After a day in Brussels with good friends and the church body to which God called them, I am once again struck by the fact that the life of God's Kingdom flows through relationships just as life flows through a vine wherever the vine goes.
Our God is a relational God- Father, Son and Spirit in relationship. God is also relational with respect to His Creation- especially with those He has made in His own image (an image in us which includes our own relational nature).
Jesus Christ became one of us in order that God might invite us into a deeper, life-giving intimacy with Him [a profound relationship of 'oneness'] and with one another.
The best thing God's people can offer others is a life-giving relationship where God's life working in them is free to flow through them to others as a blessing. This is truly 'grace at work'.
Wherever possible, whenever possible, we ought to never exclude anyone from this gift God seeks to give to the world through us. God says through John: "Beloved, let us love one another. For love comes [to you, through you] from God."
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Creation Paradigm Shift and Genesis: A Response to John Piper Video
I just watched an interesting short video by John Piper on what a leader must believe about Creation to be an elder at Bethlehem Church. It saddened me to discover that I may not qualify for such a role in his church. After watching the video, I wrote a response to John and discovered that the video comment section would only allow me to place a sound bite of my thoughts on the page. If this subject interests you, consider watching John's video and then see my response and concerns below.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCF47U4lzr4
"Come on, John. There is certainly a great deal more evidence for evolution than your position or your church is allowing. Let's face it, this is a tough question and it should not be glossed over with statements that suggest everything we believe will fall apart if we were rethink Genesis. Gallileo heard the same kind of statements from those who could not (or would not) seriously consider the evidence he was presenting. I read John Sailhamer's Genesis Unbound long ago as I studied with him while also studying with you at Bethel College. It is my understanding that his book is no longer in print. I suspect his novel approach to Genesis did not really have much staying power in the face of what we have been so rapidly learning about the physical history of life on this planet.
"Many of us who have long been followers and lovers of Jesus are already starting to do a paradigm shift on this subject. Rather than parroting the old company line, I appreciate those who are actually dialoguing on the real finds of science and are not afraid to admit that we do not know all that there is to know about Genesis and how it once functioned (and is to now function) in the life of God's people. For me, one of the most helpful authors on this subject has been Professor Denis O. Lamoureux, Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution. The book is not the finest piece of writing but its author is asking the hard questions others are content to gloss over or ignore. Lamoureux and other contemporary Christian thinkers are demonstrating that we must reckon with the fact that our O.T. text is delivered in the packaging of ancient science.
"I wonder if the real issue for us is that we are afraid to do some reworking of our doctrine of Scripture. This will be most difficult for those who, like you and me, have made a particular doctrinal approach to Scripture the very heart of all of our teaching and preaching ministries. After 30 years of ministry, I and many others I know are beginning to ask a number of important questions we've never really considered about the nature of God's Book and how we have been reading and interpreting it.
"One day, not long ago, I was thinking about what it might be like to sit down for a day with the Apostle Paul and off-load a list of questions I've carried along concerning his powerful insights and experiences. I then realized that Paul, God's great revelator, would be just as fascinated to talk with me about what we present day Kingdom citizens have learned concerning God's work of in creation. Paul would be amazed (and likely not phased- but moved to worship... "O, the inscrutable wisdom and knowledge of God") in just the discovery that the world is in fact a sphere and that the Universe is immense and beyond imagination in it's scope and design.
"Please don't join the chorus of those who are trying to shut down the conversation. This is a real matter of interest and concern for many us- not only to resolve the issue for ourselves but to effectively communicate Christ in these days where the old pat answers are no longer sufficient for those who take an interest in matters of cosmology, biology, geology, paleontology, anthropology and all the other 'ologies' (including theology)."
scott@scottvj.com
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCF47U4lzr4
"Come on, John. There is certainly a great deal more evidence for evolution than your position or your church is allowing. Let's face it, this is a tough question and it should not be glossed over with statements that suggest everything we believe will fall apart if we were rethink Genesis. Gallileo heard the same kind of statements from those who could not (or would not) seriously consider the evidence he was presenting. I read John Sailhamer's Genesis Unbound long ago as I studied with him while also studying with you at Bethel College. It is my understanding that his book is no longer in print. I suspect his novel approach to Genesis did not really have much staying power in the face of what we have been so rapidly learning about the physical history of life on this planet.
"Many of us who have long been followers and lovers of Jesus are already starting to do a paradigm shift on this subject. Rather than parroting the old company line, I appreciate those who are actually dialoguing on the real finds of science and are not afraid to admit that we do not know all that there is to know about Genesis and how it once functioned (and is to now function) in the life of God's people. For me, one of the most helpful authors on this subject has been Professor Denis O. Lamoureux, Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution. The book is not the finest piece of writing but its author is asking the hard questions others are content to gloss over or ignore. Lamoureux and other contemporary Christian thinkers are demonstrating that we must reckon with the fact that our O.T. text is delivered in the packaging of ancient science.
"I wonder if the real issue for us is that we are afraid to do some reworking of our doctrine of Scripture. This will be most difficult for those who, like you and me, have made a particular doctrinal approach to Scripture the very heart of all of our teaching and preaching ministries. After 30 years of ministry, I and many others I know are beginning to ask a number of important questions we've never really considered about the nature of God's Book and how we have been reading and interpreting it.
"One day, not long ago, I was thinking about what it might be like to sit down for a day with the Apostle Paul and off-load a list of questions I've carried along concerning his powerful insights and experiences. I then realized that Paul, God's great revelator, would be just as fascinated to talk with me about what we present day Kingdom citizens have learned concerning God's work of in creation. Paul would be amazed (and likely not phased- but moved to worship... "O, the inscrutable wisdom and knowledge of God") in just the discovery that the world is in fact a sphere and that the Universe is immense and beyond imagination in it's scope and design.
"Please don't join the chorus of those who are trying to shut down the conversation. This is a real matter of interest and concern for many us- not only to resolve the issue for ourselves but to effectively communicate Christ in these days where the old pat answers are no longer sufficient for those who take an interest in matters of cosmology, biology, geology, paleontology, anthropology and all the other 'ologies' (including theology)."
scott@scottvj.com
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