One In Jesus

I give myself away, I’m sure, as a mathematician by training. That’s my undergraduate degree, and the emphasis was on theoretical mathematics — the best kind. And so I know that logic and reason necessarily trace back to certain starting assumptions — axioms — that cannot themselves be proven or even tested except for consistency. Continue reading →

www.oliviamooreart.com Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Let’s consider another story. A very true story. It goes like this.

God created the heavens and the earth. He created out of nothing, indeed, solely by and through his Word, his Logos. And he sustains the world and all its elements by the power of his Word. Everything that is is held together by the will of God expressed through the Logos.

Every molecule, every atom, every proton, and every quark vibrates to a melody being played by God. And he made all things good. Continue reading →

Again, not all Enlightenment ideals are false. Some are only partly false. Some are quite true. Some are true but only if understood in a different context.

The natural human tendency is to be overly binary — that is, to create false dichotomies, going to one extreme or the other. And it’s not a helpful way to think about or to discuss worldviews (or anything else, for that matter).

For example, I’m all in favor of reason. Reason is good.  It’s just that reason can only produce true conclusions if it begins with true axioms. If you start with false assumptions, reason will inevitably produce absurdities.

Just so, while I am a man of faith, I’m also a skeptical person. It’s better than being naive or gullible. I just don’t want to be so skeptical that I can only sneer. And one of the failings of Postmodernity is to leave us with nothing but irony and condescension. Continue reading →

So here’s the thing. We’re beginning to — finally! — get comfortable with reading the Bible as narrative.

And we’re beginning to see how the Bible further provides a metanarrative that establishes the worldview and values of the Christian.

I know that’s  a mouthful, but think about it. It’s popular for preachers to condemn the Postmodern worldview from their pulpits. And there is much in Postmodernism that merits condemnation — although, as is nearly always true, there are a few things in Postmodernism that are of value.

Wisdom is knowing the difference. Responsible preaching is bothering to know enough about the topic to discern the good from the bad. (Well, I can wish, can’t I?) Continue reading →

Denouement

• (RP) IPA: /deˈnuːmɑ̃/
• (US) IPA: /deɪnuˈmɑnt/, /deɪnuˈmɑ̃/

“Denouement” is a fancy word for the final conclusion, when the climax comes to final resolution.

In a murder mystery, the climax is the moment the detective solves the mystery, or when he finally figures it out. The denouement is when the bad guy is caught. It’s the end of the story when the loose ends have all been neatly tied up and all that went before finally makes perfect sense.

In the Bible, the denouement is the Second Coming of Jesus. It’s when the wicked are judged and sent to destruction, the redeemed are saved and protected from destruction, and God joins heaven and earth to walk with man once again. Continue reading →

The elements of a good story

Let’s take Adam and Eve, Genesis 2 and 3, as an example of a good story.

Characters

Every writer knows that a good story has to have certain elements. It has to have characters that we understand. It’s even better if we identify with them. If we can understand Adam and Eve, the story is good. If we identify with Adam and Eve — if we see ourselves in them — then it’s an even better story. Continue reading →

We’ve talked about stories and story theory before. I hope this isn’t too repetitive. But I’m increasingly finding how very important story is to Christianity. And I’m hoping maybe to tie a few threads together from prior posts to make a point or two.

It could happen.

We need to make a few things clear as we begin. First, by “story” we don’t mean fiction. There are both true stories and made-up stories. Obviously, when we’re discussing scripture, I have in mind a true story. The word “story” does not imply fiction. (Please don’t make me say it again.)

Second, the Bible is tied together by a big story, a story that is told through a series of smaller stories. Each smaller story is the story of a man’s or woman’s interaction with God. And each smaller story gives us a different perspective on God. Each perspective is true — but each perspective is different. Continue reading →