MUSINGS ON THEOLOGY AND PREDESTINATION, PART TWO
Continued from Part One.
The mystery surrounding the Incarnation is similar to the mystery surrounding the sovereign work of God and the human responsibility of responding to the gospel. I see an analogy between the Incarnation (the sovereign, eternal God becoming flesh) and God’s salvation of his elect.
We believe that Jesus is truly God (Jh. 1:1-14) and truly man (Lk. 2:40; Heb. 2:14). Think of it! God is infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing, self-existent, the eternal Spirit. Man is finite, limited in his power and knowledge, created out of dust, born in time with a corporeal body. This God-Man is both truly God and truly human. As Paul confessed, “Great is the mystery of godliness.”
In the early Church theories abounded, trying to explain this mystery so that it made logical sense, but one by one they were dismissed as heresies. The Christian Church finally concluded that Jesus is one Person with two Natures, a human nature and a divine nature, each being complete and perfectly joined in one Person. What does this really mean? Does this explanation really help me to comprehend the mystery of the Incarnation? This ecclesiastical conclusion may be true but it only raises more questions. For me, the Incarnation remains a mystery, but a mystery which I joyfully embrace and believe. Jesus was fully God and fully Man – the God-Man – whom we trust but cannot fathom in our finite minds.
The Christian faith is filled with mystery, theological truth that is beyond human comprehension. Instead of trying to make a water-tight logical system of beliefs, we need to embrace our faith joyfully by agreeing upon the truths that Scripture clearly teaches (Jesus is truly God manifest in a human body), rather than speculating and conjuring a rationalistic system of theology which can only divide the Church.
To be continued in Part Three
Monday, October 25, 2010
Theology of Predestination
MUSINGS ON THEOLOGY AND PREDESTINATION, PART ONE
Dear Rich,
Recently we had some vigorous exchanges about theology and predestination. Then everything went silent. I thought it would be helpful for me as well as you to record some of my musings on theology and predestination in order to clarify any misunderstandings.
To say that I have not been influenced by others in the formation of my theology would be both dishonest and stupid. I have graduated from Berean Bible School, Wheaton College, Wheaton College Graduate School, Gordon Divinity School (now Gordon Conwell Seminary), Fuller Theological Seminary, and attended Westminster Theological Seminary. I have taught Bible and Theology and studied books to prepare my courses. I have written books on theology. Of course! Others have played their part in shaping my theology, but I am Pennsylvania Dutch and a bit stubborn. I struggle in accepting other people’s thoughts unless I am persuaded by Scripture and I can be very slow in this. I want to submit only to the clear teachings of Scripture. My own theology has been largely shaped over the years through my reading and reading and reading of Scripture. Perhaps that explains in part why I am still in the process of developing a personal understanding of Scripture at the age of 74. It takes a life time to reinvent the wheel.
I notice that Scripture is not a SYSTEMATIC theological treatise. Men have sought to construct a system of theology but I have resisted “systems” of theology from the first day I heard of this in the early 1950s. Of course I must admit that even I have a “system” of theology with a coherent set of beliefs. But I prefer Biblical Theology to Systematic Theology because Scripture is not so clear at certain points. I live with paradoxes and mysteries without feeling a need to develop a tightly reasoned, logically coherent system of theology that makes rational sense but which is based on specious interpretations of Scripture. Where Scripture is not clear, let us accept this lack of clarity instead of foisting our logical clarity on it.
I begin my study of Scripture with total confidence in its absolute authority and inerrancy. Jesus, whom I have accepted as my Lord and Savior, clearly teaches his supreme confidence in the truthfulness, reliability and final authority of Scripture (Mt. 5:17-18; Jh. 17:17). Since he is my Lord, I bow to his wisdom. The apostles also taught the authoritative inspiration of Scripture (II Tim. 3:16).
To be continued in Part Two
Dear Rich,
Recently we had some vigorous exchanges about theology and predestination. Then everything went silent. I thought it would be helpful for me as well as you to record some of my musings on theology and predestination in order to clarify any misunderstandings.
To say that I have not been influenced by others in the formation of my theology would be both dishonest and stupid. I have graduated from Berean Bible School, Wheaton College, Wheaton College Graduate School, Gordon Divinity School (now Gordon Conwell Seminary), Fuller Theological Seminary, and attended Westminster Theological Seminary. I have taught Bible and Theology and studied books to prepare my courses. I have written books on theology. Of course! Others have played their part in shaping my theology, but I am Pennsylvania Dutch and a bit stubborn. I struggle in accepting other people’s thoughts unless I am persuaded by Scripture and I can be very slow in this. I want to submit only to the clear teachings of Scripture. My own theology has been largely shaped over the years through my reading and reading and reading of Scripture. Perhaps that explains in part why I am still in the process of developing a personal understanding of Scripture at the age of 74. It takes a life time to reinvent the wheel.
I notice that Scripture is not a SYSTEMATIC theological treatise. Men have sought to construct a system of theology but I have resisted “systems” of theology from the first day I heard of this in the early 1950s. Of course I must admit that even I have a “system” of theology with a coherent set of beliefs. But I prefer Biblical Theology to Systematic Theology because Scripture is not so clear at certain points. I live with paradoxes and mysteries without feeling a need to develop a tightly reasoned, logically coherent system of theology that makes rational sense but which is based on specious interpretations of Scripture. Where Scripture is not clear, let us accept this lack of clarity instead of foisting our logical clarity on it.
I begin my study of Scripture with total confidence in its absolute authority and inerrancy. Jesus, whom I have accepted as my Lord and Savior, clearly teaches his supreme confidence in the truthfulness, reliability and final authority of Scripture (Mt. 5:17-18; Jh. 17:17). Since he is my Lord, I bow to his wisdom. The apostles also taught the authoritative inspiration of Scripture (II Tim. 3:16).
To be continued in Part Two
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Scott Theological College, a Chartered Private University in Kenya
When rummaging through my old papers I came across this description of Scott Theological College where Flo and I served in Kenya. The big day was the Award-of-Charter Ceremony.
“For me the highlight of the ceremony was the speech read by the Chairman of the Commission for Higher Education, Dr. Davy Koech. I had expected a formal, official recognition that Scott had met the standards of accreditation and was therefore being granted a charter. But he much most sounded as though he was a great supporter and defender of Scott. With the Vice Chancellors (Presidents) of three public universities and two private universities present, he upheld Scott as a model to follow. He extolled the Field Education and Learning Contracts utilized at Scott. He lauded the research sponsored by Scott, including the fifteen year publication of the Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology. He lamented that no African university in Kenya had such a commendable record. He acknowledged that by external appearances and student enrollment Scott did not appear like a university. But he declared that in fact the quality of education was golden at Scott. “All that glitters is not gold,” he said, referring to the large and well endowed universities. He observed that Scott has become the fourth private institution to be chartered and the first evangelical theological college to be chartered. He said that Scott sets the standard and model for other theological colleges to follow. Though Scott has decided to retain the name, Scott Theological Colelge, it is a recognized level institution, chartered under the universities act and offering specialized training in theologifal studies.
What a privilege we had to serve in a quality school like this.
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