Carl Trueman On Bell’s Reference to Luther
“Love Wins” now has a Study Guide
I recently came across an article questioning one particular historical statement which Rob Bell made in his book, Love Wins
The article was written by Carl Trueman and the offending statement is a quote from Martin Luther, which Carl says is taken out of context.
The accusation: Rob is using Luther’s remark to suggest theological ideas which Luther’s context does not entertain or allow. To use Carl’s words…
It is illegitimate to take a small quotation from a single letter and use it to extrapolate to a person’s general theology.
Carl does admit that taking remarks out of context is not an error of grave proportions and he refers to Rob as mischievous not malicious but that begs the question. If he really thinks that, then why would a notable figure such as he give public attention to a trivial issue?
Before I say more you need to know something about Carl. He is a highly qualified individual to be sure. In fact, it is his educational and professional “context” that give us pause. Why would such a highly qualified individual question Rob on an historical issue when the whole world is livid over Rob’s theology? Although qualified to do so, Carl mentions no particular theological topics and humbly bows out deferring to others:
Now, I do not wish to comment on the theology of Bell’s book. Others will no doubt do so with much greater competence and insight than I could ever muster.
False humility? Possibly.
Make no mistake about it, Carl is well informed theologically. If he wanted to speak to these issues he is more than able and since theology is the problem it makes one wonder. There may be motives behind the motive.
Before he actually makes an argument about Rob’s contextual misstep he plainly says:
My interest…is historical and concerns a specific claim he makes relative to the thought of Martin Luther.
I’m not convinced. Read on and you will see that Rob’s remark was not misleading, did not misrepresent Luther’s belief and it didn’t ignore the elephant in the room which Carl’s criticism almost hypocritically does do.
Here’s the scoop on Carl. Read more
Jesus Death: Ugly And Beautiful At Once
Some portions of Scripture are very pleasant to read and very popular.
Who doesn’t like Psalm 23. Even nonreligious people enjoy reading this passage and many can repeat it from memory.
We love to talk about God’s grace and the song “Amazing Grace” is still one of the most popular songs in the world.
We love to talk about the nativity. Pictures have been painted, scenes have been constructed and theatrical productions have been organized all of which depict the beautiful story of Jesus’ birth.
But there are other portions of Scripture we don’t enjoy so much. The last few chapters of each Gospel tell us about the death of Jesus and the reports don’t make very pleasant reading.
When Jesus died it was visually very ugly. His accusers were unfair, unreasonable and manipulative. His executioners were aggressive, violent, abusive and cruel and the Gospel writers recorded all of it in great detail.
The amount of time covered from His arrest to His death was at least fifteen hours, possibly longer, and the humiliation Jesus endured during that time was unspeakable. He was lied about, spit on, whipped, mocked with a crown of thorns and beaten so badly He couldn’t be recognized (Isaiah 52:14). Even His disciples forsook Him.
And because He knew what was coming, just before His arrest He agonized in prayer.
Most people, preferring romance or mystery to gore, shy away from this type of reading. But when it comes to the death of Jesus we should take another look. Read more
Unrestricted Choice? Don’t Kid Yourself!
Filed under: Christian Living, God's Sovereignty, Philosophy
“Choice” has been relevant to every person in every era and is part of everyone’s daily life. You can’t get out of bed in the morning without making choices.
Life’s pathway is not pre-scripted. Moving from start to finish involves many electives and the ultimate outcome for each person is the sum of those choices.
Unfortunately, choice-making isn’t fun and games. The difficulties associated with the exercise was illustrated best in Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech and every major philosopher has added their two cents as well. Clever sayings abound.
Choices are the hinges of destiny.
Attributed to both Edwin Markham and Pythagoras
Hindsight is 20/20
Author unknown.
And choices come in all shapes and sizes: easy, obvious, hard, intentional, blind, well thought out and so on.
You really can’t escape it. You can ignore the issue but that requires a choice, a poor one. You can choose to rely on “chance” or live “under” the circumstances but that is like choosing not to choose.
“Choice” is an essential part of human nature and history shows that it cannot be bound. Humans go places, do things, learn through experience, expand their understanding, overcome obstacles and become things and all of this growth is fueled by choice. One way or another humans will exercise their abilities to choose.
Unquestioned Authority Opposed
“Choice” is the reason the Protestant Reformation came about. People refused to accept what they were told without explanation or obey bastions of authority unquestioningly. Trading reason for blind compliance is a choice human nature doesn’t easily swallow.
During the reformation the idea that authority was right simply because it was authority was rejected. Society came to realize that no one had the right to think, believe or understand for the rest of us and they chose to protest.
Tradition Rejected
The Modernist and Post Modern eras began in the mid 19th century and are characterized by the tendency to question traditional ideas in every form: religious, political, artistic and so on. The individual became more significant and personal taste, feelings, perspectives or inclinations became factors in the choices we made. The democratic approach.
“Individualism,” the antithesis of tradition, moved us away from being critical toward people who make unusual choices. Now we attempt to move traditional boundaries to accommodate those choices.
Tradition as a fixed value was no longer accepted only because “it has always been done that way.” Everything is subject to individual inspection.
The Question
But the question is: just because authority and tradition are no longer seen as guiding lights must all the choices they recommended also be recategorized? Because authority figures couldn’t give reasonable explanations or didn’t allow for individual tastes does that mean the choices they recommended were wrong? Should we throw out the recommended choices or would it be better to vigorously investigate the reasons behind traditional choices? Read more
“Home” In Perspective
Following are a few thoughts I threw together for a group discussion on the topic of the “Home.” The intention was to put this institution in perspective relative to other important institutions. So the discussion began with…
The Home is one of three primary institutions
An institution is any organization or structure in society which influences or regulates human behavior or encourages social interaction. There are two categories: primary and secondary.
Primary Institution
A Primary Institution is an organization that…
- Is designed and created by God
- Derives its authority to exist from God
- Is sustained by God
- Is regulated by God
The three primary institutions are: Read more
“Holy Spirit Experience” Explored
The Holy Spirit receives so much attention these days it sometimes seems He is talked about more than Jesus. A few might think that is OK but I’m not so sure.
If everyone said the same things that would make it easier to accept but they don’t. Very different things are being said and that begs multiple questions.
Why is the Holy Spirit so prominent and how do we explain the divergent, sometimes contradictory, interpretations?
Outside of Jesus, He is the most common topic among Christians and the differing opinions not only confuse they sometimes cause conflict. One person’s ideas are often countered, not with “different” ideas, but with opposing ideas offered in a fractious manner. How do we understand this phenomena?
The one thing most Christians agree on is the Holy Spirit’s place in the Trinity. He is the third person of the Godhead and that, of course, means He is God. He has all the attributes of personality and divinity.
But, that also means we should be careful what we say about Him. Our teaching should be shaped in carefully worded statements all of which are substantiated by biblical reference. Spontaneous gushings, though sincere, may be ill informed.
A Word About Experience
That brings us to a very important topic, “Experience.”
People often base their ideas about the Holy Spirit on a personal experience they believe He caused. The experience becomes the guiding principle for everything they say or believe afterward. It is so paramount in their thinking that the experience is imposed on the Bible rather than the other way around.
That isn’t the way it is supposed to work. But, on the other side of the coin, those who oppose this approach aren’t very helpful. Merely mentioning the word “Experience” sends them into overdrive attempting to deny, not the theological implications, but the possibility that an experience ever occurred.
Dismissing “experiences” out of hand gives no one the right to claim higher intellectual/spiritual ground. Read more
Tim Pepper - Beautiful Frustration