Marks of Great Theology / Theologians

Warning: I am not yet satisfied with my answer to the question I’m wrestling with below, in part because I lack clarity about it in my own mind. This probably means it’s not written very clearly and therefore may be frustrating to follow. Sorry! Proceed at your own risk. Also, I’m interrupting the Revelation series just for today; I’ll pick it back up tomorrow.

What makes a great theologian? This is a question my friend Jim asked me and I’ve been thinking about it a lot. It could be taken in one of two ways. The first focuses on the theologian her/himself. In this case the answer would include prayer, serious study of Scripture, knowledge of history, commitment to the local church, active discipleship, humility, etc, etc. The second focuses on the theology of the theologian – What makes great theology? I think this was what he meant, or it is at least what I’ve thought about more, so I’ll take it in that direction. In the first comment box I’ll share some resources for each as well as whom I credit for what. First, a brief (chiastic) outline:

       Scripture

              Kingdom

                     Cross

              Love

       Community

No Obedience Without Resistance (Revelation 2-3)

Tags

America, american culture, christendom, church, new testament, politics, Revelation

Let me ask you once again to recall the significance of seeing that Revelation is a letter. Because Revelation is a letter, we simply must keep in mind the original audience – the 1st century churches living in Asia Minor under the long reach of the Roman Empire.

We’re going to spend the rest of this week camping out in Revelation 2-3, which is composed of seven messages from Jesus to his churches. (The order in which these churches appear in the text actually follows the standard mailing route in Asia Minor.) The further we get away from Revelation 2-3 the easier it is to forget about them, so we must choose to constantly remember that Revelation was written to them first. God certainly wants to speak to us through this book, but we have to respect the fact that he spoke to them first. It was God’s word to them before it is God’s word to us.

The most important thing for us to know about the life situation of these followers of Jesus is that they were being seduced by the surrounding (imperial) culture to compromise their absolute allegiance to the kingdom of God.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? (Maybe this book isn’t so far-removed after all!)

As we’ve said, these followers of Jesus lived in the Roman Empire, which was unquestionably one of the most powerful nations that has ever existed, either before or since. (Of course “nations” is a bit anachronistic, but you get the point.)

According to the official cultural script, Rome had brought unity, peace, and security to a world that desperately needed freedom from political fear. And the people loved them for it. (Well, most of them. Of course those whose families they slaughtered in the securing of “peace” and “freedom” weren’t so fond.)

What We Need Most (Revelation 1.9-20)

Tags

eschatology, new testament, Revelation

[This week we'll be looking into chapters 1-3 of the book of Revelation.]

Reflecting on the text

Have you ever asked the question, “Where is Jesus today?” Have you ever thought to yourself, “Okay, I know where Jesus was when he came to earth, and I suppose he is now in ‘heaven’ (whatever that means), but where is he now?”

This is one of the key questions John answers in this vision, but first he walks us through another even more crucial question, “Who is Jesus?”

There are certainly many “Jesuses” on offer these days. Think about some of the popular ideas about and conceptions of Jesus that exist in our world today.

One of the things that immediately comes to my mind is the “Jesus is my homeboy” clothing apparel. Now, I’m sure these people have great intentions and I’m all for seeing Jesus as our friend, but after this vision John records for us I’m not so sure he would think of Jesus as his “homeboy.”

Here’s how it went down. John was on Patmos, a sixty square-mile island thirty-seven miles off the coast of Asia Minor. He had been exiled there for refusing to stop talking about and worshiping Jesus. He very well may have been alone, but that wasn’t going to stop him from worshiping. After all, it was Sunday, and all the other followers of Jesus were meeting together to do the same thing. But today something was different. Today worship was particularly moving for John—he described it as being “in the Spirit.” We aren’t given many details, but he was probably meditating on Scripture, maybe singing a few songs.

And then it happened.

What is the book of Revelation? (pt 3)

Tags

hermeneutics, new testament, Revelation

Reflecting on the text

Hopefully you have gotten the chance to read the book of Revelation  (if not all the way through, then at least much of it). So tell me, what do you think? If you had to come up with a few words to describe the book of Revelation, what would they be?

Colorful. Glorious. Twisted. Exciting. Dramatic. Confusing. Epic.  Victorious. Vengeful. Strange. Interesting. Ridiculous. Inspiring. Hopeful. (Certainly not “polite”!) And let’s all admit it, weird. The book of Revelation is like nothing else we’ve ever read. Sure it’s a letter, and a work of prophecy, but that’s definitely not all that’s going on here.

If you had some of these thoughts, then you are right on. And the more colorful (and confusing) elements are due to the fact that Revelation is an example of apocalyptic literature.

After today, I promise I’ll stop using that funny little French word genre so frequently. Apocalyptic is the third and final genre that describes the book of Revelation.

The word “apocalyptic” comes from the first Greek word of the book, apokalypsis. This word means “to reveal, uncover, or unveil what was previously hidden” (thus the title of this book).

Ironic, is it not? The word used to describe this book has to do with making things clear.

Hmm.

So the purpose of Revelation is to reveal. In addition to noting the interesting strategy employed by the author for such a task, we do well to ask what John intended to reveal. Well, no matter how I answer that question, some people will disagree. And since it is best answered as we go through the book, for now let’s stay fairly general.

What is the book of Revelation? (pt 2)

Tags

genre, hermeneutics, new testament, Revelation

Reflecting on the text

Just to make sure we’re on the same page, let’s begin today with a little review. Yesterday we noted that Revelation is a mix of three genres: letter, prophecy, and apocalypse.

What is the significance of saying that Revelation is a letter?

(Your answer should include something about the importance of keeping in mind the original recipients of Revelation.)

The second genre that characterizes the book of Revelation is prophecy. We know that Revelation is a book of prophecy because John tells us so (1.3; 22.7,10, 18-19).

What comes to mind when you hear the word “prophecy”?

Most of you probably included something about prediction. When we think about prophecy, we immediately think of someone predicting the future, telling us what will happen before it actually does.

Actually, however, prediction was only one aspect of most Jewish and early Christian prophecy (in the Jewish Bible, Joshua—2 Kings is known as the “former prophets,” not “books of history”).

There are two things I want to show you about the prediction part of biblical prophecy:

What is the book of Revelation? (pt 1)

Tags

genre, hermeneutics, Revelation

Reflecting on the text

Okay, let’s get down to it. The first question most of us ask about this book is quite appropriately, “What is this thing?”

Indeed, what is the book of Revelation?

This is the question we’ll be exploring for the rest of the week.

Let me start by asking another question. Have you ever noticed the fact that we read different types of “literature” differently? It’s so obvious that it’s easy to miss, but think about it for a minute.

Do you read the newspaper the same way you read a novel?

Do you read a poem the same way you read the phonebook?

Do you read the comics the same way you read a cooking recipe?

Of course not. There is a word for this that you’ve probably heard: genre. Genre basically refers to different types of literature (or music, movies, etc).

So when we ask the question, “What is the book of Revelation?” we are asking a question about genre.

There are three basic things that specify a genre: the form (or characteristics) of the work, the purpose for writing, and consequent guidelines for how to read it.

Thinking about our previous examples, we can see how this plays out in everyday life.

New Series – “Lifting the Veil” (a guide through the book of Revelation)

Tags

apostle john, new testament, Revelation

[NOTE: I'll probably post 4x a week for this series - Mon, Tues, Thurs, & Fri.]

Reflecting on the text

“Wow.”

“Seriously?”

“Are you crazy?”

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m not so sure you want to do that.”

(Laughter)

This is a small sampling of the responses I received when I told friends our church was going to study the book of Revelation together.

Maybe you feel the same way.

I’ll be honest with you, there have been a few nights over the past couple of months when I have actually been kept from sleeping by the nagging notion that we might, in fact, be loony.

But there is one thing that has kept me not only sane, but excited about what we are getting into.

It’s worth it.

Atonement Resources

Below are many links to resources that explore the meaning and significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection for us. Obviously I don’t affirm everything in these posts (impossible since some strongly disagree with others). I’ll try to keep my peanut gallery comments to a minimum.

For summaries of atonement teaching, click here, here, here, here, here, or here.

There has been lots of controversy in evangelical circles lately, mostly revolving around the “penal substitution” view of the atonement, which teaches that God punished Jesus w/ the penalty for our sin so that God no longer must punish us.

There are two primary questions: (1) Is penal substitution biblically sound? (2) Is it the primary way we should view the cross? You can read about the controversy in Britain and the results of their symposium. Joel Green and Mark Baker’s book Recovering the Scandal of the Cross has played a significant role in the debate here in America.

Here are some explanations and defenses of this view by J. I. Packer, I. Howard Marshall, and John Piper (here, here, here). And here are some critiques from Mark Heim, Kim Fabricius, Derek Flood (here and here), and Greg Boyd.

Faith, Hope, and Love

I just read this flipping through a book on Amazon: “I trust. I hope. And I trust and hope because against all odds I love.”

There is much about this statement to praise. I agree that faith, hope, and love form the core of life with God. Many times the apostle Paul presents them as a sort of tri-fecta at the very center, a summary of the life he was trying to live and calling others to live as well. But I think the order is off a bit and in this case order matters.

Here’s how I’d put it: “I love. I hope. And I love and hope because against all odds I trust.”

Faith anchors hope, hope enables love, love conquers all.

My Top 5 Small Groups Insights

Tags

Life Groups, ministry, small groups

Last week I posted my fave 5 small group resources. Here is a follow-up of my top 5 insights about leading small groups or a “small group ministry.” Let me start by saying that there is no way to grow a faithful small groups ministry in a hurry. Choosing a model and sticking with it will produce more fruit than constantly changing. This must also be balanced with the general ministry principle of embracing change as a way of life. Here are my five. Feel free to add (!) or disagree.

1. Small groups are not great places for Bible study; in any small group the emphasis should be on application rather than gaining new information. I highly recommend the “flow questions” model of writing the small group discussion. It works.
2. Groups must engage in the following activities together: eat, pray, serve, play. Of course groups will also study, which is important, but the groups must be multi-dimensional. (Don’t underestimate eating together!)