Perpetual Reform or Static Tradition? July 14, 2007
Posted by reformedville in : Theology , trackbackReformed theology is a wonderful thing precisely because it is about reforming. If we insist on dismissing or ignoring those with whom we disagree because they are not Reformed enough or progressive enough, then our scripture and tradition will soon be revealed as little more than idolatry. I am troubled by the logic of “God loves who I am, therefore everything I do must be OK, too”. I am also troubled by proof-texted responses that claim to offer “grace” (as if grace was ours to offer) while assuming a “clarity” of the biblical witness that most bible scholars consider erroneous. We can do better than this. We must do better than this.Christianity is already considered irrelevant by too much of our culture, a dying institutional refuge of a very frightened people. What is so sad is that our enormous fear appears to come from a deep uncertainty regarding the gospel we proclaim–a dark and secret belief that God does not really claim each of us as beloved; and so we rush to choose sides and defend positions without carefully embracing the mystery that is revelation in the presence of a God and creation worthy of our trust and awe.
If behavior is an outward manifestation of deeper reality, then sin is not so much about legalism and the particularity of acts but about what we believe an act reveals about us, about God . . . and God with us. This is the stuff of nuance, not simplistic conclusion. Whatever topic we are discussing, let us do so with a large dose of humility and responsible, scriptural contextuality so that we can be heard as relevant and inviting voices in a skeptical but still hungry world. Reformed rhetoric turns so many people off, we don’t even get a ear.
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This is a really clean and clear looking blog. I like it.
Thanks. I have been more pleased with reformedblogs than any other blogging forum I use. It is what gmail is to email in the blogging world