- anabaptism biblical studies blogging blogroll book reviews books brethren in christ Cartoon devotionals discipleship Distractions ecology emergent emerging church environment film health and spirituality history inner metro green interpretation leadership marketing music notes philosophy politics Postchristianity postmodernism productivity religion Science sermons social networking society software spiritual discipline stations of the cross Story technology theology theology in film Tutorial Unitarian Universalism video world religion
Posts Tagged: history
November 2, 2009
Six Good Reasons to Question Church Tradition
The Copernican Revolution
The Christian Church has passed along a lot great things via tradition, but has it passed along enough greatness to be given a complete and unexamined pass on everything it cites as tradition? I would hope not. I believe in a Christian maturity that celebrates the best of the tradition while the worst of the tradition is simultaneously recognized and acknowledged for what it really is – utterly fallible. Read more…
October 26, 2009
The Christian Reformation’s Four Soteriological Groups
Pelagius Art
The age-old question concerning how individuals are actually reconciled with God haunted Martin Luther during his formative years as a Christian until he finally and stubbornly submitted to grace. Grace, he finally realized, was the only answer for his deeply theological question.
Justification by faith in this grace was the sole bridge uniting an unrighteous and estranged humanity to an all righteous and holy God, at least for Martin Luther, who was merely the catalyst of some small movement presently referred to as the Protestant reformation. His was a theology founded upon faith; in other words, a supernatural intervention by God would be required if an individual would be justified – or ’saved’ – from eternal punishment. This intervention was made tangible for the whole world in the Gospel (i.e., the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ). The salvific aspect of Luther’s soteriology was accomplished in Christ; the life of discipleship still exists in the present/future life of the Christian, and subsequently requires work. This is Luther’s understanding of Soteriology. His position was a new one, at least for the time. Not all were in agreement with him. In fact, there were four soteriological camps to which a good Christian could align, and all claimed to be representative of the correct Augustinian interpretation of the doctrine. These four groups can be referred to as Augustinian, Pelagian, Lutheran, and the “Orthodox” (i.e., Catholic Church’s official position). Read more…
June 7, 2009
Servetus Letter to the Geneva Council
Religious freedom and free religious expression are very good things. The Separation of Church and State, or more specifically, the separation of blind dogmatic zeal from an all powerful and unyielding state, is a very, very good thing too. These freedoms should be extended to all religions and all expressions. Yes! All of them! For when these freedoms are afforded to only one, at the expense of the other, and that expense is also policed and enforced by the State, then human tragedy manifests and our consequent actions reduce us to hypocrites. We all fall from grace. We all deny our faith. We all turn our backs on God, while we celebrate theocracy, in God’s name. Read more…
March 20, 2009
Empire Tools & The Great Subjugation
This is a two-part series post: 1. ) Empire Tools and The Great Subjugation Part One; 2.) Empire Tools and The Great Subjugation Part Two.
Early medieval Christianization mimicked the methodology and philosophy of empire expansion more than the evangelistic processes of the early or primitive church. Christianity had been thoroughly absorbed into Rome and mirrored almost all of its ethnocentric prejudices by 500 C.E. The 600’s saw an almost complete superimposition of a curiously familiar sociopolitical philosophy and procedure over religious ideology, duty, and mission. The result was a systemic sort of Christianization, rather than compassion and kingdom-driven proclamation. Governmental approved belief and creedal perfection replaced the original movement toward diverse unification and care for the needs and souls of neighbors. The Church became a new kingdom cut from a worn empire’s cloth. Read more…
Empire Tools & The Great Subjugation
This is a two-part series post: 1. ) Empire Tools and The Great Subjugation Part One; 2.) Empire Tools and The Great Subjugation Part Two.
Some of the most vivid examples of religion perpetuating empire can be found in the historic documentation concerning the Christian emperor Charlemagne and the conquest of the Saxons. Christian conversion – if the following documents are accurate representations of historic events – was not encouraged during the early medieval period, but rather forced upon a subjugated people. Read more…