All posts tagged faith active in love

Lesson 1: Practical Christianity

by Pastor Fritz Foltz on November 2, 2011 in Practical Theology with No comments

Obviously, the first task is to define what I mean by Practical Christianity. Not so obviously, the second is to point out this is a very controversial subject.

When I speak of Practical Christianity I simply mean what faith offers for everyday living here and now. People used to speak of it as “Applied Christianity”. Some trace the idea to a suggestion made by Frederick Schleiermacher in the 19th century when he spoke of practical theology as “the art of Christian life and ministry”.

Certainly in our practically minded times people want to know how faith is relevant to their lives. In fact, most Christian preaching and writing in our day deals with the practice not the beliefs of our faith. Christian witness has pretty much deteriorated into public wrangling about proper Christian actions. People who believe the same creeds violently disagree on what that means for how they live, especially in the area of sexuality.

Some believe that shows Christianity has little to do with everyday life. I’ve heard famous theologians proclaim vehemently Christianity is not relevant at all. For the life of me, I do not understand what that means. Too often it seems to give permission for retreating into esoteric debates about beliefs and living in a manner that would embarrass Jesus.

My experience is people hunger for guidance in how to live. One of the most asked question of me as a Lutheran pastor was why Luther wanted to remove James from the Bible. The speaker was always puzzled that anyone would question that faith without works is useless.

Remember this problem goes back to our beginnings. When St. Paul proclaimed salvation ultimately depends on God’s love not ours, some took it as permission to continue living as pagans. They taught faith was a kind of secret knowledge that served as passwords to get into heaven. So Paul was consistently responding that grace is not an excuse to sin. Because faith transforms us, it is always active in love.

The course will try to define what that means for us in our time. It will primarily be dealing with the fourth of the traditional theological disciplines, Biblical Studies, Systematic Theology, Church History, and Practical Theology. On a seminary level it includes subjects such as counseling, preaching, and education. I’ll be talking on a more comprehensive level, examining how the faith provides a way to overcome evil, a nurturing community, a plan for wellness and health, and a basis for ethics.

Quite frankly, I think many, many Christians come to worship for these reasons. If they are parents, they want their children to become Christians, so they learn these same practical teachings not abstract beliefs. That does not mean beliefs are not important. I certainly believe the way we live is based on what we believe. Our faith teaches us who we are, what we believe, and what we should do. Okay, let’s agree to disagree and share our ideas with respect and compassion.

Lesson 13: Our Love for God and Each Other

by Scott Noon on October 29, 2011 in Faith, Hope, and Love with No comments

Bob and Lupe use some good arguments to qualify the way I interpreted God’s unconditional love. As Bob reports, some passages warn we should not use God’s love to excuse all. For instance, the whole point of Jude seems to be his insistence that false prophets will share eternal punishment with fallen angels and other evil doers. There is no way we can or should feel compelled to harmonize the many biblical traditions.

In fact, the same kind of question arises when we examine the unconditional love expected of us. When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, he allows no exceptions. The command is as unconditional as that telling us to forgive those who sin against us 70 times 7 times.

You see this in Jesus’ three surprises when asked which commandment he regarded as the greatest (Mark 12:28-34, Matthew 22: 34- 40, Luke 10: 5- 37). The first was responding with two. Those around him would have expected to hear the first, the great Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6: 4- 7). It is the first prayer a Jewish child is taught. Many Jews recite it at least twice daily. Parts are written on the small scroll inserted into the mezuzah. But Jesus also offered a second from Leviticus 19: 17, 18 and Deuteronomy 22: 1-4, “Love your neighbor as yourself”

The second surprise would have been how he interpreted this second part. In the Old Testament passages the neighbor was your kin or the person next door. Luke reports Jesus defined “neighbor” as a Good Samaritan, someone usually regarded as an enemy.

The third surprise was describing the two commandments as the same. To love God is to love your neighbor. I John 4: 20 goes so far as to say, “Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars.”

You also see this call for unconditional love in the very careful use of the Greek “agape” when speaking of Christian love, either God’s or our own. Lupe pointed this out when she cautioned our modern English use of “love” can be misleading. Actually, the Greek offers many words to highlight various versions of love. The Christians used one in a very distinctive, almost inventive, manner to make their point. You see this in John 21: 15-19 when the Risen Christ asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” The first two uses the Greek phileo that means brotherly or mutual love; the third used agape that means unconditional love. The writer is making an obvious point.

That point is reinforced in the many passages that claim the centrality of love. Galatians 5:14, James 2: 8, and Romans 13: 8-10 represent those that claim love summarizes the law. John offers only one commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13: 34). Paul says things such as, “The only thing that counts is faith acting in love” (Galatians 5: 6) and “Let all be done in love” (I Corinthians 16: 14). And , of course, I Corinthians 13 claims all the other Christian virtues are nothing if they lack love.

All of this demands some contemplation. Do these passages mean we express our love for God solely by the way we love other people? Where does worshipping God enter into this? Is this simply a mental repentance where we come to see our neighbor as another for whom Christ died like ourselves (I Corinthians 8: 11) or is it a spiritual transformation that enables us to love? (Romans 12: 2)

← Older Entries