The Prime Church, the Bride of Christ

The first scriptural analogy of the Church that we will address is the comparison of the Church to a bride, and Christ to a bridegroom:

Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, so that he may present the church to himself as glorious– not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless... For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is great– but I am actually speaking with reference to Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25-27,31-32).

As I mentioned in the introductory posting, each of the analogies applied to the church in Scripture speaks at two levels: the conceptual unity of the universal church and the practical outworking of this unity in the local church, the latter flowing from the former. This first analogy of a bride lays the foundation for Christian unity (both in principle and practice): realizing our unity with God. Human sin nature desires nothing but rebellion. The grace of God alone unifies the sinner with the Savior and enables us to practice unity with others. If we ever hope to be a truly Prime Church, it is essential that we grasp (or at the very least appreciate more fully than we do currently) this bride/bridegroom imagery.

But the analogy of marriage no longer carries the weight today that it did in the original context. Today society perverts marriage into something purely romantic, and therefore fleeting and temporary. Don't misunderstand, romance plays a vital role in marriage, but a marriage founded solely on emotional feeling destines itself to crumble. If we interpret the analogy as romantic, then we misinterpret the message of the text. When Paul uses this imagery in Ephesians, he does so in the context of mutual, joyful submission and obedience to one another (see the introduction to this section in 5:15-21). The commitment holds the relationship together. We have no hope of grasping the importance of this marriage imagery as long as we continue to immerse ourselves in the mindset of a culture that has a warped view of the role God intended marriage to play. So, in order to fully understand this analogy, we must separate ourselves from the culture around us and explore the original context of the message: the marriage tradition of the first-century Jews.

Much of what is discussed here was first raised to my attention in a sermon by Brian Fisher, of Grace Bible Church in College Station, TX, entitled "The Church: Bride of Jesus Christ." I highly recommend you take some time to listen to this sermon. It traces the bride/bridegroom analogy beyond these few verses in Ephesians, identifying passages throughout the entire Bible that enlighten us to the commitment of God for His people and for His bride.

The Shiddukhim (or the Match) begins the marriage process. This was a responsibility belonging to the father of the groom, and it portrays God the Father as the initiator of the union process, not us. As much control as we like to think we have over our lives, especially when it comes to choosing who we will marry, we must realize that in our relationship with God He initiates and we respond. God chose us as a match for Himself while we still openly rebelled against Him. Despite our rebellion, God reaches out to humanity with grace and asks us to respond in faith. Grace lays the foundation for any hope of unity.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you (John 15:16).

The Mohar (or the Bride Price) follows the Match. The Father of the groom gave the Mohar to the family of the bride as a statement of the bride’s worth. How much worth do you think you have in the eyes of God? God pays the ultimate price for unity with His bride, giving His one and only Son on the cross. God not only chose us while we rebelled against Him, but He loved us to the point of crucifying His Son to establish a relationship with us. As a pastor of mine would say "Grace is free, but it is not cheap. It is exceedingly expensive." God acts to redeem despite the cost of grace. If we can come to a greater appreciation of this sacrifice on our behalf, we will naturally respond through sacrificing our own lives for others, setting aside our own desires for the betterment of the community, no matter the cost.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed– not by perishable things like silver or gold, but by precious blood like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb, namely Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son (Acts 20:28).

The Ketubah (or the Marriage Contract) would be agreed upon by the families once the bride price was paid. They would then seal the agreement with a drink of wine. Jesus broke bread, blessed the cup and drank it at the last supper. Just as we see this marriage imagery providing a deep and rich metaphor for the believer’s relationship with God, the Jewish Passover tradition contains a wealth of symbolism that Christ used to teach His disciples in their final moments together (for more on Passover tradition, visit www.chosenpeople.org, or listen to the sermon "The Messiah and the Passover," given by Mitch Glaser).

And after taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, from now on I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom" (Matthew 26:27-29).

The bread (or afikomen) taken during the meal was actually in three separate pieces. One piece represented the people, one piece God, and the piece taken between them represented the priest. The tradition calls for the breaking of this middle piece. When Jesus breaks the bread, He asserts His role as our intermediary priest, between us and God, His body broken on our behalf. In a similar fashion, the wine was actually five different representative cups taken throughout the Passover. The third cup of wine, known as the cup of redemption, would be presented after the meal. It served as a reminder of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. This cup Jesus takes and calls His blood. He declares that the blood of His body, the blood of the Passover lamb, will alone atone for sins and save from death.

The Mattan (or the Love Gifts) were voluntary gifts the couple gave to each other beyond the legal aspects of the bride price and the marriage contract. The love gifts given from the groom to the bride specifically reflect the love that God voluntarily gives to us. Beyond the gift of grace, as if it weren’t enough, God continues to bestow blessing on us. This blessing may not always come in the form of material wealth or worldly affluence, as we so often hear in the popular prosperity gospel preaching of today, but it most certainly comes. The following scripture quotation is long, but worth contemplating in its entirety. In fact I would recommend reading the remainder of Ezekiel 16 that follows this quotation to see how we take gifts given to us by God and pervert them to further our own selfish desires.. much like we have done with the gift of marriage.

"Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing that you had reached the age for love. I spread my cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you," declares the sovereign LORD, "and you became mine. Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with fragrant oil. I dressed you in embroidered clothing and put fine leather sandals on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained the position of royalty. Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty; your beauty was perfect because of the splendor which I bestowed on you," declares the sovereign LORD (Ezekiel 16:8-14).

The Shiluhim (or the Dowry), in addition to the love gifts, were gifts given by the father of the bride to His daughter. Any earthly analogy we use in trying to understand the intricacies of God 's operation, especially in developing relationships with humanity, falls apart at some point. In the analogy, God must fill the role of both the Father of the bride as well as the groom. Think of it this way: He continues to bestow blessing on us from every possible angle. If only we could concern ourselves with the work of blessing others spiritually from every side, then we would no longer need to preach unity.

I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence. Through these things he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire (2 Peter 1:3-4).

The Kiddushin (or the Betrothal) is the period that begins after the Ketubah. During this time the couple is legally married but there exists a period of separation between them. The bride and groom are set apart with undistracted devotion to one another, living in constant anticipation of their union. We need to live with this anticipation for the return of Christ. We need to look forward to the Nissuin (or the Marriage) and to the future celebration we will experience upon the return of the bridegroom. The quarrels between us today come to nothing in light of our future hope and glory.

There are many dwelling places in my Father's house. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going away to make ready a place for you. And if I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be too (John 14:2-3).

You people of this generation, listen to what the LORD says. "Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel? Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? Why then do you say, 'We are free to wander. We will not come to you any more?' Does a young woman forget to put on her jewels? Does a bride forget to put on her bridal attire? But my people have forgotten me for more days than can even be counted (Jeremiah 2:31-32).

You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but rather, 'I have been sent before him.' The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly when he hears the bridegroom's voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete (John 3:28-29).

Let us rejoice and exult and give him glory, because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready (Revelation 19:7).

There is sooooooo much more that could be said for the bride/bridegroom analogy. It presents such a rich metaphor for God's desire and love for His church. What I hope I have presented here is simply the fact that before we can ever experience unity with each other, we must first realize our complete unity with Christ, both now and forever. Unity with God enables us to practice unity with others. Grace revitalizes our sinful hearts and enables us to live life with hope, expectantly awaiting the return of Christ.

The Prime Church, an Introduction

Our pastor recently started a three week sermon series on the church, with each week dedicated to one of the three major analogies of the church found in scripture: the church as a building, a body, and a bride. Last semester, my main article for a Christian Journalism class was entitled "The Prime Church" and it dealt with these same three analogies. While the article focused more on the unity of the universal church, the sermon series has been geared toward involvement in the local church, and I really see the latter as a natural outworking of the former. I thought this might present an excellent opportunity to reevaluate the components of my article and synthesize them with the message of each sermon, evaluating how we 'do church' at both the local and universal level.

First, a brief explanation of the title "The Prime Church." This was my attempt at a creative play on words, influenced in large part by my background in mathematics. The title basically combines these two definitions of 'prime':

Prime \ˈprīm\ adjective

1. First in excellence, quality, or value.
2. (mathematics) Having no integral factors except itself and unity (1 in the case of integers).

In other words, a church of the highest quality is a church that is indivisible.

Yet today, thousands of different denominations practice Christianity worldwide. The authority of Christ’s teaching doesn't seem as important as our supreme right of choice. In essence, we have Americanized the church by elevating the democratic rights of the individual over the biblical mandate for a unified community. As the world looks on we argue, split churches, and condemn our fellow brothers and sisters simply because they are not of our denomination. How do these actions evidence Christ and His love to the world? If Christians can't even agree on what they believe, or what they practice, then why should anybody else want to believe it?

Over the next three blog posts, I would like to examine these three scriptural analogies of the church (the church as a bride, and Christ the bridegroom; the church as a building, and Christ the cornerstone; the Church as a body, and Christ the head), determining what insight each specific comparison can offer to a prime church.

My approach will be to explain the context from which Paul (through the super intention of the Holy Spirit) developed these metaphors. I believe that the major reason why we as Christians can read through these texts over and over again without really putting them into practice is because when it comes down to it, culturally speaking, we just don't understand the analogies anymore. We can read 'the church is a bride,' but if our culture doesn't practice the biblical model of a marriage of mutual, joyful submission, then we can't gain any benefit from this comparison that we can apply to how we 'do church.' Similarly, misunderstanding the purpose and function of the body, and even (as I'll argue) misunderstanding what it means to be built together into a single building, warps our interpretations of scripture and does nothing to change the state of the church today.

We need to return to the intended meaning of the text. When we do, we will see the clarity and the practicality of Paul's message: We need to realize our unity with God, appreciate our unified heritage as believers, and practice unity with each other, for the sake of Christ.

I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me (John 17:20-23).

An End to the Means

This discussion is a continuation and explanation of a comment made in a previous posting:

In fact, a thriving, distinctively Christian, life of the mind necessitates a proper eschatological focus. This point deserves much greater treatment, and for the sake of space this will be reserved for a future blog posting. Get your popcorn ready.

Well, is your popcorn ready? I'll wait... ready now? Great.

What I mean by "a thriving, distinctively Christian, life of the mind necessitates a proper eschatological focus," is that we can accomplish productive ministry to the world around us only when our motivation focuses on the promise of the future coming kingdom of Christ. A distinctively Christian ministry has at its core not only the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ in His first coming, but also (and just as importantly) the return of Christ in glory. As we attempt to make vital connections to the world around us, thoroughly embracing a proper emphasis on the second coming of Christ will have a radical affect on a world that has no end in sight.

This world stands condemned through sin, yet despite its condemnation, the world operates as though it can save itself through progress. Constantly improving, growing, expanding, advancing. Progress used to be a means to an end, a necessity to solve a problem. While that remains partly true today, most progress is attempted simply for the sake of progress, means for the sake of means, with a nonexistent end point.

The Christian however knows the end the world works towards: the coming kingdom and rule of Jesus Christ. This offers Christians something unique from the world: an assessment by which to judge progress. In light of this glorious end point, and this alone, should we evaluate any attempts at advancing progress in a distinctly Christian manner. For example, should the church begin using contemporary music in the worship service because that is the style of music people listen to now, or because it furthers the name of Jesus of Christ and brings us closer to His return? Or should the church install a coffee bar because the church down the street installed one and we must remain competitive, or because it loves people in a way that reflects and points to the establishment of Christ's authority? Are we aiming for numbers in church attendance or numbers in kingdom attendance?

The answers to these questions may very well be "both." God can certainly use our false motivations to still further His name and His kingdom, but the point of this posting is not to question the resulting outcomes, but rather the motivation itself. With God in control of the results, undoubtedly they will be distinctly Christian. My hope is that our motivations for decision making, our analysis for problem solving, would align with the future results God operates towards and thereby be distinctively Christian.

Progressing simply for the sake of keeping up with the progress around us offers people nothing different from what they can find in the world. The gospel becomes commonplace, just another product trying to compete for attention, instead of something that can radically transform lives. We are in this world, but we are not of it. In order to have meaningful contact in ministry, the gospel has to be lived out in way revolutionary to the world’s standards.

Please hear what I am not saying. I am not saying that ministry should be accomplished by offering people the knowledge of the end as if it was something we could set a date for. Much detriment has been done to this concept of 'looking forward to the future in order to be properly involved in the present' by those who try to predict the ending of the world and motivate people through a false gospel of fear of dread.

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone... For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will" (Matthew 24:36,44).

Though we cannot state with certainty the timing of Christ's return, we can state with certainty the nature of His return, and that should influence us to preach, teach, and live out in the present a hope both true and eternal.

For further reading on this matter I recommend The Presence of the Kingdom by Jacques Ellul. Many of the opinions I have expressed here were heavily influenced by this book.

Perhaps a fuller treatment of this work will be presented in a future posting.

Perhaps.

For now, I hope that you have at least begun to question what motivates you to minister to a lost and broken world, and to consider how knowing the ultimate end that the world is working towards should influence the means by which we communicate the gospel.

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne" (Matthew 25:31).

Check out The Presence of the Kingdom on Amazon

Mercy Triumph

Lyrics taken from "Mercy Triumph"
by Josh Garrels,
on the album Underquiet.




Lord I’ve still got questions

can anything be everything if everything is hollow? or does living has a reason that’s put off until tomorrow?

and now I’m riding round the bends to the bones of the morrow finding sorrow with the joy like the boy who’s been beat slashed torn and warned not to tell the truth and now my soul’s informed and I’m putting it to use, let’s defuse, I wanna defuse the humanistic time bomb compromising truth

buried alive in their scientific proofs

uncouth evolving sayers of sooth have lost their curriculum agenda and proof

for the Love that’s livin’ in me

and for the dreams that nobody sees

and for the broken soul on bended knee

and the God that’s gonna answer him powerfully

you see, you and me, we don’t amount to much

self-centered intellect’s not a power but a crutch,

losin’ touch with God’s reality, takin’ comfort in philosophies, thinkin’ it’s a speciality, sometimes fatality

who’s next on the docket?

have mercy on me

cause I believe He’s the One, the Son, who’s come to set us all free

Show of Faith

This was the title of an interesting segment on NBC Nightly News from June 23, 2008. Video Courtesy of NBC.

While there have been numerous news segments to survey and comment on the religiosity of Americans, this one stood out to me because of one sentence by Rev. Eugene Rivers (emphasis added):

In some cases, because the American public is not terribly theologically literate, they hold contradictory views because they haven't thought deeply, or been taught deeply, about their faith tradition.

I just thought what a perfect way to summarize that state of faith in our country. We need better thinking. We need better teaching.

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. By Mark Noll. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1994. ix + 274 pp.

"'Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, 'The most important is: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength'" (Mark 12:28-30).

Jesus quotes this passage from Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Commonly referred to as the Shema, named after the first word שְׁמַע meaning "hear," this commandment is the very heart of Jewish confession and faith. Love, in this context, means more than simply an emotional affection, it refers to an expression of covenant-based life commitment and devotion. When you read this passage, which action do you tend to gravitate towards? Do you focus on genuine affections for God flowing from the seat of your heart, dedicating the entirety of your being found in your soul, serving faithfully with your bodily strength, or making conscious effort for the deep intellectual pursuits of the mind? If you are an evangelical like me, then the sad truth which Mark Noll examines is that while we succeed in exploring and developing the life of the heart, soul, and body, we tend to ignore giving much consideration to the ability of the mind.

The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind (p.3).

As modern evangelicals, we are the product of our past; a past birthed in the revivalism of the mid eighteenth-century and decorated throughout history as primarily an affectional movement. Within this tradition there has existed a dualistic tendency to label a cultivated mind as a hindrance to a heart of faith. The scandalous aspect is that by definition we evangelicals are a community devoted to the Word of God (which reveals Him as the author of nature, as the sustainer of human institutions, and as the source of harmony, creativity, and beauty) and the passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ, yet we have largely neglected intellectual reflection upon the outworking of God's revelation in nature and society. This has lead to a decline in distinctively evangelical critical thinking, and an illness upon the life of the mind. As Noll states the problem:

By "the mind" or "the life of the mind," I am not thinking primarily of theology [or biblical scholarship] as such... I mean more the effort to think like a Christian – to think within a specifically Christian framework – across the whole spectrum of modern learning... but the point is not simply whether evangelicals can learn how to succeed in the modern academy. The much more important matter is what it means to think like a Christian about the nature and workings of the physical world, the character of human social structures like government and the economy, the meaning of the past, the nature of artistic creation, and the circumstances attending our perception of the world outside ourselves. Failure to exercise the mind for Christ in these areas has become acute in the twentieth-century. That failure is the scandal of the evangelical mind (p.6-7).

As a thoroughly trained historian, the overall outline of Noll's work is to handle key moments on the evangelical time line, offering evidence of their impact on evangelicalism and its approach of intellectual pursuits, as well as insight as to how history develops, constantly building on the past and compounding the issues of previous generations, ultimately elucidating why recent evangelicalism finds itself so culturally disinterested.

{Aside}

I must disagree with Noll's analysis on one point: the rise of dispensationalism and its eschatological focus as a major detriment to the evangelical mind at the turn of the twentieth-century. Just as Noll argues that it is not the canons of evangelicalism themselves that have lead to the scandal of the mind, but rather the misapplication of these canons, I would argue that it is not dispensationalism itself that deters Christian intellectualism, but rather a dispensationalism misapplied. In fact, a thriving, distinctively Christian, life of the mind necessitates a proper eschatological focus.

This point deserves much greater treatment, and for the sake of space this will be reserved for a future blog posting. Get your popcorn ready.

Returning to the topic at hand...

Though dedicated largely to a treatment of historical trends and results, particularly focusing on the arenas of science and politics, Noll concludes his sobering presentation of the scandal with a message of hope. The strength of his argument lies in the demonstration of how a focus on the matters of the intellect is not in contradiction with spiritual concerns, but rather it flows from them. The canons that define us as evangelicals, and which have seemingly driven us in a direction against scholarly endeavorer, in actuality form the very remedy which, when applied properly, can steer us back on course.

There exists a scandal greater than the scandal of the evangelical mind and that is the scandal of the cross. As argued, a dedication to the development of the life of the mind is in reality a biblical mandate. Our evangelical dedication to Scripture and unyielding faith in the teachings, actions, and person of Christ, serves as the source from which a distinctly Christian mind can develop. We must take caution, however, in our treatment of the text and the applications we draw from it concerning the life of the mind. For example, when Paul states in Philippians 4:8 "whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things," we need not treat 'these things' as applying to a Christianity in isolation from the culture around it, but rather 'these things' as applying to elements within the culture, in and of themselves created good in the eyes of God, that yearn for Christian involvement and direction to foster proper, God-glorifying, societal development.

The answers to the questions and problems facing Western civilization will come from somewhere. The center of developing such answers to the problems of family and social structures, the problems of economics and politics, and even the problems of the church can be found in our intellectual institutions. The evangelical contribution to these institutions has been largely absent, vacating these arenas to the enemy in favor of 'practical ministry.'

Who among the evangelicals can stand up to the great secular or naturalistic or atheistic scholars on their own terms of scholarship and research? Who among the evangelical scholars is quoted as a normative source by the greatest secular authorities on history or philosophy or psychology or sociology or politics? Does your mode of thinking have the slightest chance of becoming the dominant mode of thinking in the great universities of Europe and America which stamp your entire civilization with their own spirit and ideas? (p.26, as quoted from Charles Malik, The Two Tasks, (Westchester, IL: Cornerstone, 1980), 29-34).

By the end of Noll’s work evangelicals can agree that our responses to society must be improved intellectually. Offering a quotation from scripture or the encouragement of faith as a cure to a societal ill does far less good than spending time in meaningful contemplation of the scriptures, as well as God’s involvement in His creation, and applying that to our everyday work and thought.

This is admittedly a thin line to tread, emphasizing a need for cultural involvement but not to the detriment of heavenly contemplation, and Noll is to be commended for articulating his argument so clearly. I have presented my best attempt at a concise summary of the work (with my own interjections on the subject included as well) but any treatment of such a topic as this in a forum as limited as a blog can never be complete. If I have assumed to much on the part of reader or if I have misspoken in any way, I apologize and I encourage your comments and emails on the matter.

In closing, I leave you with Noll's concluding remarks, as well as a directive from Scripture on which I pray you meditate and contemplate the dedication of your mind for the service and glory of Christ.

To think like a Christian is… to take seriously the sovereignty of God over the world He created, the lordship of Christ over the world He died to redeem, and the power of the Holy Spirit over the world He sustains each and every moment (p. 253).

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice - alive, holy, and pleasing to God - which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God - what is good and well-pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:1-2).

Check out The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind on Amazon

About Mark Noll

Ladies and gentlemen, please direct your attention to the playing field for the ceremonial first post

Greetings, and welcome to my blog. To use the popular knife analogy, some people enjoy living on the cutting edge of technology. I prefer to locate on the flat, dull side with all the left over crusty food stuffs from the night before when the dishes were simply left unwashed in the sink. Only recently did I purchase an i-pod for my wife's birthday, we still haven't gotten on board with the whole DVR thing, and since when did mix tapes go out of style? But writing has always been a passion of mine and this blog will hopefully provide a good forum to hone those skills and also stimulate some much needed (in my opinion) theological conversation. So crusty food stuffs away!


The Purpose of this Blog

For those of you who don't recognize it, the title of this blog, "The Dude Abides," comes from the closing line of the movie The Big Lebowski. Nothing particularly edifying stands out in this movie and I definitely do not recommend it as family viewing, but nevertheless it remains one of my favorites from my earlier (i.e. pre-Christ) days. That last line had always stuck with me as just a cool saying but it soon transformed into a quasi life statement based on the words of Jesus in John 15. The evangelist uses the Greek word μενω (translated to remain, stay, or abide) eleven times in this chapter alone. Stated simply: abiding in Christ is the distinctive marker of a Christian.

This brings me to a brief explanation of the subtitle of this blog, "Distinctive Christianity." By in large in the church today as long as you talk about God it doesn't matter what you distinctively believe or conceive about Him, all that matters is that you know the right Christian code words and when to use them. The purpose of this blog is to bring into question some of the language and conceptions that we as Christians have of God so that during each moment of our daily lives we can stop and ask ourselves "Do my thoughts/words/actions/affections accurately reflect a distinctively Christian biblical theology?"


What You can Expect to see Here

On this blog you'll find excerpts from papers I have written (or hope to write someday), fascinating quotes from books I have read or movies that I have seen, worshipful lyrics from old hymns as well as contemporary music, and my overall thoughts and contemplations about life, theology, teaching, mathematics, and the Atlanta Braves. Perhaps I forgot to mention up until this point that I am huge (and by huge I mean HUGE) Atlanta Braves fan. Now that you know you can prepare for random references such as "By the beard of Smoltz!" (to be read in the manner of Will Ferrell as Ron Burgandy in Anchor Man: "By the beard of Zeus!"). I hope that you will find this material intellectually stimulating but also entertaining. I always welcome comments and interactions, and I look forward to some great conversations in the coming years.


My Prayer for You the Reader

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11)