This week I am posting an email from Lupe Andrade as the lesson. Although it is longer than my usual post, I think it is worth the read. Lupe is the former mayor of La Paz, Bolivia and has experienced life from a quite a different perspective than most of us. She writes “We have […]
Let’s switch from the when to the what of salvation. This picture plays much the same role as Aristotle’s “Good” in his Politics. Citizens are to discuss what is good for their city and pass laws that lead to it. He would be disappointed with our current campaign that focuses on what is bad in […]
Some people are having difficulty with my description of salvation as “now and not yet”. Myron says the problem is being conditioned to think of resurrection and salvation being almost synonymous and happening after our deaths. The New Testament agrees the two speak of the same thing, but regards them as more than simply being […]
This should be fun! I got all sorts of responses to our first lesson. Perhaps the one to which I should respond first was the popular understanding of salvation as something that happens after death. My very intelligent class at Good Shepherd reported trouble with the author we were reading, because she spoke of the […]
This will be an online version of a course on salvation I am teaching at two congregations this fall. It will be designed for those who find it difficult to attend a face-to-face class because of commuting or home responsibilities. The classes are using Kristin Johnston Largen’s What Christians Can Learn from Buddhism: Rethinking Salvation. […]
Let me build on the very, very fine discussion taking place in “Comments”. Juan laid the foundation observing that our lifestyle gives witness to the God of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Bob suggested that lifestyle is necessarily divided into worship and ethics. Anne pointed to the need for community, succinctly defining its role as giving support […]
I failed in coaxing more readers to make comments. However, I received more rave reviews for the three that did than in any previous week. So I am going to proceed as planned, begin building a lifestyle with hopes that others will join in. That will involve making observations and asking questions. 1. Let’s begin […]
Now we are at the hard part. It is easy to criticize the Christian lifestyle of others. It is much harder to draw up one for ourselves. A lifestyle is the description of the way we live. Whether we are aware or not, it reflects our foundational beliefs. To confess belief in God is not […]
The fourth feature of a deficient modern lifestyle, the Power of Positive Thinking, also stands traditional Christianity on its head. Robert Schuller calls for a modern Reformation that updates Luther’s. However, he claims it should be based on the believer’s self-esteem rather than God’s grace. He constantly says everything depends on “believing,” but this is […]
Perhaps the most dangerous contemporary bad doctrine believes faith provides miracles, in the sense that faith makes miracles happen. The salvation of the individual sinner is the greatest one but this is followed by a lifetime of unending supernatural acts. This involves a complete redefining of miracle. Biblical ones are mighty acts serving as signs […]
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