Discuss Theology

Only 9 % of evangelicals and charismatics pray and read the Bible between Sundays, according to a Barna survey.

I am somewhat stunned that more has not been discussed about Wright’s statement concerning Jesus ignorance of his own Deity.  To find it in a letter to an editor in Christianity Today is disturbing at best and a much broader statement about where we are in theology in the church today.

Mid-December 2006, letters to the editor of Christianity Today highlighted something for me  that to  this point was unknown about Wright. Randy Newman of Christian Leadership Ministries’ Academic Initiative wrote of his disappointment with James Sires’ review of Wright’s book “Simply Christian”.  Newman’s main criticism was aimed at page 119 where he addresses Wright’s statement, “I do not think Jesus knew he was divine..in the same way that we know we are cold or hot, happy or sad, male or female.”

Wow, that says it all doesn’t it.

Paul Johnson writes that the last official spanish execution for heresy was in 1826. Johnson writes, “a schoolmaster was hanged for substituting ‘Praise be to God’ in place of ‘Ave Maria’ in school prayers”. Wow, now there is the love of Christ in action.

I am in the middle of Paul Johnson’s church history book.  He writes the following about Luther:

“Luther was not so much an intellect as a great force-a great spiritual force, in fact.  Perhaps the most striking thing about him was his power of prayer…..He liked to spend three hours a day at prayer”…Oh to be man or woman of God known 600 years afterward as a person of prayer.

I remember speaking with a German friend in seminary in the early 1970′s.  We agreed that there was a Dietrich Bonhoeffer cult in seminaries at that time.  In many ways, rightly so.  After all, Bonhoeffer was a martyr– a man worthy of respect, emulation and high regard.  N. T. Wright represents the contemporary example of this in some ways.  There are two differences however: 1.Wright is still alive and  not a martyr 2.History has not passed its verdict on Wright [and his thinking] yet as it has done with Bonhoeffer.  As I write this though, it is somewhat surprising to see that good evangelical seminaries are so quickly jumping into the parade to follow the Wright band wagon.  No question, Wright is a giant.  He is the contemporary theological Bonhoeffer–whether this is right or wrong depends on ones perspective of the parade.

It seems that both within and without the church there is an unprecedented attack on the Trinity.  This is an unmitigated attack against God himself.  We tiptoe around Islamic religious requests.  I dare say that Saudi Arabia would not be nearly so accomodating as our formerly Trinitarian western nations are being toward the followers of Mohammed.  It is like a giant spiritual football game where we are losing monstrous amounts of ground.  I appreciate Franklin Graham, he will call it like it is.

Karl Barth, Martin Luther, Oscar Cullmann and Francis Schaeffer possessed a similar teaching trait which contributed to their unusual historical teaching and theological influence.  They all spent extraordinary amounts of time with their students outside of class.

This is an important question for the dems to answer.  The Scripture says that it is not from the east or west but the it is Lord who raises up one and puts down another.

“I think I am going to die.” That is the phrase from a loyal follower of Jesus, 27 years old, and totally turned off by church. This saint has preached the gospel all over the world, leads a Bible school and loves Jesus . She loves the church universal but is fed up with bogus theology, shabby homework and boring presentation from the pulpit. I am pushing 56 years old and I hurt for the generation following us. If we do not give them something worth going to now, they will not be around later. Spectator church is something of the past–either we get the message or the church in the west has no future. George Barna in the the book, “Revolution” had it right but the evangelical mafia has not wanted to accept his statements. Barna said, this really is the way things are whether we want to accept it or not.