Crucifying Bad Theology

 “You can run on for a long time, but sooner or later God’s ‘ill cut you down.” Christ died even for us. Why does good theology matter? Is it because we have books like unChristian giving us statistics of a failing Church? Is it because we have authors like Kenda Dean exploring a moralistic therapeutic deistic culture? Absolutely. We need good theology if young people are abandoning the Church because the very thought of Christians equals bigoted hypocrites. We need good theology if all that matters about God is whether or not we are good people. More than that, we need good theology because it changes lives.

How does good theology change lives? Lutherans have had good theology since Martin Luther decided to deconstruct the core of the Church. If it doesn’t point us to the cross and the work of Christ, it doesn’t matter. Perhaps it is easy to take this for granted or to appeal to experience to “find God,” but good theology is life-changing precisely because it cannot be found and it does not rely on human experience. That’s not to say it doesn’t cause experience. Good theology is life-changing because it finds the lost and leads the blind. Good theology reconstructed in the redemption of the cross of Jesus Christ.

“You can run on for a long time, but sooner or later God’s ‘ill cut you down.” Christ died even for us. What does it mean to have good theology? Our academic and practical theologies have no separation. Good theology is put into praxis. Beyond that Good theology has the crucified God at its crux. Theology is nothing apart from the work of the cross. Our redemption lies within the crucifixion and our reconciliation is rooted in resurrection. The law tells us that God will cut sinners down; conjunctively, the Gospel tells us Christ died even for us.

Good theology matters because the gracious work of Christ is at its core. It is life-altering for people who’ve never known the grace of God or for people who have been blinded by bad theology (which does not point to the work of Christ through the cross). Guilt may be a more powerful motivator than grace, but it doesn’t make it good. Where, then, do we go from here? We go where God is found, where we are led, to the foot of the cross. If you’ve never known the grace of the cross of Jesus Christ or you’ve been trapped by the guilt and shame of piety that puts the role of justification in your hands; by the work of God alone, through the cross of Christ alone, grace is sufficient for you.   

  

Radical Transparency and the Colapse of Piety

Greetings Readers, it’s been a minute since The Dialect of Praxis had a post. It’s been an exciting time in my life and new adventures have kept me engaged in conversation elsewhere. I hope you all are well!

Radical Transparency is a term I’ve borrowed from David Kinnaman’s well-selling title UnChristian. The phrase is an ideal set by the Buster and Mosaic generations (specifically those ages 16-29) who have grown skeptical and/or cynical about the portrayal of Christianity and the mass-marketed consumerist society surrounding young people today. Radical Transparency is a mindset aimed at deconstructing image-centered hyper-individualism and being “real” with people.

Kinnaman’s book, boasting copious amounts of research and data analysis on Western culture’s negative perception of Christianity and its people, declares, only 1 in 22 Christians (in the 16-29 age bracket) have a deep connection to the Christian faith (UnChristian). This phenomenon is what authors such as Kenda Dean and others have come to call Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.

In the spirit of Radical Transparency, I have to say I’m not alarmed by any of the statistics, negative views, erosion, or declining numbers of the Christian faith. I’m at the tail end of the Buster demographic and have personally experienced the skepticism, cynicism, and need for authenticity in the Christian world. But, the skepticism and cynicism (which I have no doubt worn as a coat of armor) is as concerning as the façade of moralistic perfectionist Christianity.

Pious behavior (personal devotional reading of scripture, doing everything right, praying enough, and the like) doesn’t save us and this is a fair criticism from non-Christians and skeptical believers, towards the typically Conservative portion of the Christian community. However, I’m not looking to tear down Evangelicals today. Instead, I ask, could a delicate balance of piety be a bad thing?

Honestly, I’m not hugely pious (or remotely pious compared to my days as an Evangelical Christian) but I like to study the scriptures. As is evident by the statistics in UnChristian, most people identify the importance of Christianity in lifestyle before anything to do with the Gospel message. And, experience has shown me that many young people in the Church today don’t have a basic understanding of the Gospel (or scripture in general). Maybe non-Christians don’t want to know who Jesus is because most Christians don’t know who Jesus is anymore. Christianity is not a set of lifestyle principals; it is faith in the living God and redemptive work of the cross.   

Lenten Devotional 09: Eating Straw; Exegeting a Difficult Word

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Scripture reading: The Epistle of James 1:12-18

What is there to say about the Epistle of James? It’s canonized scripture written as New Testament Wisdom Literature and, like most Lutherans, I don’t care for it. Once upon a time ago, I considered it the magnum opus of the New Testament; so, why the change of mind? The Doctrine of Grace and Sola fide (by faith alone) challenge this text.

Arguably, there may be redeeming qualities in this work that Luther called, “an epistle of straw.” According to Luther, “St. James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw…for it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it.” The fact that the author of the book of James says we are not justified (Gk: dikaioō) by faith alone is disputable (the epistle is Antilegomena). Disputation aside, I read with you, and exegesis has pulled redemption from this text.

“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (1:17). The author’s attribution of God being the giver of all things is sound. Our pericope encourages perseverance amidst trials (1:12). It’s a proclamation of hope (albeit, a weird one, with that crown of life business). God is not tempting us that is the sinful nature, which has bonded the human will (vv. 13-16). Grace is the work of God (v. 17). Our justification was his purpose (v.18).

Unlike this epistle, the Gospel of Jesus Christ points to the work of God through the grace of the cross. In faith alone believe that we are justified (saved) by grace alone, through the work of Christ alone, and that glory is to God alone; according to scripture alone (adaptation of the Five Solas). James (whichever one he may be) composed a disputable epistle, but it’s not always easy to reconcile with the word of God (biblical text). May the Lord be gracious to us as we debate the difficult parts of the word.

Holy and Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; for those who love the work of James, may you bless them through it and for others, like me, who refute the words of James, reveal their redemptive purpose, and be gracious to us. Sometimes, the words of your scriptures can be difficult, when that occurs, give us discernment, wisdom, and humility. May we reside in the grace of your cross and know that you are the Lord, our God. You are revealed in Christ and, yet, you are mysterious. We are humbled at the foot of your cross. Amen.