You're A What?

I often laugh whenever I watch the following debate take place (with its many variations):

Jimmy: “I can’t believe you are a dispensationalist! Don’t you know it has only been around for 170+ years?”

Suzanne: “I can’t believe you are an idiot! Don’t you know your argument is committing the Genetic Fallacy?”

Now, I believe that the Genetic Fallacy is indeed a fallacy. I do not think that Santa Clause exists simply because my mommy told me so. However, I question whether or not the argument that Jimmy is offering is guilty of committing this fallacy. It is true; Jimmy is making an argument that hinges upon the origin of dispensationalism? But, must all arguments which hinge on the origin of something be guilty of committing the Genetic Fallacy?

Consider: “A critic commits the genetic fallacy if the critic attempts to discredit or support a claim or an argument because of its origin (genesis) when such an appeal to origins is irrelevant” (here; italics, mine).

So then the question becomes, I think, is Jimmy’s appeal to the origin of dispensationalist irrelevant?

Thoughts?

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In Danger of Missing the Point?

I was thinking about a certain question this morning as I was trying to get back to my studies (thank you Andrew for the Vigil, and for keeping everyone informed of our situation)...and it may make too many assumptions to generate an answer from anyone...here ya go:

The study of the New Testament, (Jesus, Paul, etc., and the theology of the whole movement) says N T Wright (here, 47), is obviously a study of literature. Therefore, in order to understand the New Testament, we need to understand the nature and function of literature. The question of what to do with the New Testament, according to Wright, ought to be the same as the question of what do with any piece of literature (we might think of the New Testament as a subset of the study of literature). Wright even makes the point; modern literary theory, applied to the New Testament, is pressing on theologians such that if they do not stand guard more strongly they are in danger of being forced to retreat!

What do you think? Do you think, modern theologians, in a sense, are in any such danger?

Personally, I think Wright is being a bit hasty here (although I wish he were [W]right!). I think this might be looked at as theologians, for the sake of making everything fit nicely, missing the point, but I do not think they are going anywhere anytime soon.

For clarification; modern literary theory applied to the New Testament, according to Wright, will essentially lead us to the question of “Story” (cf. Anthony Thiselton, here; E P Sanders, here, ch’s15-16)…and I think this is what Wright has in mind here (see also: Wright, here, ch’s2-3).

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Rest In Peace

Aaron Kristopher Southwick was born this morning at around 9:30am, weighing in at 5 lbs 6 oz. The beautiful baby boy's heart gave out at 11:30, and he is now resting in peace. We look forward to seeing him again at the glorious appearing of our King Jesus, when he will not be less clothed, but more fully clothed, and the body of his humble state will be transformed into conformity with the glory of Jesus' body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Please pray for the family at this time. More details to come, as Aaron Sr. sees fit.

Kyrie Eleison.

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Vigil

A vigil (from the Latin vigilia, 'wakefulness') is a period of sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching or observance.

The Bird and Babe Public House is holding a vigil for the Aaron Southwick family. If you didn't already know, Aaron's wife is pregnant with a baby boy who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta (see Aaron's explanation here). Tomorrow morning, at 8:30am PST, Aaron's wife will have a c-section and give birth to their son. Please be praying for the family and the precious little boy.

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and heal this child for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon him with the eyes of thy mercy; comfort him with thy goodness; preserve him from the enemy; and give him peace under his affliction. In thy good time, restore him to health, and enable him to lead his life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant that he may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (adapted from the Book of Common Prayer).

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The First Day

I have to admit, I was disappointed with Easter this year. Well, not with Easter, but with the way it was celebrated. The Easter service I attended was more of a Good Friday service, stressing the need for the cross and the penalty that was paid. But that was Friday, Sunday is about resurrection. Victory, Triumph, Kingdom. The resurrection was the single most important event in human history. Yet, Many christians fail to grasp the centrality of this event. With a view to doing my part towards reversing this trend, I submit one of favorite Easter quotes:

“On the third day the friends of Christ coming at day-break to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realized the new wonder; but even they hardly realized that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn.”

-G.K. Chesterton
The Everlasting Man

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They Shall Reign on the Earth

I know I harp on this all of the time, but I think it's important! I hear so much talk about "heaven," and it never seems to match up with the picture which the Bible gives us. People seem to always focus on the intermediate state as the end all, and completely leave out the most glorious fact that at the end we who are in Christ will be physically resurrected and will reign with Jesus on the new earth. I heard this point gloriously made when someone said, "Heaven is important, but it isn't the end of the world" (if you get that, you should be chuckling to yourself right now).

I was reminded of this last night when our pastor read from Revelation 5:9-10 at our Good Friday service:

"Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth."

Obviously, I'm not saying that heaven isn't eternal; that would be foolish. Heaven is God's dimension where he dwells and rules. But the point I am making is that John is showing us in Revelation that the end is about heaven and earth being completely joined together; when finally and fully God's kingdom shall have come and his will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Thoughts?

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Good Friday

As you're probably aware, today is Good Friday, the most important day leading up to the Highest Holy Day of the year. The fact that we call this day "good" still sounds so paradoxical to my ears. It reminds me of a song we used to sing in Chapel at Azusa Pacific University entitled, "Beautiful, Scandalous Night."

In the hopes of aiding your worship this day, I'm posting a passage from Tom Wright's book, The Scriptures, the Cross & the Power of God for you to consider:


John's gospel is full of irony at every level, but this is surely the greatest: that when the empire hears the word that there is a God who might call empire to account, the empire does what it always does, mocks and kills - but that very action proves the point, because God the creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, does not fight the battle against evil with the weapons of the world, but with the weapons of love. As St. Paul saw so clearly, Caesar's apparent victory was actually the victory of God.

And that is why, with Jesus going to his cross, God's project to heal creation itself is accomplished. John announced his intention of writing a story with that large theme in his opening words, echoing the opening of Genesis itself. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; now, in the beginning was the Word... and the Word became flesh, joining heaven and earth into one. Great themes from the creation narrative have been woven into his gospel: light and darkness, day and night, the seed which will be fruitful and multiply. Now, on the Friday, the sixth day of the week, the day of creation of humankind in the image of God, Pilate brings Jesus out dressed in purple and wearing a crown of thorns, and declares, 'Behold the man!' And the watching world, in the persons of the chief priests and guards, shout, 'Crucify him!' When the Image of God appears in creation, the point is that the rest of creation will look at the Image and see their creator reflected. Now the son of God appears as the true Image of God, and the world is so corrupt in its rebellion that, rather than recognize the true creator God reflected in this Jesus, it must get rid of him, must blot out the reminder of who God really is, must do anything rather than be confronted by the one whose love will stop at nothing to reconcile creation to himself.

But the scriptures must be fulfilled, and the power of God will triumph. At the end of the sixth day in Genesis, God finished all his work (synetelesen, Genesis 2.2 LXX). At the end of the sixth day in John, Jesus declared, 'It is finished' (tetelestai). It is accomplished. Creation is healed. In the beginning was the Word; and the last word spoken by the living Word was the word which declared, as Jesus had in the Upper Room, 'I have finished (teleiosas) the work you gave me to do' (17.4). That is, of course, how the father, the creator, is glorified. That is how love is perfected, brought to its final completion (13.1).

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A Tragic Lesson Learned?

Today marks the 39th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot just after 6 p.m. on April 4th 1968 while standing on the balcony outside his second-story room at the Motel Lorraine in Memphis, Tennessee. A tragic day, to be sure, which will forever be stamped into the history books of America.

Dr. King was a strong proponent for the Civil Rights Movement in America, and for this he is to be commended. Indeed, were it not for men like Martin Luther King Jr. the black community in America would still be gripped by the painful oppression and racism that haunted the black community for so many years. We should all take a moment and thank God for the life of a man like this, and so many others, for forcing many people to remove their colored and distorted lenses!

Unfortunately, however, we live in a time when so many people are wearing another set of lenses which are quite distorted. While the death of Dr. King was tragic, the deaths of so many innocent babies, which occur every day, are even more tragic. Tragic because we in America, knowing full well that innocent people are being murdered, lay our heads on our pillows and go to sleep every night not even taking a moment to even reflect on this atrocity.

We must, as Dr. King did, stand up in the midst of this tragedy, raise our voices, and do something to solve this problem! One small way that we can be a part of the movement to save the lives of innocent babies is to participate in the “Walk for Life.” If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area; Please consider taking part in the Walk for Life which will take place on May 5th in Union City. The purpose of this walk will be to help raise money for the Pregnancy Choices clinic (here)--a clinic which exists for the purpose of saving the lives of innocent babies. For more information contact Redwood Chapel (here).

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