#beyond opinion

[burningcourage-sp]

Love does not exist in the absence of judgment; true love exists when someone has passed the correct moral judgment on who you are and is under no illusions as to what you're like, but still loves you.

Michael Ramsden, Conversational Apologetics || Beyond Opinion

[burningcourage-sp]

The search itself trains the mind of the seeker to grasp the one it discovers.

Joe Boot, Beyond Opinion

[tscfhamilton]

The Three Levels of Philosophy

1) Logic 2) Imagination and Feeling 3) Prescription

Paul’s point of entry was where the Athenians were in their own thinking, and while his goal was to expose their intellectual failure, he began by affirming their spiritual hunger. Step by step, he proceeded from their need to the One who is omniscient--God as revealed in Christ. Paul was keenly aware of his context, and with the compelling relevance he applied the truth of the gospel and won a hearing. Some influential men and women made their commitment to Christ that day, and the church was established on firm footing in Athens. In facet, one is quite taken aback to see the name of the main street that runs alongside Mars Hill--it is named after Dionysius the Areopagite, who made his commitment to Christ at the end of Paul’s message. Two thousand years later, the hill and the street stand as a tribute to a message and recipient.

[tscfhamilton]

Idolatry, denial and self-deception (Part1)

What is idolatry? It is “treating what is not ultimate as though it were ultimate, making absolute what is only relative.” says Emory professor Luke Timothy Johnson. Whenever we deem a particular relationship or goal an absolute necessity--I must have this--we are in danger of idolatry. According to Martin Luther, whatever your heart clings to and relies upon, that is your God. “An Idol is something within creation that is inflated to function as a substitute for God”, suggests Dick Keyes. “Since an idol is a counterfeit, it is a lie. Deception is its very identity...Rather than look to the Creator and have to deal with His lordship, we orientate our lives toward the creation, where we can be more free to control and shape our desired directions. David’s seizing Bathsheba for his own pleasure and Jacob and Rebekah’s scheming for his brother Esau’s birthright are two further biblical examples.

Idolatry distorts our knowledge of God, ourselves, and others. Since the Scriptures repeatedly address this concern, we will examine this valley topography in greater detail than the others. God reveals himself in His Word most often through the language of marriage and kingship; as such, it is not surprising that idolatry is seen as a challenge to God’s exclusivity. 

[tscfhamilton]

Violence and Vulnerability

Violence is a sign of weakness and vulnerability is a sign of true strength.

[tscfhamilton]

The Trinity as a Paradigm for Spiritual Transformation (Part3)

Four qualities to cultivate:

1) Awareness of God’s timing (kairos) in our lives. We tend to be too coldblooded on one hand or too impulsive on the other. Jesus moved in line with God’s timing and his hand upon his life. The Christian life is very demanding and without this awareness we are not likely to succeed and may end up burnt out.

2) A prior commitment to one another before we can embark upon this costly adventure. This is similar to the commitment Jesus had made to the Twelve at the beginning of his ministry when he chose them out of the many who were following him.

3) A willingness to wash the feet of a possible Judas who may be present in our company. If Jesus had not washed Judas’ feet and if he had discriminated against Judas during the three and a half years of his ministry, it is quite possible that five disciples could have followed Judas and five could have followed Peter, and the first church could have split down the middle! In the event, of course, it is Judas who goes out into the night. When love becomes unbearable, it poses a choice to the offender--to return to the fold or to leave forever.

4) Jesus had an identity before he embarked upon the foot-washing enterprise. That is, he did not seek to derive an identity from service, as we often are wont to do. He could rise from supper, take off his robe of divine privileges and authority and clothe himself in the apron of a servant only because he was sure of his identity as God’s Son.

[tscfhamilton]

The Trinity as a Paradigm for Spiritual Transformation (Part2)

In washing his disciple’s feet, Jesus was making it clear that he was not just exhibiting his humility and servanthood. He tells Peter that unless he washed Peter’s feet, he could not relate to Peter. At the same time, Jesus did not bathe Peter because Peter was already clean; he only needed to have his feet washed. This shows that we, the disciples of Jesus, need to minister moral and spiritual cleansing to one another as well.

But with what attitude shall we offer this cleansing to one another? The clean one has to take the position of the servant (weakness) and accord to the dirty one the place of the master (strength). In other words, our ministry to one another has to be nonthreatening. The wrongness of our attitudes can destroy the rightness of our words and deeds. As we apply this lesson to the some thirty-six “one another” passages of the New Testament--accept one another, forgive one another, be kind to one another, and so on--we begin to show something of the self-giving Trinity.

[tscfhamilton]

Trinity as a paradigm for Spiritual Transformation (Part1)

The community of loving Christians is seen by the watching world, not as a collection of perfect individuals. While it would be great to have such a community, few individuals are able to relate to perfect people! The acted parable of John 13 portrays imperfect people in relationships that reflect the mutual sharing of the Trinity. Jesus washes his disciples’ feet and says, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you (v15). Jesus’ disciples are to wash one another’s feet (admitting that we have dirty feet), and the world is attract by the fact we are willing to relate to one another in this amazingly practical way. As I wash your feet and you wash mine, the world comes to see us as two imperfect people in perfect relationship!

But we have two problems. First, I do not want to wash anyone else’s feet. And second, I do not want anyone else to wash my feet! The problem is mutual and reciprocal. A God who exhibits mutuality and reciprocity--namely, the triune God--is the One who can deal with this problem.