The course will look at some of the components of Practical Christianity, sometimes described as the art of Christian living. It will begin examining how Christianity offers a way to overcome suffering, whether this is from natural disaster, social injustice, or personal problems. God obviously does not promise to shield us from the suffering caused […]
The Mosaic Law found in the Torah, the first five books our Bible, spells out in some detail what it is to live as God wills. The First Commandment, “Love your God with all your heart, mind, and soul (Exodus 20: 2-6, Deuteronomy 5:6-11) is constantly cited in the ordinances (D. 6: 4-9, 10: 12). […]
Looking back over all the biblical pictures of salvation you find many similarities. For one they are primarily about healing what is rather than escaping from this world. They reflect our craving for something better that the suffering of our society. In that sense, they not only report what God promises to do but also […]
A couple of my face- to- face fall classes used Kristen Largen’s What Christians Can Learn from Buddhism: Rethinking Salvation. In her last chapter she suggests four challenges Buddhism offers to our popular Christian picture of salvation. In many ways, the suggestions simply ask us to recognize parts of our tradition that have always been […]
Although Jesus did not offer a comprehensive picture of salvation, he often referred to it as a dinner. Quite a few times his parables proclaimed the Kingdom of God is something like a meal or a banquet. Almost all his resurrection appearances, surely previews of salvation, included eating with his disciples. He used the symbol […]
I think “The Peaceable Kingdom” and “The New Jerusalem” might be the only detailed pictures of salvation in the Bible. Most of our conceptions have been pieced together from short illustrations. The Christmas Story is a perfect example. Matthew’s and Luke’s versions are quite different, yet still offer the same magnificent picture of salvation. The […]
Many, if not most, pictures of salvation are very general, enabling us to fill them with our own ideas. I am thinking of salvation as God’s will being done. Scholars sometime speak of this as “whatever it is when God has God’s will with you”. A second describes salvation as participation in the life of […]
Bob reminds us we can not get way without saying something about hell. As you consider the most typical idea of salvation– a trip on the up escalator rather than on the down one — you face a problem. How do we account for the clear expressions in the New Testament of the fate of […]
Americans are obsessed with “What must I do to be saved?” I think that is the wrong question. When we ask it, we are very much like the rich young man in Mark 10: 17-28, and Jesus’ response to him is very much what he would say to us. After the man reveals he is […]
I’ve put aside my original outline and am following Bob’s advice to examine Lupe’s points one at a time. She suggested we might do well asking from what we are being saved and observed that traditional answers fall short. Let me list four different takes on from what we are saved. 1. The first is […]
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