Here's a sad story with a sad ending. Apparently, a Muslim man, fed up with the violent stereotypes of Islam beheaded his wife. He had founded the first English speaking cable channel explicitly for Muslims. His mission was to shed light on the religion of Islam in order to reverse any improper ideas post-9/11. Ofcourse, all this came to a sudden end when his wife's body was found. It makes one wonder if it was his Muslim background that made him violent (she had filed for divorce from him in January) or was he suffering from some mental illness? I'd be willing to bet his Islamic roots won't play into anything, at least, not in the media. By the way, this all happened a few hours from here in Buffalo. Here's the link:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/16/buffalo.beheading/index.html
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Trinity and Religious Pluralism
The Enlightenment left the world in an ideological and theological conundrum. With its resounding angst towards the past, and the antiquities it produced, modernity progressed by way of an optimistic anthropocentric worldview. The entire world was at the beck and call of the modernistic tendency of mastering every realm of existence. This western paradigm was supplanted as the global metanarrative, of which the world must adhere. As a result, twentieth century theology and ministry were comprised of two prevailing interrelated themes: the Trinity and religious pluralism. Trinitarian doctrine served as the distinguishing element of Christian theology within the global, and especially western, plurality of religions. Therefore, the particular identity of the Christian God is paramount for the identity of the Christian faith. Furthermore, due to the rampant proliferation of religious pluralism, its axioms must be analyzed. By doing so, the orthodox delineation of Christianity through Trinitarian doctrine supersedes any pluralistic attempt to amalgamate the religions of the world.
Trinitarian doctrine
The Trinity has come to be recognized as both the most essential element of Christianity, as well as its most perplexing. Far from being effortlessly understood, Trinitarian concepts were disregarded by the rationalism of the nineteenth century. Furthering the misplaced criticism of Trinitarian doctrine was prominent liberal theology. Yet, with the revitalization of evangelical theological thought in the twentieth century came the reemphasis of Trinitarian foundations.
Two such theologians were Karl Rahner and Robert Jenson. Taking their cues from their theological traditions and predecessors, these two evangelical thinkers cast new light onto theology concerning the Trinity. The main contribution to twentieth century theology by Rahner was his differentiation of the economic and immanent Trinity. His formulations were based on the process of salvation. Steeped in soteriology, Rahner posited the concept of our knowledge of the Trinity in our salvific history. Rather than experience a multitude of deities in our salvation, he declared that the three-fold process of salvation reflects the triune God. The economic Trinity is thus the systemization of our knowledge and experience of God through salvation. This does not precisely echo the actual personhood of God, the immanent Trinity, but rather gives sinful humanity a glimmer of reality. Therefore, God can be viewed as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit because of the correspondence of our salvific history and the ontological reality of God.
Robert Jenson furthered Trinitarian theology through his assertion of the particular name of God. The qualifying name of “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” was the distinct peculiarity of the Christian God. Not only was this name attributed to God but it was bestowed upon God by God. Thus, the name by which we call out to God is not derived from human origins but rather from the revelation of God. Furthermore, the revelation of God was consummated in and through Jesus. The result is Christological in nature thus intimating the revelation of God with the incarnation. For Jenson, this ensured the identity of God to be found solely in Christ, which invalidated any attempt to remove or equalize Jesus with other religious leaders. As such, the Christian God was properly identified as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit revealed in and through Jesus Christ.
Religious Pluralism
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries found themselves within the cyclical reoccurrence of religious pluralism. The global economy, along with its colonization and improved travel conditions, brought about a shrinking of the world’s communities. The multiethnic western society, produced by the democracy and tolerance of the United States, ushered in prescriptive religious pluralism. Opposed to explaining what is believed by religions, prescriptive pluralism seeks to declare what may be believed. Any truth claims posited by any form of religion are thus seen as intolerant, arrogant, and oppressive. The manifestations of this ideology disqualify any attempts to distinguish religions apart from their common essence. Therefore, it is paramount for the Christian theologian to dismantle religious pluralism and reaffirm the transcendence of Christianity.
Religious pluralists have relegated the religions of the world into a conglomeration of equal faiths. The term religion has been devalued into a concept of common denominators, which do not exist. In contrast, the realm of religious faith is composed of a multitude of religious traditions. For any intellectual student of any theological system this is an egregious fallacy. It does not take much study of the religions of the world to realize their heterogeneousness.
However evident this truth may be, its penetration into the mainstream of popular theology has yet to be seen. This is largely due to the theological system of John Hick. Hick offered a generalized theocentric system in replacement of a particularized Christocentric theology. This allowed for a synergistic dialogue between religions based on the commonality of their deity. For Hick, the diverse religions of the world all represented the same God. They equally and simultaneously worshipped at the same feet of the same Reality. Thus, the only distinguishing factors for religions are the cultural derivations of their divine names.
Theology and Ministry in the 20th Century
Unfortunately, the results of religious pluralism have left much of western society bereft of any theological foundations. Rather than have any certainties concerning the God revealed through Jesus, we are left to the presuppositions of pluralist axioms. This must be overcome in order to maintain the significance and particularity of Christianity.
Christians should welcome interfaith theological dialogue. Differences should be validated and discussed in search of reasons for their existence. This does not presume agreement of faiths, but rather asserts the intellectual and faithful divergences of such faiths. Furthermore, the identity of Christianity should be characterized by the Trinity. As earlier noted, it is the theological assertion of God as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that delineates Christianity from the religions of the world. The points of contact between other religious traditions and Christianity are due to God’s general revelation. Knowledge of God, however, does not equate salvation. Salvation comes through Christ alone, who is found solely revealed through the Trinity. As such, the emphasis of Christianity is Christ, God incarnate. To remove him from any form of Christian theology is to repudiate any claim of knowledge of God and salvation. Therefore, as Christian theologians, we must proclaim the uniqueness of Christ, based on Trinitarian orthodoxy, in a world capitulated before religious pluralism.
Trinitarian doctrine
The Trinity has come to be recognized as both the most essential element of Christianity, as well as its most perplexing. Far from being effortlessly understood, Trinitarian concepts were disregarded by the rationalism of the nineteenth century. Furthering the misplaced criticism of Trinitarian doctrine was prominent liberal theology. Yet, with the revitalization of evangelical theological thought in the twentieth century came the reemphasis of Trinitarian foundations.
Two such theologians were Karl Rahner and Robert Jenson. Taking their cues from their theological traditions and predecessors, these two evangelical thinkers cast new light onto theology concerning the Trinity. The main contribution to twentieth century theology by Rahner was his differentiation of the economic and immanent Trinity. His formulations were based on the process of salvation. Steeped in soteriology, Rahner posited the concept of our knowledge of the Trinity in our salvific history. Rather than experience a multitude of deities in our salvation, he declared that the three-fold process of salvation reflects the triune God. The economic Trinity is thus the systemization of our knowledge and experience of God through salvation. This does not precisely echo the actual personhood of God, the immanent Trinity, but rather gives sinful humanity a glimmer of reality. Therefore, God can be viewed as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit because of the correspondence of our salvific history and the ontological reality of God.
Robert Jenson furthered Trinitarian theology through his assertion of the particular name of God. The qualifying name of “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” was the distinct peculiarity of the Christian God. Not only was this name attributed to God but it was bestowed upon God by God. Thus, the name by which we call out to God is not derived from human origins but rather from the revelation of God. Furthermore, the revelation of God was consummated in and through Jesus. The result is Christological in nature thus intimating the revelation of God with the incarnation. For Jenson, this ensured the identity of God to be found solely in Christ, which invalidated any attempt to remove or equalize Jesus with other religious leaders. As such, the Christian God was properly identified as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit revealed in and through Jesus Christ.
Religious Pluralism
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries found themselves within the cyclical reoccurrence of religious pluralism. The global economy, along with its colonization and improved travel conditions, brought about a shrinking of the world’s communities. The multiethnic western society, produced by the democracy and tolerance of the United States, ushered in prescriptive religious pluralism. Opposed to explaining what is believed by religions, prescriptive pluralism seeks to declare what may be believed. Any truth claims posited by any form of religion are thus seen as intolerant, arrogant, and oppressive. The manifestations of this ideology disqualify any attempts to distinguish religions apart from their common essence. Therefore, it is paramount for the Christian theologian to dismantle religious pluralism and reaffirm the transcendence of Christianity.
Religious pluralists have relegated the religions of the world into a conglomeration of equal faiths. The term religion has been devalued into a concept of common denominators, which do not exist. In contrast, the realm of religious faith is composed of a multitude of religious traditions. For any intellectual student of any theological system this is an egregious fallacy. It does not take much study of the religions of the world to realize their heterogeneousness.
However evident this truth may be, its penetration into the mainstream of popular theology has yet to be seen. This is largely due to the theological system of John Hick. Hick offered a generalized theocentric system in replacement of a particularized Christocentric theology. This allowed for a synergistic dialogue between religions based on the commonality of their deity. For Hick, the diverse religions of the world all represented the same God. They equally and simultaneously worshipped at the same feet of the same Reality. Thus, the only distinguishing factors for religions are the cultural derivations of their divine names.
Theology and Ministry in the 20th Century
Unfortunately, the results of religious pluralism have left much of western society bereft of any theological foundations. Rather than have any certainties concerning the God revealed through Jesus, we are left to the presuppositions of pluralist axioms. This must be overcome in order to maintain the significance and particularity of Christianity.
Christians should welcome interfaith theological dialogue. Differences should be validated and discussed in search of reasons for their existence. This does not presume agreement of faiths, but rather asserts the intellectual and faithful divergences of such faiths. Furthermore, the identity of Christianity should be characterized by the Trinity. As earlier noted, it is the theological assertion of God as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that delineates Christianity from the religions of the world. The points of contact between other religious traditions and Christianity are due to God’s general revelation. Knowledge of God, however, does not equate salvation. Salvation comes through Christ alone, who is found solely revealed through the Trinity. As such, the emphasis of Christianity is Christ, God incarnate. To remove him from any form of Christian theology is to repudiate any claim of knowledge of God and salvation. Therefore, as Christian theologians, we must proclaim the uniqueness of Christ, based on Trinitarian orthodoxy, in a world capitulated before religious pluralism.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Worship
We live in a world void of theological understanding and it is becoming rampant within the Church. The tendency is to view the external world as predominantly ignorant concerning Christianity and its teachings, but evermore increasing trends have shown the Church to be equally confused. Blending of the two realms has led to the weakening of the Church by its surrounding culture. Rather than stand as the guider and protector of theology, the Church has softened its approach resulting in softened Christians. Unfortunately, it does not take a formal polling of a large demographic to reveal this. All one must do is simply visit a portion of American churches and it will be evident. Furthering this moving away from proper ecclesiology is the lack of character and intellect formation coupled with an anthropocentric mode of Church. We have turned worship into a therapy session that allows for the patient to feel better while still remaining spiritually dead. We must return the Church to the worship of God, resulting in the education and formation of community through the cohesiveness of all elements of the Church service.
God-centered Worship in Music and Word and Their Results
There should be no confusion concerning the object of our worship. It is the Triune God; always has been and forever will be. Among Christians, this topic would not be of much debate at a cursory level. However, the actual praxis and methodology behind this banal concept is quite lacking. The prevailing attitude, as seen in musical choice and sermon expectation, has replaced the Triune God with humanity.
The Triune God is both the object and subject of our worship. As the subject, God calls us forth to receive the gifts of worship. In a cyclical movement, we receive the gracious gifts of God and, in turn, or better yet, return, to God all that is of worth. Thus, it is the grace of God which enables us to, not only perceive of God, but also to ascribe praise and worship. Genesis of praise, therefore, starts with God and flows through the Church back to God. As such, we are not called to the passive apathetic body of Christ. On the contrary, worship involves our wills, emotions, and most importantly our hearts in constant movement towards God. We are not summoned to Church for entertainment but for the worship of God by God.
Christians do not, and should not, claim to worship a God of their own making. There is a tension that must be dealt with in regards to God. Our imperfect language is not sufficient in its description of God. However, this does not relegate our knowledge of God to speculation or subjectivity, but rather allows for the mystery of the Trinity to flourish. The revelation of the knowledge of God thus comes from the Word of God alone. This is our concrete foundation upon which we build our theology and ecclesiology.
With God as both the object and subject of our worship, the modes of worship must be questioned. Within the context of a worship service, singing praises through musical selections and the preaching of the Word are the main avenues of worship. These two primary modes of worship should not be randomly decided upon, but should be united in formative quality and content.
Musical selections must be theologically sound prior to any judgment on musical quality or popularity. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Cultural influences have crept into the Church and have turned music into a whimsical mode of praising God. With the focus shifted onto humanity, God is left in the periphery. This is not proper worship but idolatry. We cannot expect to form and edify Christians when the Christians we are producing are looking inward instead of outward for objects to praise. Theologically sound selections are thus found in every genre. By incorporating a variety of musical genres and traditions, congregants are exposed to differing emotions, divine attributes, and human responses. Properly used, music is an historical means of worship.
The word of God should kill us. It should not be a self-medicating mode of worship, but rather the truth of our sinfulness. Our culture has emasculated the worship of God so that there is no effective or affective response. People’s assumptions on the purpose of the Church are based on psychological and sociological needs. This concept, coupled with the subjectivity of the character and work of God, have led people to reject the transformational power of the Word. The Church needs to return to the preaching of God’s word with the Triune God as its subject.
Worship centered on God through the music and preaching of the Word must educate the Church. Through the power of technology, our culture has become hopelessly fragmented and disassociated, which has led to the loss of relational intimacy. Moreover, we no longer have coherent understandings of much information. Instead we have amassed trivial knowledge on a range of topics with no relevant context by which to bind them. Sadly, this trend has seeped into the pews of the Church. Laity, and clergy alike, have succumbed to the loss of systematizing and contextualizing their theology. We have become shallow people, whom, to a greater detriment, have created a shallow God. We must place the priority of correct worship over the entertainment qualities of our services. Our songs and hymns must be reciting biblical and theological truths. Our sermons must revolve around the character and work of the Triune God. For the benefit of the Church and the outside world, we must faithfully return to a biblical approach of ecclesiology. We can no longer afford to have thoughtless and incoherent Christians. It is ungodly to be theologically apathetic, for we are called to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds.
Conclusion
The end result of worship is a transformed individual through the grace of God. It is our duty to worship and through it we become more obedient and sacrificial. Furthermore, worship is the sole element that brings unity to the disunity of the body. Regardless of differing interpretations and methodologies, all Christians can come together in worship. For in eternity, the entire body of believers will join in unison to sing praises to the Triune God through the eternal Word, Jesus Christ.
God-centered Worship in Music and Word and Their Results
There should be no confusion concerning the object of our worship. It is the Triune God; always has been and forever will be. Among Christians, this topic would not be of much debate at a cursory level. However, the actual praxis and methodology behind this banal concept is quite lacking. The prevailing attitude, as seen in musical choice and sermon expectation, has replaced the Triune God with humanity.
The Triune God is both the object and subject of our worship. As the subject, God calls us forth to receive the gifts of worship. In a cyclical movement, we receive the gracious gifts of God and, in turn, or better yet, return, to God all that is of worth. Thus, it is the grace of God which enables us to, not only perceive of God, but also to ascribe praise and worship. Genesis of praise, therefore, starts with God and flows through the Church back to God. As such, we are not called to the passive apathetic body of Christ. On the contrary, worship involves our wills, emotions, and most importantly our hearts in constant movement towards God. We are not summoned to Church for entertainment but for the worship of God by God.
Christians do not, and should not, claim to worship a God of their own making. There is a tension that must be dealt with in regards to God. Our imperfect language is not sufficient in its description of God. However, this does not relegate our knowledge of God to speculation or subjectivity, but rather allows for the mystery of the Trinity to flourish. The revelation of the knowledge of God thus comes from the Word of God alone. This is our concrete foundation upon which we build our theology and ecclesiology.
With God as both the object and subject of our worship, the modes of worship must be questioned. Within the context of a worship service, singing praises through musical selections and the preaching of the Word are the main avenues of worship. These two primary modes of worship should not be randomly decided upon, but should be united in formative quality and content.
Musical selections must be theologically sound prior to any judgment on musical quality or popularity. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Cultural influences have crept into the Church and have turned music into a whimsical mode of praising God. With the focus shifted onto humanity, God is left in the periphery. This is not proper worship but idolatry. We cannot expect to form and edify Christians when the Christians we are producing are looking inward instead of outward for objects to praise. Theologically sound selections are thus found in every genre. By incorporating a variety of musical genres and traditions, congregants are exposed to differing emotions, divine attributes, and human responses. Properly used, music is an historical means of worship.
The word of God should kill us. It should not be a self-medicating mode of worship, but rather the truth of our sinfulness. Our culture has emasculated the worship of God so that there is no effective or affective response. People’s assumptions on the purpose of the Church are based on psychological and sociological needs. This concept, coupled with the subjectivity of the character and work of God, have led people to reject the transformational power of the Word. The Church needs to return to the preaching of God’s word with the Triune God as its subject.
Worship centered on God through the music and preaching of the Word must educate the Church. Through the power of technology, our culture has become hopelessly fragmented and disassociated, which has led to the loss of relational intimacy. Moreover, we no longer have coherent understandings of much information. Instead we have amassed trivial knowledge on a range of topics with no relevant context by which to bind them. Sadly, this trend has seeped into the pews of the Church. Laity, and clergy alike, have succumbed to the loss of systematizing and contextualizing their theology. We have become shallow people, whom, to a greater detriment, have created a shallow God. We must place the priority of correct worship over the entertainment qualities of our services. Our songs and hymns must be reciting biblical and theological truths. Our sermons must revolve around the character and work of the Triune God. For the benefit of the Church and the outside world, we must faithfully return to a biblical approach of ecclesiology. We can no longer afford to have thoughtless and incoherent Christians. It is ungodly to be theologically apathetic, for we are called to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds.
Conclusion
The end result of worship is a transformed individual through the grace of God. It is our duty to worship and through it we become more obedient and sacrificial. Furthermore, worship is the sole element that brings unity to the disunity of the body. Regardless of differing interpretations and methodologies, all Christians can come together in worship. For in eternity, the entire body of believers will join in unison to sing praises to the Triune God through the eternal Word, Jesus Christ.
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