I have been told repeatedly that reading theology is boring and that church members will not ever read theology, we have to focus on programs and entertainment. Well I don't believe that advice and neither did Buddy Gray. He pastors the Hunter Street Baptist Church where they have started Theology Reading Groups (TRG's), and now over 800 people have read Grudem's Systematic Theology, and other theological works. It sounds absolutely intriguing and encouraging. So, I'm encouraging you to go read the article at Baptist Press.
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=28375
Showing posts with label Theology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theology. Show all posts
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Counterfeit Revival - Book Review
In light of the Lakeland 'Revival' and what we learned about Todd Bentley I asked around about books that dealt with this movement that I was largely ignorant of. Hank Hanegraaff's book Counterfeit Revival was recommended to me. Now in the arena of dealing directly with the Lakeland Revival this book will provide you with no help since it was written prior to those events. But what it does do is shed a lot of light on the soil that Lakeland sprang from.
There is much to praise in this book and some things that need to be critiqued. We will begin with the praise. This book was very well researched. I always keep a close eye on where the information is coming from (I prefer footnotes, I hate having to flip back to endnotes over and over again, which is the case with this book), and to his credit Mr. Hanegraaff cited repeatedly from the works of the people he was discussing. He also appeared to have contact with some (he made references to interviews and conversations). This all tends to give him credibility when exposing the error of another.
Also he did an admirable job of taking the historical claims of the Counterfeit revivalists and exposing them through the work of the historical figures appealed to.
The core of the book is an exposure and refutation of the ministry and claims of some extreme and downright wacky Pentecostals (now I am not a Pentecostal hater, real Pentecostals are opposed to the people dealt with in this book, besides most of my family are Pentecostal, lots of love). These folks are seeing and encouraging bizarre behavior and saying it is from God, they are also making grandiose claims that simply don't stand up under scrutiny, and they are handling the Word of God poorly (when they bother at all).
Mr Hanegraaf goes into extreme detail exposing these errors, however I have a small problem with his approach. He uses a kind of subtle mockery that I found a little annoying. He frequently introduced leaders in this movement as Counterfeit Revival leader so and so. I found this practice and others like it to be a little snarky. I also find constant alliteration frustrating and cheesy and this is the Bible Answer Man's stock in trade.
Overall, a helpful book in understanding where this phenomenon is coming from. It is also an easy read. But there are a few quirks that detract from the general quality of the book. And while there is a great deal of pointing out the error of the movement he has few corrective measures. So a fun read, lots of good information, good diagnosis, but look elsewhere for the cure.
There is much to praise in this book and some things that need to be critiqued. We will begin with the praise. This book was very well researched. I always keep a close eye on where the information is coming from (I prefer footnotes, I hate having to flip back to endnotes over and over again, which is the case with this book), and to his credit Mr. Hanegraaff cited repeatedly from the works of the people he was discussing. He also appeared to have contact with some (he made references to interviews and conversations). This all tends to give him credibility when exposing the error of another.
Also he did an admirable job of taking the historical claims of the Counterfeit revivalists and exposing them through the work of the historical figures appealed to.
The core of the book is an exposure and refutation of the ministry and claims of some extreme and downright wacky Pentecostals (now I am not a Pentecostal hater, real Pentecostals are opposed to the people dealt with in this book, besides most of my family are Pentecostal, lots of love). These folks are seeing and encouraging bizarre behavior and saying it is from God, they are also making grandiose claims that simply don't stand up under scrutiny, and they are handling the Word of God poorly (when they bother at all).
Mr Hanegraaf goes into extreme detail exposing these errors, however I have a small problem with his approach. He uses a kind of subtle mockery that I found a little annoying. He frequently introduced leaders in this movement as Counterfeit Revival leader so and so. I found this practice and others like it to be a little snarky. I also find constant alliteration frustrating and cheesy and this is the Bible Answer Man's stock in trade.
Overall, a helpful book in understanding where this phenomenon is coming from. It is also an easy read. But there are a few quirks that detract from the general quality of the book. And while there is a great deal of pointing out the error of the movement he has few corrective measures. So a fun read, lots of good information, good diagnosis, but look elsewhere for the cure.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Original Sin - By Alan Jacobs
A few years back a friend of mine told me that I should read A Trip to Vanity Fair by Alan Jacobs. This was a friend whose counsel I took very seriously, so I went to the campus bookstore to get the book, but when I got there I had trouble finding it until I looked in the clearance section. This did not commend itself to me (books that seminary students refuse to buy to the point that they end up in the clearance section are suspect in my estimation). But I trusted my friend and brought the book home. It was a book of essays, not normally a favorite genre of mine, so I thought I'll read one essay and be able to say that I'd tried. The next day when I finished the book I decided that I had a new favorite author and needed to purchase everything he put on paper.
And I have been doing just that, and this year he put out a new book called Original Sin. This was not a book of essays but rather a survey of western history and literature on the topic of Original Sin. And as usual I found it to be insightful and entertaining. I really enjoyed how he would pit two recurring commitments against each other. He pointed out that universal human sinfulness (the evidence of original sin) is the most provable doctrine. We see and experience our sin and the sin of others, then there is also the awareness of the inner war where we love the things that we hate. He pits this against the human resistance to acknowledge this universal sinfulness. We tend to think that we may make mistakes but we are not really that bad. I found the way that he entwines these ideas throughout the book really exposes the pride of our hearts and our ability to justify our own sin and condemn the sin of others. (I loved the chapter titled, The Wicked, but not Very)
This will not be a lengthy post, I just wanted to alert you to a book and an author that should be read much more widely. Now I would like to leave you with a quote from his afterword where he is describing what is necessary to hold the Augustinian (and I think Biblical) understanding of Original Sin.
"You must believe that everyone behaves in ways that we usually describe as selfish, cruel, arrogant, and so on. You must believe that we are hard-wired to behave in those ways and do not do so simply because of the bad examples of others. You must believe that such behavior is properly called wrong or sinful, whether it's evolutionarily adaptive or not. You must believe that that it was not originally in our nature to behave in such a way, but that we have fallen from a primal innocence. And you must believe that only supernatural intervention, in the form of what Christians call grace, is sufficient to drag us up out of this pit that we've dug for ourselves."
And I have been doing just that, and this year he put out a new book called Original Sin. This was not a book of essays but rather a survey of western history and literature on the topic of Original Sin. And as usual I found it to be insightful and entertaining. I really enjoyed how he would pit two recurring commitments against each other. He pointed out that universal human sinfulness (the evidence of original sin) is the most provable doctrine. We see and experience our sin and the sin of others, then there is also the awareness of the inner war where we love the things that we hate. He pits this against the human resistance to acknowledge this universal sinfulness. We tend to think that we may make mistakes but we are not really that bad. I found the way that he entwines these ideas throughout the book really exposes the pride of our hearts and our ability to justify our own sin and condemn the sin of others. (I loved the chapter titled, The Wicked, but not Very)
This will not be a lengthy post, I just wanted to alert you to a book and an author that should be read much more widely. Now I would like to leave you with a quote from his afterword where he is describing what is necessary to hold the Augustinian (and I think Biblical) understanding of Original Sin.
"You must believe that everyone behaves in ways that we usually describe as selfish, cruel, arrogant, and so on. You must believe that we are hard-wired to behave in those ways and do not do so simply because of the bad examples of others. You must believe that such behavior is properly called wrong or sinful, whether it's evolutionarily adaptive or not. You must believe that that it was not originally in our nature to behave in such a way, but that we have fallen from a primal innocence. And you must believe that only supernatural intervention, in the form of what Christians call grace, is sufficient to drag us up out of this pit that we've dug for ourselves."
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Centrality of the Doctrine of Sin
Sin - The committing of any act that God has forbidden, or the neglect of any act that God has commanded.
All are sinners.
I came to the realization that my theology is driven by my understanding of sin. My understanding of salvation is based on my understanding of sin. Salvation is by substitutionary atonement because our sin has rendered us guilty and helpless. My understanding of the sovereignty of God in salvation is driven by the fact that our sin has not only left us guilty but dead, unable to save ourselves or respond to God's gracious offers without His supernatural work.
My understanding of who Christ is is driven by my understanding of sin. Jesus came to die for sinners because we are guilty and helpless, we must have a savior, a mediator between we the sinners and God the Holy One. Without understanding sin the Incarnation of Jesus makes no sense, why bother becoming man if there is no grand mission to save sinners. The Cross of Christ makes no sense apart from the Biblical understanding of sin, because what on earth is Jesus doing on the cross if He is not dying for sin, it is simply tragic.
If we give in to our culture that denies the reality of sin, we have not made Christianity more palatable to the world. Rather we have given away the whole store. Without the right understanding and acknowledgment of sin we no longer have an orthodox view of God, and the Gospel descends into simple nonsense. Without the correct understanding of sin, we are still in our sins and will face death and hell as the just judgment for our sin.
So we need to embrace the Biblical view of sin, and let it sink deeply into our minds and hearts. Then we begin pursuing holiness and we carry the Gospel to our sin-sick world.
All are sinners.
I came to the realization that my theology is driven by my understanding of sin. My understanding of salvation is based on my understanding of sin. Salvation is by substitutionary atonement because our sin has rendered us guilty and helpless. My understanding of the sovereignty of God in salvation is driven by the fact that our sin has not only left us guilty but dead, unable to save ourselves or respond to God's gracious offers without His supernatural work.
My understanding of who Christ is is driven by my understanding of sin. Jesus came to die for sinners because we are guilty and helpless, we must have a savior, a mediator between we the sinners and God the Holy One. Without understanding sin the Incarnation of Jesus makes no sense, why bother becoming man if there is no grand mission to save sinners. The Cross of Christ makes no sense apart from the Biblical understanding of sin, because what on earth is Jesus doing on the cross if He is not dying for sin, it is simply tragic.
If we give in to our culture that denies the reality of sin, we have not made Christianity more palatable to the world. Rather we have given away the whole store. Without the right understanding and acknowledgment of sin we no longer have an orthodox view of God, and the Gospel descends into simple nonsense. Without the correct understanding of sin, we are still in our sins and will face death and hell as the just judgment for our sin.
So we need to embrace the Biblical view of sin, and let it sink deeply into our minds and hearts. Then we begin pursuing holiness and we carry the Gospel to our sin-sick world.
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