Sweet Tea & Theology

Santa Nicer Than Jesus?

The last post with quotes from Michael Horton is similar to these below from Dr. Packer.  They both deal with a misunderstanding and even neglect of who God is.  Below Packer points out that the severity of God is passed over in favor of viewing God as only delivering goodness.  In all of the things taught to kids about Santa Claus it all boils down to being good and get something or be bad and get nothing.  Even Santa has standards of “bad” with the standard being a type of moralism.  The “bad” from Santa never really comes since most end up with gifts anyways.  Even in this light it seems as if Jesus is just an eternal nice guy with not much mention of “bad” as entailed in the Santa Claus myth.  So, is Santa nicer than Jesus?  How about the severity of God?

Jesus and Santa Claus

Does evangelicalism have a problem of treating Jesus like He is Santa Claus?  The quote below from Dr. Horton are not addressing this, however, I believe they are applicable to this topic.  In a way, I think Santa Claus gets more respect.  At least with Santa the morality of being good or bad is in view.  Granted, this morality is ultimately about serving self with the consequences being either getting something you want or not.  On the other hand, Jesus is just supposed to give all you want regardless of what God commands in His holiness.

Southern Baptist Pastors: A Must Read Letter

Open Letter to All Pastors of Churches in the SBC

Dear Pastor,

Let me first clarify that this letter is for Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) pastors in general. I am well aware that what you are about to read does not include all pastors - at least not in totality.

…What is really so remarkable about the question of SBC decline is not the decline itself, but rather the simple answer that is so obvious no one will talk about with any seriousness openly in the SBC.

Read the whole thing!

A Healthy View of Church?

“Because people like me come from professional backgrounds, and we want churches that reflect our backgrounds. I don’t want to be opening my home to people. I don’t want to get involved in people’s lives. I don’t want needy people in my church. Before people like me went into Christian ministry, we were lawyers, doctors, businessmen. And when we get involved in ministry we bring those values with us. We want to lead growing churches with professional people, church administrators, healthy budgets. We want church to be a well-run organization with polished presentations.” Chester, Tim, and Steve Timmis. Total Church. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 69.

Reformation Day 2008: Protestant Courage

I remember several years ago while talking to a Roman Catholic about doctrine.  Though she had just left the convent and would no longer be in process to become a nun, she was a devout Roman Catholic as far as I could tell.  She left the convent and married a friend of mine.  We were all having dinner and I don’t quite remember what exactly we were talking about, but I can tell you how the conversation ended.  After a few minutes of dialogue, in her frustration, she finally said, “We’re Catholic, we don’t use the Bible!”

The Visibility of Barack Obama

Dr. Fields

Dr. Bruce L. Fields¹ of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School writes in the latest Themelios Journal² about Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy as it relates to his racial identity and who people actually see.

In his article, Barack Obama: The Quandary of “Selective Invisibility”³ Dr. Fields touches on what is visible about Obama and what needs to be invisible about him and his appeal.

Obama, Abortion and Pay Grades

Christianity Today’s morning article Obama says abortion comment at megachurch forum too flip has some interesting quotes from Obama speaking about his answer to when a baby gets human rights at the Saddleback Forum.  Remember, Obama first said that this question was “above my pay grade.”  One immediate problem with that is many people are voting either for or against him based on this very issue.  And it is clear that he also has an opinion on the issue based on his voting record and his own words.  If he really thought it were above his pay grade he would not have voted and not given a public opinion.  It would have stayed “private” in the same way many politicians claim their faith is private.  Private when it’s convenient, I’d say.

Beckwith The Protestant Roman Catholic

The much awaited book by both Roman Catholics and Protestants is here.  It is none other than former President of the Evangelical Theological Society, Dr. Francis J. Beckwith’s new book Return to Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic.

Quite the title, huh?   This is the reason this book will appeal to both Catholics and Protestants.  We all want to see, “What happened?”  Most likely, Catholics will want to see what they can learn from Beckwith’s journey that will help them evangelize Romanize Protestants.  We Protestants will want to know how to keep such a “return” from happening and address any misunderstandings.

Summarizing the Gospel?

Our friend Andrew has asked a couple of good questions over at StrangeBaptistFire in his post “God loves you and Jesus died for you.” Is this the gospel message we must proclaim? The title of the post is very telling as to what his questions are.

1. “Is the statement, ‘God loves you and Jesus died for you,’ an accurate summary of the gospel?” 2. Given a very brief amount of time to explain the gospel, should we tell non-Christians, ‘God loves you and Jesus died for you’?

Death of the Elephant God

In an effort to explain religious truth a popular fable entitled The Blind Men and the Elephant has been used by various religious leaders. Are all religious truth claims equally valid as this story purports? I think not. And once this elephant dies another must take its place. Here is a modern version from Lillian Quigley’s The Blind Men and the Elephant.

Courage to Be Protestant: Marketing the Gospel

“That is where this gospel really parts company from the way in which products and services are marketed in our modernized world. These products and services are nothing more than products and services. They are simply there for our use. The gospel is not. The gospel calls us not to use it but to submit to the God of the universe through his Son. A methodology for success that circumvents issues of truth is one that will rapidly emancipate itself from biblical Christianity or, to put it differently, will rapidly eviscerate biblical faith.

Worship Your Way

Brother Frank* posted some good thoughts DGM’s interview with Mark Driscoll. I read his post and then a little later read an article from the Boston Globe entitled New approaches to worship emerge. Please be aware that I am in no way affiliating Mark Driscoll to the likes of denomination nor practices listed in the article. Brian McLaren, however, gets an honorable mention.

Read the whole article, but my thoughts lately have been more along the lines of the practice portrayed in the opening paragraph.

End of the Spear preliminary thoughts

There has been talk about the blog-o-sphere concerning the lead character in the new movie End of the Spear. In “real life” the actor who plays this character is a homosexual. I should say their are disagreements over whether or not a homosexual should have played this part.

I just want to ask one question for those supporting a homosexual in this role. How would you feel if your favorite theologian/evangelist (i.e. Luther, Calvin, CH Spurgeon, Edwards, Knox, Wesley, Augustine, etc.) were potrayed in a biographical movie by Hugh Hefner?

Grace No More

In a recent Barna Group article the title One-Quarter of Self-Described Born Again Adults Rely On Means Other Than Grace to Get to Heaven says it all. It’s an interesting read.

The article states

Overall, 80% of adults in the U.S. call themselves “Christian.” In comparison, the phrase “a committed Christian” is embraced by two out of every three adults (68%). The words “born again Christian” are adopted by just less than half of the population (45%).

The McCainian Lutheran Nicene Creed

After reading Steve Hays answer to Paul McCain’s claims about Calvinism I wanted to attempt to apply his Lutheran hermeneutic to the Nicene Creed. It will be the method McCain uses on Calvinism. My attempt below though tongue in cheek may be an interesting read and comparison. Let’s take a look.

We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

Jesus isn’t mentioned off so the first sentence may need revisiting or removing.