Theology

Book Review of N.T. Wright’s The Day the Revolution Began

February 2, 2017 by wagraham 10 Comments

Wright, N. T. The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus’s Crucifixion. New York: HarperOne, 2016. Pp. viii + 440. ISBN: 978-0-06-233438-1. $35.99 CAN [Hardcover]. Source for Book Cover.

In The Day the Revolution Began, N. T. Wright challenges Protestantism’s theology of cross and replaces it with something else. That something else involves Jesus taking up the vocation of Israel to act as image-bearers and as worshippers of God. It also includes the forgiveness of sins, which brings freedom from the curse of the Torah (exile) and from the power of sin.

In my estimation, The Day the Revolution Began recalibrates a partially misaligned theology of the cross with something that creates more problems rather than less. Wright correctly sees the cross as part of a grand scheme of redemption that includes the story of Israel but wrongly rejects penal substitution, which is vital to that story. [Read more…] about Book Review of N.T. Wright’s The Day the Revolution Began

What Is the Day of the Lord?

February 1, 2017 by wagraham Leave a Comment

The Day of the Lord is a major theme in the Old and New Testaments, and it appears in contexts of judgment. The phrase itself pops up mainly in the prophets of the Old Testament (Is 13:6, 9; 58:13; Jer 46:10; Ezek 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18, 20; Obad 1:15; Zeph 1:7–8, 14; Mal 4:5) but also with some frequency in the New Testament (Acts 2:20; 1 Cor 5:5; 1 Th 5:2; 2 Th 2:2; 2 Pet 3:10).

The Day of the Lord is not something to look forward to. In fact, Amos warns those in his day of hoping in it because they thought God’s judgment would only affect other people, not them!

Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? (Amos 5:18–20).

So why in the world does the Bible talk about the day of the Lord (DOL) and why should we care about it? I can give you at least three reasons. [Read more…] about What Is the Day of the Lord?

Idolatry, the Image of God, and the Image of Christ

January 26, 2017 by wagraham 1 Comment

Christianity forbids the use of idols, or objects that represent God as a form of worship. Probably the most famous place where Idolatry is forbidden is in Ten Commandments:

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exod 20:4–6)

God commands his people not to make images (even of the true God!) and worship them, because God is a jealous God. Probably the jealousy of God here refers to his exclusive desire to be worshipped. The simple truth here is that God prohibits idolatry because he alone ought to be worshipped, but Exodus 20 does not fill in the blanks as to why God forbids it as such.

The ideas of idolatry and image-bearing in the Bible, however, provide one helpful insight into why God forbids making images and worshipping them. By identifying how image bearing relates to idolatry, we are actually freed up to understand our life’s purpose with sharper focus.

Wisdom as Medicine

January 23, 2017 by wagraham Leave a Comment

The body and spirit are interconnected. If one suffers, so does other. When we experience disappointment, we immediately feel tired and un-motivated. At other times we hear news of horrible loss, and the pain of that loss digs deep into our bones. Spiritual pain seeps into marrow, and the body aches.

The opposite is also true. Bodily harm drains the spirit of vitality. Anyone who has lost the use of their limbs will experience a dark night of the soul. The loss of a part of the body is a loss of a part of the soul.

The ancients made a stark separation between the body and soul, or spirit. The former is bad, something to be overcome. The latter is better, a more virtuous part of humanity. This led to kind of dualism that damaged the spirit. Although an embodied activity, sleep is spiritual. Getting a good night of sleep is a spiritual venture. Lacking sleep ignites the spirit into bitterness and lethargy.

And these obvious-after-spoken truths have been observed for thousands of years. One of the oldest sages in history has laid down a path of spiritual wisdom, which is described as medicine for body. Wisdom is medicine for a physical body, and the Proverbs prescribe forms of medicinal wisdom for a number of ails. [Read more…] about Wisdom as Medicine

Regret, Memory, Conscience, and God

January 20, 2017 by wagraham 1 Comment

Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

– David

Regret over past evils can destroy a person’s psyche. The narrative that a person spins in his or her head, recounting past wrongs and accusing oneself in the present threatens to unravel a person’s sanity. This is because humans are their own worst critics. Or, to be more accurate, humans who have met the divine, who have compared their thoughts and actions against a standard of perfection are their own worst critics. [Read more…] about Regret, Memory, Conscience, and God

TGC Canada Podcast

January 9, 2017 by wagraham Leave a Comment

TGC Canada has launched a weekly podcast, which will aim to encourage Canadians in Gospel-centered ways (and anyone who listens). In TGC Canada’s inaugural episode, pastors John Mahaffey and Paul Martin discuss why we need a Gospel Coalition in Canada. Click below to listen: