this little guy wanted to be there, and be there with me. It was a longer than expected gathering. But we got to share at our tables, pray for one another, and then pray as a large group for everything from our families, our congregation, the community in which we worship, as well as the U.S. and the nations. We sang some hymns following breakfast, and we closed by saying together the Apostle's Creed and singing the Lord's Prayer.

Needless to say, I got home exhausted. But I was encouraged to go crash not too long after getting home, and instead, wrote an entry in the new journal my wife bought me for Christmas. It was good, and I hope to get back into the passion of regular journaling and reading of Scripture together. It was a good start to a new year.

I hope your "new year" is off to a good start. God's richest blessings in Christ!