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McLaren and the Homosexual Issue: Driscoll Rants

link

Commentary and discussion aplenty on this one. For those overheated and wanting a bit of perspective, read the Godfather's good words (thanks as always Andrew); the comments at Steve's digs; and Bob's open letter to Mark.

UPDATE: McLaren responds // Jan. 30

Technorati Tags: BrianMcLaren, MarkDriscoll

Karl Barth Audio

Karl Barth, who learned to speak english later in his life by reading novels, made one trip to the United States in 1962. The lectures he delivered upon this visit were compiled in a short volume, Evangelical Theology: An Introduction. In his introduction to the German edition of this book, Barth wrote:

I hope none of those who find the volumes of the Church Dogmatics too thick will complain about the energetic brevity with which I express myself here. Since I could not very well announce "Dogmatics" as a lecture topic for but one hour each week, I chose to use the opportunity of this swan song for another purpose. I wanted to render a short account to myself and my contemporaries of what, up to now, I have basically sought, learned, and represented from among all the paths and detours in the field of evangelical theology during my five years as a student, twelve years as a preacher, and subsequent forty years as a professor. Perhaps I also had the secondary intention of offering to the present-day younger generation a survey of an alternative to the mixophilosophicotheologia (a word coined by Abraham Calov in days long past!)-- to the mixture of philosophy and theology which, at present, seems to make such a tremendous impression upon many as the newest thing under the sun. I did not wish to do this in the form of a further Credo, an "Outline" of dogmatics or a comparable Summula. So I chose the form of an "introductory" presentation, which in all events had not appeared for some time in the program of study of our faculty at Basel (Evangelical Theology, xiii).

I presume that the six audio lectures hosted by faithquest are from these lectures. Where they are ultimately from doesn't make any difference-- they provide a fantastic opportunity to hear Barth lecture. The audio is clear and the overall sound is fantastic. I think you will find these lectures fascinating whether you have spent any time reading Barth or not. And, if you are a regular reader of Barth, this can give you a voice to go with the text in those sections where you need a little something extra to get through.
Community part (2)

Lecture 1 (Princeton)
Lecture 2 (Princeton)
The Spirit (1 of 2)
The Spirit (2 of 2)
Witness part (2)

Technorati Tags: Karl Barth

Resources for John Calvin Studies

[Since several people know that I did a seminar on John Calvin this semester, I have gotten emails asking me for reading suggestions.  Here is an intro list of some of the books I found helpful in my studies]

PRIMARY SOURCES
Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion (2 Volume set)
Commentary on the book of Psalms
Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God

INTERNET RESOURCES
Theopedia
Wikipedia
A Puritan's Mind // Reformation Main Page
The John Calvin Center

BIOGRAPHY // INTRODUCTION
John Calvin, T.H.L. Parker
John Calvin's Ideas, Paul Helm
Readings in Calvin's Theology, Donald McKim
The Unaccommodated Calvin, Richard Muller

SPECIFIC STUDIES (of interest to me!)
Calvin and the Anabaptist Radicals, Balke
John Calvin and the Church: A Prism of Reform, Timothy George
Christ and the Decree: Christology and Predestination in Reformed Theology from Calvin to Perkins (Studies in historical theology), Richard Muller
The Theology of John Calvin, Karl Barth

SUMMARIES/INTROS/STUDY GUIDES
If you're looking for an abbreviated version of the Institutes, let me offer a caveat before I link the resources.  Though I list some helpful summaries of Calvin below, the reason to read Calvin is not to memorize the party-line summary of his theology.  The point is to see how Calvin does theology-- how he constructs his arguments and makes his moves.  The following summaries will give you the gist of what he's doing, but they won't leave you with a clue of how he does it, or whether or not he's right in doing it.

That being said, Ford Lewis Battles has published an Analysis of the Institutes of the Christian Religion of John Calvin.  I'm not sure how this differs from his outlines of the Institutes, but I did not find them very helpful at all.  The folks at A Puritan's Mind have an excellent section on The Reformation.  This includes McMahon's Long Overview of John Calvin's Institutes of Christian Religion; his Summary of F.L. Battles' Work on Calvin ; and, a summary of McGrath's book, A Life of John Calvin: A Study in Shaping of Western Culture.  I would rather see people spend five years reading slowly through Calvin than spend a month reading second hand summary of his work.  However, works like these and others are often helpful to read to give you bearings when you feel like you may have lost them. 

Karl Barth Anniversary

Today marks the 37th anniversary of the death of Karl Barth.  Barth died December 10, 1968. I have spent the better part of this semester learning to love Karl Barth as a man-- being overwhelmed with the glory of God as he interacted with the big issues of theology; learning the task of theological inquiry through his work; and developing a paradigm of critique, both toward his thought and my own as a result of my extended encounters with his work.

Jim West is blogging today in celebration of Barth's life and accomplishments:
Reflections on the Life of Karl Barth
Karl Barth's Favorite Work of Art
Barth Collage
An Open Letter to Karl Barth
Quote of the Day (Barth on Mozart)
Barth and Zwingli

For those wanting to read a bit of Barth for yourself, I loved reading:
Evangelical Theology: An Introduction

The Theology of John Calvin (though I learned more about Barth than Calvin)
Doctrine of Reconciliation: Jesus Christ the True Witness (Church Dogmatics Ser. : Vol. 4 Pt. 3, 2nd Half)

For biographies and introductions to Barth, I recommend:

Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts (Eberhard Busch)

The Great Passion: An Introduction to Karl Barth's Theology (Eberhard Busch)

An introduction to the theology of Karl Barth (Geoffrey Bromiley)

Barth Meets McDonalds Drive Through // Dogmatics in a Week

Ben Myers is blogging one sentence capsules of each volume of Church Dogmatics.  Here is a quotation from his opening post Church Dogmatics in a Week:

In the coming days, I’ll be posting a single-sentence summary of each of the 13 books that make up the Church Dogmatics, along with a quote from each book. Naturally, my tongue is in my cheek when I describe this as a “summary,” since Barth, more than any other theologian, resists even the most elaborate attempts at systematic summary. His thought can never be summarised or reduced to a set of propositions, because it is in a constant state of movement, dialectic, and life. When we try to summarise Barth, we necessarily lose all that is most interesting and most vital in his thought—just as we would lose everything that matters if we tried to “summarise” one of Shakespeare’s plays.

This endeavor might draw vigorous smoke from Karl's pipe, but it is a fun project-- especially from someone who has actually read the Dogmatics in their entirety.  See his progress thus far:
Church Dogmatics I/1

Church Dogmatics I/2
Church Dogmatics II/1
Church Dogmatics II/2
Church Dogmatics III/1
Church Dogmatics III/2

If one sentence isn't enough for you, I recommend Geoffrey Bromiley's excellent book, An Introduction to the Theology of Karl Barth.  This book features some of the best summaries of the Dogmatics that I have seen; avoids the tangents of other similar works; and is written by someone who certainly knew Barth's thought.

Gluttony

I have thoroughly enjoyed Joe Thorn's posts on the Seven Deadly Sins (as well as the graphics that have accompanied them).  I have particularly enjoyed them since we have been doing the same series at our church.

Today, Ken Shigematsu preached on "gluttony" (get the audio here...tomorrow probably) and made some of the most appealing statements on a biblical portrait of and response to gluttony that I have ever heard.  Given the healthy context that we live in (I'm still the largest man in BC that I know of), it was fascinating to hear Pastor Ken's contextualization of this issue in terms of obsessively giving into desires-- which include under eating and over exercising (two manifestations of gluttony that I have yet to experience).

For a fantastic traditional take on gluttony, read  Joe's post, and check out Ken's sermon (I'll update this post when the audio is online).

Why John Armstrong is NOT an Evangelical...

It is hard for me to think about Reformation & Revival ministries without thinking about evangelicals, but John Armstrong has an interesting post on why he no longer finds the distinctive helpful.  Read Why I Am Not An Evangelical.

Theological & Religious Studies on the Rise...But For What?

The Tide is Turning in Favour of Theology and the Study of Relidion // Times Online

But there is a danger that academic theology and religious studies have become so detached from the religious communities whose traditions they study that a rise of interest in religious traditions will have little impact on the life of church, mosque, synagogue or temple.

[...]

because the study of religious traditions takes place in non-religious academic institutions, quite properly, a student’s personal convictions and faith commitment are not at issue in their applications to study or in the assessment of their work. This can hardly be otherwise if departments of theology and religious studies want to be treated on a par with departments of mathematics or philosophy. But it means that students themselves should be left — the reality is occasionally different — to make connections between their theology and the practice of faith. And that is something few achieve.

[...]

The key question is: what — or who — is theology for? Academic theologians argue for its place in the secular university on the basis that religion continues to be a fundamental feature of human life, and battle to justify their survival on the basis of their research record.

But the religious leaders and theologians whose lives and work they study have not the slightest hesitation in stating that theology exists for the sake of the community of the faithful — serving, answering, questioning and challenging them in their daily life

(full article)

Recent Papers On The Atonement

A joint Evangelical Alliance/London School of Theology Symposium on the Atonement was held at the London School of Theology from 6-8 July 2005.  Over 200 people attended the event and heard papers delivered by a variety of academics, including Professor Joel Green, Professor Howard Marshall and Revd Dr Chris Wright (link).

THE PAPERS//
Gary J Williams | Justice, Law and Guilt

I. Howard Marshall | The Theology of the Atonement

Simon Gathercole | Romans 3.25-26: An Exegetical Study

Chris Wright | Atonement in the Old Testament

Steve Motyer | The Atonement in Hebrews

Sue Groom | Why Did Christ Die?

Stuart Murray Williams | Penal Substitution on The Myth of Redemptive Violence
(via)

UPDATE//
Phillip Ryken posted on this here at the Reformation 21 Blog

Generous Orthodoxy Dot Net

Steve Bush announced yesterday the arrival of GenerousOrthodoxy.Net-- a collaborative project he has spearheaded that also hosts a blog called ThinkTank.  Steve and I differ significantly on many issues, but the guy is much brighter than I, and forces me to think hard on issues that I either don't understand, or violently disagree with him.  I look for GenerousOrthodoxy.net to be a source of much healthy consternation for me in the days to come.  Thanks Steve and others for the work on this.