Rivermont Presbyterian Church College and Career Sunday School Class Sc Redemption e tur Fall rip Creation An Outline For Discussion Compiled by P. Ribeiro and Adriana Ribeiro (Main sources: Scriptures, Creation Regained by Albert Wolters, and The Transforming Vision by Brian Walsh and Richard Middleton, Patterns of the Western Mind, J. Kok, An Introduction to Christian Philosophy, J. Spier, Contours of a Christian Philosophy, L. Kalsbeek, Perspectives in Philosophy, J Van Kyk, Contemporary Christian, John Stot) He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new!” Rev. 21: 5 Do not conform any longer with the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and prove what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will. 3 Rom. 12: 2 (For Sunday School Class Use Only)
Introduction Lesson 1 - June 6, 1999 The Format Open debate (Socratic method), group dynamics / participation. The Standard The Word of God The Motivation A sense of great frustration - corporate and personal: Ineffectiveness of Christianity to shape public life (Rom 12: 1 -2, 2 Cor. 10: 5)) Dualistic view of Christian Service (secular versus sacred). Objective - The Title (What does it mean? ) Biblical worldview and its significance for our lives as we seek to be obedient to Scriptures Long tradition (Augustine, Calvin…) Reformational (after Protestant Reformation) Scripture Alone (as opposed to Scriptures and Tradition) Reformational (Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, Herman Dooyeweerd, D. Volenhoven) Contribution through theology, philosophy, and other academic disciplines The Challenge Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer with the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and prove what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. Rom. 12: 1 -2 It is by no means easy to hold beliefs for which you would be willing to die, and yet to remain open to new insights; but it is precisely such a combination of commitment and enquiry that constitutes religious maturity. " -- Ian Barbour
Do you have a worldview? How do we respond to evangelism, to pacifism, or patriotism? What words of condolence do we offer at a graveside? Whom do we blame for inflation? What are our views on abortion, homosexuality, capital punishment, discipline in child-rearing, racial segregation, artificial insemination, cloning, arts and films, extramarital sex? Would we discourage our children from becoming involved with arts or politics? When taxation is unjust , do we cheat on our tax forms? Life Perspective What is a Worldview? The direction = obedience to God Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Gal. 5: 25. German Weltanschuung = World-and-Life-View Confessional Vision Principles, Ideals, Values, Vision of Life, Vision of the Future Generic Definition: The comprehensive framework of one’s basic belief about things Components of a worldview: Things (anything which is possible to have a belief) Beliefs (not feelings, not opinions) Basic Beliefs Framework (pattern)
What role does a worldview play in our lives? Guide to our life Shapes the way we see the events and issues Humans are incapable of holding purely arbitrary opinions or making entirely unprincipled decisions. What is the Scope of a Worldview? Are we always consistent with our worldview? No! Sometimes we hold to conflicting beliefs or fail to act in harmony with the beliefs we hold. Cultural life is not only rooted in the dominant worldview; it also orients life in terms of that worldview. Education Politics Religious Institutions Health Care World view The contradiction of our fallen nature. Rom. 7: 15 -25 Family Environment Arts See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. Dt. 30: 15 -20 Legal Institutions The tension / crisis is fundamentally religious because our worldview rests on a faith commitment: 1 - Who am I 2 - Where am I? 3 - What’s wrong? 4 - What is the remedy? 1 Pe. 2: 9 -10 A chosen people 2 Pe. 3: 11 Advancing the Kingdom speeding His coming
What is the relationship of Worldview to Scripture? Our worldview must be shaped and tested by Scriptures! Scriptures speaks to everything in our life and world including technology, economics and science! Read and Discuss Act. 17: 11 (Bereans) Rom. 12: 2 (Renewal of our minds) Rom. 15: 4 (Scriptures teach us) 2 Tim. 3: 16 -17 (Scripture the basis for our understanding) What is the relationship between worldview theology and philosophy? Theology and Philosophy are specialized fields of inquiry that not everyone can engage in (Acts 7: 22, Prov. 8) Biblical wisdom does not increase with advanced theological training (1 Cor. 1: 20) Academic knowledge - different from - Wisdom / Common Sense (1 Cor. 1: 25 - God’s Wisdom) Worldview, philosophy and theology are alike in being comprehensive in scope, but that they are unlike in that a worldview is pre-scientific, whereas theology and philosophy are scientific. Philosophy - Structure Theology - Direction Worldview - Structure and Direction
What is unique about the Reformational Worldview? Nothing apart from God himself falls outside the range of these foundational realities of biblical religion. Lordship of Christ over all creation - 2 Cor. 10: 5; Life is religion - 1 Cor. 10: 31 Definition of a Reformational Worldview (Herman Bavinck) God the Father has reconciled His created but fallen world through the death of His Son, and renews it into a Kingdom of God by His Spirit. The terms: Reconciled, Created, Fallen, World, Renews, Kingdom of God are held to be cosmic in scope The ministry of reconciliation 2 Cor. 5: 17 -19
Summary Questions 1 - What is a worldview? Explain the four basic components of the definition. 2 - What is the role of worldview in life. In what ways does a worldview serve as a guide to our lives? 3 - What is the relation between Scripture and worldview? 4 - What does Rom 12: 2, and 15: 4 tell us? 5 - What are the differences between theology, philosophy and worldview? 6 - What is unique about the reformational worldview? In which ways does it differ from other worldviews advocated by Christians? 7 - What is the distinction between an integral worldview and a dualistic worldview? 8 - How should we then live? 910 -
Lesson 2, June 13, 1999 Biblical Worldview: Based on Creation An Outline For Discussion Fall Redemption res Creation ptu i Scr Let us sing: This Is My Father’s World Summary Questions from the first lesson: • What is a worldview? • What is the role of worldview in life. In what ways does a worldview serve as a guide to our lives? • What is the relation between Scripture and worldview? • What is unique about the reformational worldview? What is the distinction between an integral worldview and a dualistic worldview? Introductory Words As Christians we often pay only lip service to the biblical doctrine of creation. We think it important perhaps for refuting evolution, but otherwise we do not place much value on it. Jesus Christ and the redemption He brings are the focus of Scriptures, but the worldview of the Scriptures does not begin with Christ and salvation. It begins with God and creation. The first article of the Apostles’ Creed emphasizes the Genesis account: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. ” This is where Christianity begins. Creation is the starting point. The biblical message is a call from sin to reconciliation with God. But what is sin? And what do words like salvation , redemption and reconciliation mean? It is impossible to offer an answer to these questions if we do not have an implicit idea of creation. For it us creation that is affected by both sin and salvation. To talk about sin we must look at how God’s creatures disobeyed Him and how His creation was distorted. What is salvation but the outworking of God’s love for His creation. In worldview terms we cannot answer the questions “what is wrong? ” and “what’s the remedy? ’ unless we first address the issues of who we are and where we are? Answering these questions will direct us through the biblical themes of creation, fall and redemption - these themes constitute the basic flow and movement of the Bible. We must remember that these are not merely interesting ideas to be discussed. The worldview of of Scriptures calls the people to commitment and action. Just as we cannot be neutral about the person of Christ and the salvation He offers, we cannot ignore the radical implications of the biblical teaching on creation (Walters). God is not a creator who failed. He does not plan to scrap creation! He is recreating, restoring, redeeming it - making everything new. This is our Father’s world! We are called to participate in His redeeming work. Creation eagerly awaits for it: Rom. 8: 18 -27.
The Law of Creation What is the correlation between the creating activity of God and His created order? Creation Gen. 1 In the Beginning Activity of creating Cosmos (created order) Providence Beautiful Arrangement Continuous 2 Pet. 3: 5 -7 CREATOR MAKES RULES All Creation Natural Laws Men Necessity Instinct Personal Responsibility Ps. 44: 3 ! Biblical Laws Creator’s Sovereign Activity Originating (Gen. 1 ); Upholding (Heb. 1: 3); Guiding / Ruling (2 Pet. 3: 5 -7) His : Power, Breath, Word, Rule, Hands, Plan, Will, Call, Decree, Ordinances, Statutes Creation Definition: The Correlation of the sovereign activity of the Creator and the created order. LAW (Creation) Law is the manifestation of God’s sovereignty in creation: the totality of God’s ordering acts toward the cosmos. Ps. 33: 9
God Imposes His Law on the Cosmos What are the ways in which God imposes His law on the cosmos? Indirectly Directly (through human responsibility) Norms Gen. 1: 27 Entrusted to mankind norms for culture and society marriage, government, doing justice, making tools … (direct orders) Laws of Nature gravity, thermodynamics photosynthesis, heredity Gen. 1: 1 -26 Discovered by physics, chemistry, biology. . . Norms can be violated (Gen. 2: 15 -17) Laws of nature cannot be violated • All of human life, in all its vast array of cultural, societal, and personal relationships, is normed • The almighty Creator lays claims to it all; the absolute King requires His will to be discerned in it all. . What is the difference between “norms” and “laws of nature? ” What is the difference between general and particular laws? In the Secularized Western Mind Laws of Nature - Acceptable Norms - Not really They prefer “Values” What is wrong with replacing the word “norms” for the word “value” ? Discuss Ps. 147: 15 -20 Is there a difference between God’s word of command to snow and His command to His people?
The Word of God in Creation (Creation by Word - Creation by Wisdom) What is the connection between God’s word and His Law (command)? “Fulfilling His Word - Fulfilling His Biding - Obeying His Voice” (Ps. 148: 8) Creatio ex nihilo (Gen. 1: 1 ) -Creatio secunda (Gen. 1: 2) “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made” (Ps. 33: 6) “Long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and with water (2 Pet. 3: 5) “By faith we understand that the universe was fashioned by the word of God” (Heb. 11: 3) Upholding (Heb. 1: 3) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and the that life was the light of the men. John. 1: 1 -3 Governing - (Ps. 147: 18, 148: 8) Creation took place through Christ - Christ is the “mediator of creation” (John 1: 1 -3, Col. 1: 16, Heb. 1: 2, 2: 10) Christ is intimately involved in the preservation of creation (holding together - Col. 1: 16, 17; sustaining all things - Heb. 1: 2, 3) Creation by Wisdom: Prov. 8: 22 -31, Job 28: 25 -27; Ps. 104: 24; Ps. 139: 14 Worthy of Worship: Jer. 10: 1 -16; Ps. 119: 89 -91 Covenant with creation (creation is a covenantal response to God’s Word) Jer. 33: 20 -21, 25 -26; Ps. 96: 9 -10 “Let there be light” E = mc 2
The Scope of Creation What is the scope of creation? Creation has a scope much broader then the common usage gives it. • Not just realities investigated by natural sciences • All disciplines (sociology, political science, etc. ) are under its scope • God’s ordinances also extend to the structures of society • Human civilization is normed throughout. Everywhere we discover limits, standards, criteria. In every field of human affairs there are right and wrong ways of doing things. For everything God created is good. Examples: Marriage and Authority (1 Tim. 4: 3 -4; Rom. 13: 1 -2; 1 pet. 2: 13) • Culture, education, sexuality, human emotionality … are not normless. Our reasoning is subject to the laws of thought, our speech to semantic principles. • Everything is subject to given laws of God: Everything is creational. • Meaning and purpose is the essence of all that is created.
Summary Questions What is the correlation between the creating activity of God and His created order? What is the difference between “norms” and “laws of nature? ” What is the connection between God’s word and His Law (command)? What is the scope of creation? What is our response? Ps. 143: 10 (Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground) James Houston calls the Christian community to a fresh sense of its mission: I appeal to evangelical Christians to use the whole range of their professional skills to speak prophetically about our times. We need deeper analyses of the pathology of scientific, technological social and political evils in our contemporary world, in light of the eternal realities revealed in God’s Word. A new missionary enterprise is involved: to go virtually into every professional area of life, just as in the past we have emphasized the geographical penetration of our world with the gospel. The biblical idea of stewardship of creation balances authority with servanthood. This strikes at the heart of our humanity. Although we are the lords of the earth, we are also servants of God. We are called to exercise our rule in obedient response to God’s ultimate sovereignty. Subduing creation is an issue of covenantal responsibility (Gen. 1: 28) This is my father’s world!
Lesson #3, June 20, 1999 Rivermont Presbyterian Church College and Career Sunday School Class Summary Questions from Lesson # 2 • What is the correlation between the creating activity of God and His created order? • What is the difference between “norms” and “laws of nature? ” • What is the connection between God’s word and His Law (command)? • What is the scope of creation? • What is our response? Fall Redemption res An Outline For Discussion Creation u ipt Scr Biblical Reformational Worldview: The heavens declare the glory of God Based on Creation (2) For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Rom. 1: 20 Introduction The scope of creation goes beyond the physical realm. From physics to sociology, from biology to economics - everything is creational -all is subjected to God’s given laws. There is no tension between the universal and particular in God’s law reflects his constancy (universal laws). But He also deals with creation on a particular basis. He who commands snow and makes the wind blow and rain fall, can revert the natural process of the fall (He surprises us with miracles everyday - a testimony). The primal command to subdue the earth (often called “creation mandate”) is a cultural mandate. In all our activities, by which we interact and/or develop creation, we respond to God’s cultural mandate (in obedience or disobedience). The major emphasis of the biblical vision of life is wholeness. This vision is both refreshing and life affirming.
The Revelation of Creation Theses and Talking Points 1 - The law of creation is revelatory: it imparts knowledge (Ps. 19: 1 -4). Even the NT stresses God’s revelation in creation (Acts. 14: 17; Rom. 1: 18 -20). 2 - God speaks plainly through his works, but we may opt not to hear Him - however, even the Gentiles, “who do not have the law, ” can sense God’s normative demands through creation. 3 - Conscience is the intuitive attunement to creational normatively. (Rom. 2: 14 -15) 4 - Creational law speaks so loudly that even in the delusions of paganism, its normative demands are driven home into their inmost being. God does not leave Himself unattested; He refutes to be ignored. He asserts Himself in an unmistakably display of His “eternal power and divine nature” so that we cannot fail to take note of the Creator’s claims on our obedience. 5 - Wisdom means ethical conformity to the divine constitution and creation. (Pr. 1: 22 -23) 6 - The connection between Wisdom and creation is made very explicit in Proverbs. (Prov. 8: 22 -23, 27 -30). Wisdom is beside him like an amon (standard). Wisdom is the standard by which God works. Job 38 -4. 7 - The Lord teaches the farmer his business: An explicit example - Isaiah 28: 23 -29. 8 - The creation order is knowable - this fact is the basis for all human understanding. 9 - Many argue that the creational scheme has been altered by the fall. They fail to recognize the constancy of God’s will for creation, and the power of Jesus Christ in restoring our faculty and discernment. We need spiritual discernment (wisdom and understanding). (Eph. 1: 17 -18; Rom 12: 2; Heb. 5: 14; Col. 1: 9 -10)
The Revelation of Creation (contd. ) 10 - Christians of all vocations and walks of life - business executives, farmers, barbers, academics, politicians, educators, homemakers, lawyers - must hear, not only in their private but also in their professional capacities, the wellknown exhortation of the apostle, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12: 2) 11 - How does God’s speech in creation relate to His speech on Scripture? Is there a danger in putting too much emphasis on general revelation? Do we not compromise the Reformation’s great principle of Sola Scripture? 12 - We need to have the guidance of Scripture and the exercise of “sanctified common sense. ” 13 - As a message of salvation the revelation of creation is useless. 14 - Seeking the council of Scripture: Scripture are spectacles through which we are enabled to read the book of nature. “Thy word is lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119: 105) Just as old or bleary-eyed men and those with weak vision, if you thrust before them a most beautiful volume, even if they recognize it to be some sort of writing, yet can scarcely construe two words, but with the aid of spectacles will begin to read distinctly; so Scripture, gathering up the otherwise confused knowledge of God in our minds, having dispersed our dullness, clearly shows us the true God. John Calvin 15 - The law is fulfilled in that the shadow is replaced by the substance, and the Jewish law is not longer binding for the people of God. On the other hand, the law is fulfilled in that Christ reaffirms its deepest meaning (Mat. 5: 17). God did the implementing for His people in the Old Testament, while in the NT He in large gives us freedom in Christ to do our own implementing of His norms (the blueprint of the law of creation). (Rom. 2: 12; 3: 31, 5: 20; 6: 15; 7: 12; 8: 2; 10: 4 -11)
Summary Questions 1 - In what sense or senses does creation constitute a revelation? 2 - Do you agree with Walters’ definition of conscience as intuitive attunement to creational normatively? 3 - What are the meanings of wisdom? 4 - How does God rule creation? 5 - Explain the nature and importance of the fundamental knowability of the creation order. 6 - What is meant by spiritual discernment? 7 - How is Scripture comparable to spectacles? Conclusions The heavens declare the glory of God. No excuses, please! The revelation of creation, however, is useless as a message of salvation. The revelation of creation is like a verbal explanation that an architect gives to an incompetent builder who has forgotten how to read the blueprint. With the explanation everything becomes clearer, and the builder can proceed confidently with the task. We need spiritual discernment from Scripture. Praise to God for His complete revelation in Scripture. With the help of our Lord Jesus, the Lord of the Universe, let us celebrate His beautiful creation and obey His command to subdue and develop the earth. We were placed in a garden, but are going to a city. Taking action: seek wisdom; look at creation; make a point to know and name God’s creation; but first and foremost recognize your creator and listen to His Word - Read it daily and meditate on it. And finally let us live by it.
Lesson # 4, June 27, 1999 Rivermont Presbyterian Church College and Career Sunday School Class Fall ptu Creation i Scr Redemption res Biblical Reformational Worldview: Based on Creation (3) The Cultural Mandate: From a Garden to a City An Outline For Discussion Introduction The heavens are telling of God; the very shape of starry space makes news of His handiwork. One day is brimming over with talk for the next, and each night passes on intimate knowledge to the next night there is no speaking, no words at all - you can’t hear their voice - but their expression travels throughout the whole earth! Their uttered noises carry to the end of inhabited land. God set up a tent for the sun at the ends of the earth - have you seen the sun? ! Beaming forth like a bridegroom from his marriage-bed! The sun laughs joyfully like a strong man glad to run a race: it always rises from the edge of the heavens, and it circles over and around to the (other) ends of the sky - nothing is able to hide from its burning heat. The leading of the Lord God is utterly reliable, bringing people back to life again. The magnificent testimonies of the Lord prove themselves to be everlasting true, making inexperienced young people wise. The commanding words of the Lord are truly straightening, causing one’s heart to laugh and be glad. The task imposed by the Lord is bound to be integrally whole, making one’s eyes shine with insight. Fear of the Lord is cleansing: it stands up for ever and ever. The ordering judgements of the Lord are firmly true - more desirable than gold, yes, than much gold, sweeter than honey, yes, than natural honey of the honeycomb. Let me, your servant, also be warned by these ordinances, Lord, for in keeping them much good results -who can discern all one’s errant missteps? ! O Lord set me free from the spoilsome sins kept hidden from my notice! And please hold me back from every overweening presumption - I am your servant, Lord - Do not ever let self-confidence push me around: then I will (finally) be able to be unpretentiously blameless, rid of all the guilt-making rebelliousness… Let the sayings of my mouth and the inarticulate groaning of my heart be something acceptable in front of your face, O Lord God, my rock! the One who always comes through to set me free from my bondage. The Good News of Psalm 19 is that the whole world of rocks and dirt, wind and seas is a chorus of praise to the Almighty Lord of heaven and earth, not metaphorically, but literally. And Psalm 19 proclaims that the ways of God set up creation and assigns tasks in history are paths of shalom when they are followed in covenant with Him. Psalm 19 offers a restoring vision and redemptive direction for those who want to join the world-wide chorus of “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” rather than be a human candle-holder looking on blankly as our 20, 40, 60 or 70 years go past like a yesterday. Psalm 19 - Rainbows for the Fallen World by Calvin Seerveld (adapted)
The Revelation of Creation (contd. ) Theses and Talking Points 9 - Many argue that the creational scheme has been altered by the fall. They fail to recognize the constancy of God’s will for creation, and the power of Jesus Christ in restoring our faculty and discernment. We need spiritual discernment (wisdom and understanding). (Eph. 1: 17 -18; Rom 12: 2; Heb. 5: 14; Col. 1: 9 -10) 10 - Christians of all vocations and walks of life - business executives, farmers, barbers, academics, politicians, educators, homemakers, lawyers - must hear, not only in their private, but also in their professional capacities, the well-known exhortation of the apostle, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12: 2) 11 - How does God’s speech in creation relate to His speech in Scripture? Is there a danger in putting too much emphasis on general revelation? Do we not compromise the Reformation’s great principle of “Sola Scripture”? 12 - We need to have the guidance of Scripture and the exercise of “sanctified common sense. ” 13 - As a message of salvation the revelation of creation is useless. 14 - Seeking the council of Scripture: Scripture are spectacles through which we are enabled to read the book of nature. “Thy word is lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119: 105) Just as old or bleary-eyed men and those with weak vision, if you thrust before them a most beautiful volume, even if they recognize it to be some sort of writing, yet can scarcely construe two words, but with the aid of spectacles will begin to read distinctly; so Scripture, gathering up the otherwise confused knowledge of God in our minds, having dispersed our dullness, clearly shows us the true God. John Calvin 15 - The law is fulfilled in that the shadow is replaced by the substance, and the Jewish law is not longer binding for the people of God. On the other hand, the law is fulfilled in that Christ reaffirms its deepest meaning (Mat. 5: 17). God did the implementing for His people in the Old Testament, while in the NT He in large gives us freedom in Christ to do our own implementing of His norms (the blueprint of the law of creation). (Rom. 2: 12; 3: 31, 5: 20; 6: 15; 7: 12; 8: 2; 10: 411)
The Revelation of Creation (contd. ) Structure of Creational Normativity Fifteen aspects of reality in which all human activity takes place: 1 - arithmetic 2 - spatial 3 - kinematics 4 - physical 5 - biotic 6 - sensitive 7 - analytical / logical 8 - historical 9 - lingual 10 - social 11 - economic 12 - aesthetic 13 - juridical 14 - moral / ethical 15 - pistic (discrete, individual, separate entities) (continuous extension) (movement) (energy) (life) (feeling) (making distinction) (human culture) (communications) (interactions of human beings) (stewardship) (harmony) (justice) (love) (faith) Examples: A tulip, the launching of a manned space craft, etc. . .
The Development of Creation: From a Garden to a City 1 - Is the creation process finished with the creation of man? Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. Gen. 1: 28 The Lord God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Gen. 2: 15. 2 - We must now carry on the work of development by being fruitful, and subdue the earth. The development of the created earth is societal and cultural in nature (civilization). Mistakes: The tower of Babel, etc. 3 - The creational or cultural mandate is of such fundamental importance for the whole history of revelation, and therefore for a biblical worldview. 4 - History is the generational unfolding and opening up of the possibilities hidden in the womb of creation, both natural and human. Gen 2: 4 “These are the generations of heavens and of earth when they were created” (KJV). Generations = historical developments arising out of. . . 5 - Creation is not something that, once, made, remains a static quantity. 6 - If we see that human history and the unfolding of culture and society are integral to creation and its development, that they are not outside God’s plans for the cosmos, despite the sinful aberrations, but rather were built in from the beginning, were part of the blueprint that we never understood before, then we will be much more open to the positive possibilities for service to God in such areas as politics and film arts, computer technology, and business administration, developmental economics, skydiving, and soccer!
The Development of Creation: From a Garden to a City 7 - The discussion of creational development can easily give the impression of a humanistic cultural optimism. There is always something unreal and dangerous about talking of the development of creation apart from sin and redemption. 8 - The ravages of sin, however, do not annihilate the normative creational development of civilization, but are rather parasitical upon it. 9 - The new heaven and the new earth the Lord has promised will be a continuation, purified by fire, of the creation we now know. Rev. 21: 1 10 - Describing the new earth as the new Jerusalem, John writes that “the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. . . The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it” Rev. 21: 24, 26. This very likely refers to the cultural treasures of mankind being purified by the fires of judgment, like gold in a crucible. 11 - But what about 2 Peter 3: 10? Discuss 12 - Read also 2 Peter 3: 6 -7 -13. Does “destruction” here mean annihilation? 13 - There is no reason to doubt that the works of man will be transfigured and transformed by their liberation from the curse, but they will be in essential continuity with our experience now - just as our resurrected bodies, though glorified, will still be bodies. It may be, as Herman Bavinck has suggested, that human life on the new earth, compared to that life now, will be like the colorful butterfly that develops out of the pupa: dramatically different, but the same creature. Perhaps the most fitting symbol of the developments of creation from the primordial past to the eschatological future is the fact that the Bible begins with a garden and ends with a city - a city filled with “the glory and honor of the nations. ” And as He spoke He no longer looked like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write about them. And for us this is the end of all stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happy ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before. The Last Battle. C. S. Lewis
Summary Questions and Conclusion 1 - In what sense or senses does creation constitute a revelation? 2 - Do you agree with Walters’ definition of conscience as intuitive attunement to creational normatively? 3 - What are the meanings of wisdom? 4 - How does God rule creation? 5 - Explain the nature and importance of the fundamental knowability of the creation order. 6 - What is meant by spiritual discernment? 7 - How is Scripture comparable to spectacles? 8 - How does the development of creation imply civilization? 9 - What is meant by the creation or cultural mandate, especially in relation to history or the historical process? 10 - What is unreal about addressing the development of creation apart from sin and redemption? 11 - Describe how gnosticism and humanism deny the goodness of creation. Be familiar with 1 Tim. 4: 4 Conclusion Religion is distinct from worship. Religion encompasses our whole life, whereas worship is only a small part of it. We are active in worship when we pray, participate in a church service, or take the sacraments. We also have a divine calling outside of the narrow sphere of worship. We are to perform our tasks for the Lord through faith and to seek to attain His honor and glory by walking in the Covenant and withdrawing nothing from Him. The entire life of a believer is religious. To worship is not any more pleasing to God than to be engaged in science, engineering or any other God-given task. Our labor is not vain in the Lord, but will further the coming of His Kingdom. “For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I have been known. ” (I Cor. 13: 12) Schedule July 4 July 11 July 18 July 25 August 1 August 8 August 15 August 22 Fall Redemption Discerning Structure and Direction General Discuss - Recap The Scope of the Fall, The Relation of Sin and Creation, Structure and Direction, World as Perverted Creation Salvation as Restoration, The Kingdom of God Jesus’ Ministry, Comparison with Other Views of the Kingdom, Illustration Reformation Societal Renewal Personal Renewal
Lesson # 5, July 4, 1999 Rivermont Presbyterian Church College and Career Sunday School Class Fall Redemption res The Whole Creation Has Been Groaning Creation u ipt Scr Biblical Reformational Worldview: Fall (1) The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Rom. 8: 19 -22) An Outline For Discussion Introduction It is our responsibility to serve the Lord our Creator, and yet we are not forced to do so. It is possible to disobey, to depart from who we are called to be. And this possibility became reality in the Fall. The Fall has cosmic implications. It affected society, culture, personal lives, and the nonhuman world. As we study the first chapter of Romans we see that we live in God’s world and are intuitively aware that there is a powerful creator worthy of our worship. But we suppress this knowledge. Rom. 8 reveals the extent of the Fall to the nonhuman world. And because of the Fall and our religious nature, if we do not worship God, we will worship a false god. The consequences are fatal: Idols are the root of disobedience. (Ex. 20: 4). But thanks to God for providing redemption through His Son, Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer. Now Choose Life (Dt. 30: 19 -20)
The Scope of the Fall What is the nature of the fall and its effect on societal, cultural, personal lives and on the nonhuman world? Theses and Talking Points 1 - The Bible teaches that Adam and Eve’s fall into sin was not just an isolated act of disobedience but an event of catastrophic significance for creation as a whole. (Gen. 3: 17 -19 -21) 2 - The effects of sin touch all of creation; no created thing is in principle untouched by the corrosive effects of the fall. Whether we look at societal structures (family, state) or cultural pursuits (art and technology), or bodily functions (sexuality, eating) we discover that the good handiwork of God has been drawn into the sphere of human mutiny against God. It is creation that is tainted by sin throughout. (Gal. 5: 16 -26) 3 - Examples Marriage (distortions: divorce, serial monogamy, etc. ); State (distortions totalitarianism, tyranny, etc. ); Political Systems (distortions: response to the pressure of special interest groups, etc. ); Creational Structures (economies, environmental, etc); Arts (bad taste); Science and Technology (technicism, etc). (Rom. 1: 21 -32) 4 - Distortion is perhaps most obvious in our personal lives, where the effects of the fall are most readily recognized by Christians. Murder, adultery, theft, blasphemy, etc. (Rom. 3: 19 -20) 5 - The Bible even ties bodily sickness to the root cause of sinfulness (1 Cor. 11: 30). 6 - The Bible teaches that all evil and perversity in the world is ultimately the result of humanity's fall, and is clearly manifested in personal, cultural and societal distortions 7 - The effects of sin range more widely than the arena of human affairs, it touches even the nonhuman world. (Gen. 3: 17). “Curse is the ground because of you. ”
The Relation of Sin and Creation Theses and Talking Points Sin neither abolishes nor becomes identified with creation SIN = Disobedience = Distortion 1 - The Bibles makes clear that sin neither abolishes nor becomes identified with creation. Creation and sin remain distinct, however closely they may be intertwined in our experience. Prostitution does not eliminate the goodness of human sexuality; political tyranny cannot wipe out the divinely ordained character of the state. 2 - Though fundamentally distinct from the good creation, sin attaches itself to creation like a parasite. Hatred, for example, has no place within God's good creation. Nevertheless, hatred cannot exist without the creational substratum of human emotion, and healthy assertiveness. 3 - John Calvin: “we must distinguish between “the order of creation” and “the order of sin and redemption, ” which relate to each other as health relates to sickness-and-healing. ” C. S. Lewis: Goodness is, so to speak, itself: badness is spoiled goodness … Evil is a parasite, not the original thing. 4 - The perversion of creation must never be understood as a subdistinction within the order of creation, nor must creation ever be explained as a function of perversion and redemption. 5 - We may say that sin and evil always have a character of a caricature - that is, of a distorted image that nevertheless embodies recognizable features. A human being after the fall is still a human being. A Humanistic school is still a school. A broken relationship is still a relationship, Muddled thinking is still thinking. In each case, that something in fallen creation “still is” points to the enduring goodness of creation - that is to say, to the faithfulness of God in upholding the created order despite the ravages of sin. . . Creation will not be suppressed in any final sense. Original Wave Distorted Wave
Summary Questions and Conclusion 1 - Describe how gnosticism and humanism deny the goodness of creation (from chapter 2). 1 Tim. 4: 4 2 - What is the nature of the fall and its effect on societal, cultural, personal lives and on the nonhuman world? Rom. 8: 19 -22 3 - Explain the importance of the following statements concerning the relation between sin and creation: a- Sin neither abolishes nor becomes identified with creation b- The perversion of creation must never be understood as a sub-distinction within the order of creation, nor must creation ever be explained as a function of perversion and redemption. 4 - Sin is alien in creation. Explain. Conclusion Although God still calls us to obediently execute our cultural and creational tasks, the Devil bids us to pledge allegiance to his renegade kingdom and so to deny our true calling. The insightful words of CS Lewis cut to the heart of our post-Fall situation: “There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan. ” Schedule July 4 July 11 July 18 July 25 August 1 August 8 August 15 August 22 August 29 Fall Redemption Discerning Structure and Direction General Discussion - Recap The Scope of the Fall, The Relation of Sin and Creation, Structure and Direction, World as Perverted Creation Salvation as Restoration, The Kingdom of God Jesus’ Ministry, Comparison with Other Views of the Kingdom, Illustration Reformation Societal Renewal Personal Renewal Action
Lesson # 6, July 11, 1999 Rivermont Presbyterian Church College and Career Sunday School Class Creation Fall Redemption res u ipt Scr Biblical Reformational Worldview: Fall (2) Every area of creation cries out for redemption and the coming of the kingdom of God. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Rom. 8: 19 -22) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor. 10: 5) You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and tramped by men. Mat. 3: 13 An Outline For Discussion Introduction Like exiles in a strange land, we live in constant tension of being redeemed from sin, yet still being sinful and still living in a world of sin. We must accept and affirm the creational / cultural and evangelistic mandates by thinking of ourselves as citizens of a heavenly kingdom, by not loving the world, by not looking for an enduring city here on earth, but “looking for the city that is to come” (Heb 13: 14). We are not builders of the prevailing culture, but neither we are slaves. We live and exist in a state of tension with the prevailing culture. We live in it but we are also separate from it. Love for God demands this status of exile, but the same love demands involvement: the act of turning toward and addressing that culture in love. The proper response is neither one of avoidance and negation nor one of accommodation. It means living by the inspiration of another cultural dynamic and following the biblical normative principles rather than those of the prevailing in modern secular culture. Our motivation - namely, the desire to live and work by the power of the love and grace of God - is diametrically opposed to the will-to-power motive of the secular culture. As exiles we should realize that it is unlikely that we will completely remake the society in which we live. We must be faithful and obedient. But we need to realize that our faithfulness and obedience will meet with strong resistance from the dominant secular culture. The kingdom of God is not the culmination of our cultural efforts. Nevertheless, He calls us to proclaim His Lordship in all that He has created.
Structure and Direction Theses and Talking Points With respect to the relationship of structure and direction, explain the following statements: a- creation is like a leash which keeps the vicious dog in check. b. structure is never entirely obliterated by (mis)direction c. evil is not inherent in the human condition d. the law is like a spring. 1 - Structure: refers to the “order of creation” and is anchored in the law of creation. Direction: designates the order of sin(distortion and perversion) and redemption (restoration of the creation in Christ) 2 - Anything in creation can be directed either toward or away from God – obedience or disobedience. 3 - To the degree that these realities fail to live up to God’s creational design for them they are misdirected, abnormal and distorted. 4 - Creation is like a leash that keeps a vicious dog in check. Redemption in this image is the uncanny power by which the dog’s master persuades it to become friendly and cooperative, so that the dog no longer strains at the leash but seeks guidance from it. 5 - The structure of all creational givens persists despite their directional perversion. The structure anchored in God’s faithfulness sets a limit on the corruption and bondage wrought by evil. 6 - Direction is given through God’s goodness to believers and unbelievers alike: “common grace” or “conserving grace. ” 7 - God never lets go of His creatures. Read 1 Tim 4 - Gnosticism blame part of God’s handiwork for the ills of the world we live in. 8 - The Bible is unique in its uncompromising rejection of all attempts to compromise structure and direction (there is no corruption before the fall). All other religions and worldviews in one way or another fall into this trap. 9 - Evil is not inherent in the human condition: there once was a completely good creation and there will be again; hence, the restoration of creation is not impossible. 10 - Finally, creational law impinges upon its created subjects. The law is like a spring that can be pressed down or pushed out of sight only with great effort and that continues to make its presence felt even when repressed for a long time. The “structure” of a thing is the law that is in force for it, and no amount of repression or pervasion will ever succeed in
“World” as Perverted Creation What are the meanings of the word “world” in the Bible? Theses and Talking Points 1. The word “world” is used in a number of different ways in the Bible - meaning: creation (Ps. 50: 12), the inhabited earth (Rom. 1: 8); or perverted creation (Jo. 18: 36; Rom. 12: 2; Col. 2: 8; James 1: 27; 2 Pe. 2: 20). 2. World: the totality of unredeemed life dominated by sin outside Christ. : the opposite of created goodness. 3. Dualistic definition of world: secular and sacred. This compartmentalization is a very great error: it implies for example that there is no worldliness in the church, and no holiness in, for example, politics. 5. Consider Christ’s words: “My kingdom is not of this world. ” This is not an argument against Christian involvement in, for example, arts. Instead, Jesus was saying that His kingdom does not arise out of the perverted earth but derives from heaven. 6. Christians have themselves to blame for the rapid secularization of the west. If politics, arts, journalism, etc. are essentially branded as worldly or profane, is it surprising that Christians have not more effectively stemmed the tide of humanism in our culture? 7. Outside the service of God there is only bondage, witting or unwitting slavery to Satan. Where the creature does not find its freedom in responding obediently to the creator's norms, there it enters bondage. 8. Satan stands at the head of a whole hierarchy of evil spirits who seek to twist and spoil the good gifts of the creator, and is rooted in human sinfulness. (Sin is bondage to Satan yet the excuse Satan made me do it is never valid!). To the degree that these spirits are successful, creation loses its luster, becoming ugly rather than beautiful. ( John 12: 31) 9. The sum total of human evil and rottenness in creation (i. e. world) is therefore the result of both human sin and the creature's enslavement to the evil. 10. When Paul tell us to put to death the “members which are upon the earth (Col 3: 5) and that “their mind is not on earthly things” (Phil. 3; 19), he is referring to to the fallen and corrupted earth, not to the earth that was declared “very good” in Genesis. And when Paul says: “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things” (Col. 3: 2) he does not mean that such things as sexuality and sports and carpentry are evil in themselves - he means they are corrupted and polluted compared to the perfection of Gods dwelling place. To them to we must apply the petition: Thy will be done on earth as in heaven"
Summary Questions and Conclusion 1 - Explain the meaning of structure and direction. 2 - With respect to the relationship of structure and direction, explain the following statements: a- creation is like a leash which keeps the vicious dog in check. b. structure is never entirely obliterated by (mis)direction c. evil is not inherent in the human condition d. the law is like a spring. 3 - What are three meanings of the word “world” in the Bible? Conclusion The fall affects the whole range of earthly creation: sin is a parasite on and not part of creation: sin profanes all things, making them worldly and secular, earthly. Every area of creation cries out for redemption and the coming of the kingdom of God. Christians in these “last days” are therefore called to engage in the imaging task as ministers of reconciliation. That is our redemptive task: it is the vocation of the body of Christ to work together in a fallen world, seeking to bring the forgiveness, healing and renewal of God’s rule to bear on every area of life. Individuals need to repent, and cultural patterns need to be redirected. Obedience to Christ requires no less. That is the full radical depth of the gospel. Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow Him. Schedule July 11 July 18 July 25 August 1 August 8 August 15 August 22 August 29 Fall Redemption Discerning Structure and Direction General Discussion - Recap Structure and Direction, World as Perverted Creation Salvation as Restoration, The Kingdom of God Jesus’ Ministry, Comparison with Other Views of the Kingdom, Illustration Reformation Societal Renewal Personal Renewal Action
Lesson # 7, July 18, 1999 Rivermont Presbyterian Church College and Career Sunday School Class Creation Redemption res I am making everything new! Fall u ipt Scr Biblical Reformational Worldview: Redemption (1) “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. ” Col. 1: 19 -20 “He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new!” Rev. 21: 5 “All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. ” 2 Cor. 5: 18 An Outline For Discussion Introduction We have seen how the concept of creation must be taken much more broadly and seriously than Christians ordinarily take it. We have also discussed how mankind’s fall into sin affects the entire creation. All of this has been preparation for making the basic point that the redemption achieved by Jesus Christ is cosmic in the sense that it restores the whole creation. This confession has two parts. The first is that redemption means restoration - that is, the return to the goodness of an originally good creation and not merely the addition of something supercreational. The second is that this restoration affects the whole of creational life and not merely some limited area within it. Both of these affirmations are crucial to an integral biblical worldview, and both are pregnant with important consequences for Christian discipleship. A. Walters
Explain how redemption, restoration, and renewal mean re-creation Salvation as Restoration Theses and Talking Points 1 - It is quite striking that virtually all the basic words describing salvation in the Bible imply a return to an original good state or situation. Redemption (buy back), Renewal, Regeneration, Restoration, Reconciliation. Acknowledging this scriptural emphasis, theologians have sometimes spoken of salvation as “re-creation” (Eph. 1: 7; 1: 14; Col. 1: 14; Heb. 9: 12; 2 Cor. 4: 16; Tit. 3: 4; Lam. 5: 21; 1 Pet. 5: 10; Nahum 2: 2, 2 Cor. 5: 18) 2 - The implications are many. Marriage should not be avoided, but sanctified; Emotions should not be repressed, but purified; Sexuality is not simply to be shunned, but redeemed; Politics should not be declared off-limits, but reformed. 3 - Redemption is not a matter of an addition of a spiritual or supernatural dimension to creaturely life that was lacking before; rather, it is a matter of bringing new life and vitality to what was there all along. 4 - The only thing that redemption adds that is not included in the creation is the remedy for sin, and that remedy is brought in solely for the purpose of recovering a sinless creation. 5 - In the language of theology, grace does not bring a gift added on top of creation; rather, grace restores nature, making it whole once again 6 - The scope of creation is as great as that of the fall; it embraces creation as a whole. 7 - What distinguishes a reformational worldview is its understanding of the radical and universal scope of both sin and redemption. There is something totalitarian about the claims of both Satan and Christ; nothing in all of creation is neutral in the sense it is untouched by the dispute between these two great adversaries. 8 - The Kingdom of God - Are you an “Already”, “Not Yet’ or “Already - Not Yet” Christian?
Conclusions Although the biblical basis for the consistent partnership between evangelism and cultural and social responsibility and action is well established, a number of objections to it are raised: 1 - Isn’t this cultural, creational and social concern the same as “liberal/social theology? No! Liberal/social theology attempts to equate the cultural / social liberation with the “salvation’ which Christ came, died and rose to win, and this a fatal mistake. 2 - Isn’t it impossible to expect cultural and social change unless people are converted? No, it isn’t ‘t. Of course we long for people to be converted. But Jesus Christ through his people has had an enormous influence foe good on society as a whole. Think, for example, of the rising standards of health and hygiene, the wider availability of education, the growing respect of women and children, the concern with human rights and civil liberties, better conditions in factory, mine and prison, and the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. Legislation can secure social improvement, even though it does not convert people or make them good. Even fallen human beings retain sufficient vestiges of the divine image to prefer justice to injustice, freedom to oppression, and peace to violence. 3 - Won’t commitment to cultural and social action distract us from evangelism? Yes, it might, but no, it need not. Certainly we should take warning of this possibility. We should be grateful for evangelical watchdogs who bark loud and long if they see any signs in us of a diminished commitment to evangelism. But if we live in the light of Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension, our incentives to evangelism will be continuously renewed at the perennial spring. In particular, His exaltation to the supreme place of honor will inspire us to desire that He be given glory due to His name. Then cultural, creational and social action, far from diverting us from evangelism, will make it more effective by rendering the gospel more visible and more credible. Our radical commitment to the Lordship of Christ involves several dimensions: Intellectual, Moral, Vocational, Social, Political and Global. His is Lord - over al, things - Let us honor and praise Him in everything we do. It will not be easy - recognizing it is the first step. Schedule July 11 July 18 July 25 August 1 August 8 August 15 August 22 August 29 Fall Redemption Discerning Structure and Direction General Discussion - Recap Structure and Direction, World as Perverted Creation Salvation as Restoration, The Kingdom of God Jesus’ Ministry, Comparison with Other Views of the Kingdom, Illustration Reformation Societal Renewal Personal Renewal Action
Lesson # 8, July 25, 1999 Rivermont Presbyterian Church College and Career Sunday School Class Creation Fall Redemption res u ipt Scr Biblical Reformational Worldview: Redemption (2) Jesus Ministry - The Kingdom of God: Already and Not - Yet “He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil. ” Acts 10: 38 “The Kingdom of God is among you. ” Luke 17: 21 NEB Our Father in heaven …your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Mat. 6: 9 -13 An Outline For Discussion Introduction Jesus’ ministry clearly demonstrates that the coming of the kingdom means restoration of creation. Christ's work was not only a preaching of the long awaited coming of the kingdom, but also a demonstration of that coming. In His words and especially in His deeds, Jesus himself was the proof that the kingdom had arrived. After casting an evil spirit out of a blind and mute man, Jesus says to the Pharisees, “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ” (Mat 12: 28)
Jesus Ministry: Mat 3: 1; 4: 17, 23; 12: 28; 13: 37 -39 1 - Jesus’ miracles not only attest to the truth of His preaching concerning the coming of the kingdom but actually demonstrate that coming. Jesus’ miracles constituted the actual evidence of His kingship over the power of Satan. Nearly all of Jesus' miracles were miracles of restoration. A freeing of creation from the shackles of sin and evil, and a reinstatement of the creaturely living as God intended it to be. (Luke 13: 12, 16) 2 - Acts 23: 38 refers very clearly the Lord's sphere of action. The response of the evil spirit confirms this in Luke 8: 28! The KING is acknowledged, God's power is feared and the presence of God's kingdom is recognized. (Mat 11: 4 -5). In the person of Christ the Kingdom was already present but at the same time the Lord teaches His disciples to pray: "Thy Kingdom come" (Luke 17: 21) 4 - Both the "already" and the "not yet" characterize an interlude between Our Lord's first and Second Coming. 1 st: God accomplishes His foothold in creation and 2 nd complete VICTORY! Already: "all authority in heaven iand on earth” has been given to Him (Math 28: 18). Since His ascencion Jesus has continued to make His kingdom come, but now by means of the ministry of His followers empowered by the Holy Spirit (Luke 19: 11 -27, Mat 19: 28) and we must employ all God Given means in opposing the demonization of creation. The servants of the already-come kingdom invest their entire resources for the promotion of the kingdom not-yet-come. 5 - We must employ God's power in our private and public life. Christ lays claim upon it all. Those who refuse this to honor that kingship are like the nobleman’s countrymen who declared “We don’t want this man to be our king” Luke 19: 14. However, this does not mean a return to the Garden of Eden. 6 - Gods plan for the earth is for it to be subdued by humankind (restoration). A good deal of development has already taken place even though it is distorted by human sinfulness. God demands that these developments be reformed, that they be made answerable to their creational structure, and that they be subjected to the ordination of the creator. 7 - Biblical religion is historically progressive, not reactionary. It views the whole course of history as a movement from a garden to a city, and it fundamentally affirms that movement. God claims all creation - not only all its departments, but also all stages of development.
Comparison with other views: Pietism: Restrict the kingdom of God to personal piety (Luke 17: 21) interpreted as “The kingdom of God within you” rather than “among you” Institutional Church: Only pastors and missionaries are engaged in full time ministry work. Division of “Church and World” Dispensationalists: Restrict the kingdom to an eschatological future. For them the petition “ thy kingdom come is “ may the millennium not be long in coming” Classical Liberal Protestantism: The “kingdom of God” means anything that seems humane and progressive from a humanistic point of view. For example liberation theology. Again and again we need to remind ourselves that Christ is not satisfied with halfway measures. The Lord reclaims all of creational life. Kingdom of God The temptation to categorize the creation into good and bad areas must be resisted. The works of the flesh are not just bodily sins, nor is thefruit of the Spirit only mental. Chu Fam Polit Busin Ar Educa Journal Thou Emoti Plants and Inanimate rch ily ics ess t tion ism ght on Animals Matter The world What we are calling here the Reformational Worldview is an attempt to honor, in an explicit and consistent way, the insistent message of Scripture that sin is radical, deep and pervasive. Christ is a match - more than a match - for Satan throughout creation The world Redemption is the recovery of creational goodness through the annulment of sin. We return to creation through the cross. Mark’s version of the great commission bids us to “preach the good news to all creation (mark 16; 15) because there is need of liberation from sin everywhere.
Conclusions A simple illustration / Comparison - D-Day and V-Day Spiritual warfare - Ephesians 6; Prisoner of war by philosophy - Colossians 2; and comparison of evangelism with a siege - 2 Corinthians 10: 3 -6 A genuinely biblical worldview recognizes that a real battle rages between God and His adversary for control of creation. This is a spiritual battle. Perhaps the battle surfaces most dramatically in cases of demon possessions both in biblical times and today. But the confrontation is no less real as in the progressive secularization of mass media, medical ethics, education, etc. . This spiritual warfare hits many bright Christian students hard when they make the transition from high school to college. Unless they have an integral biblical worldview that equips them to fight back with the sword of the Spirit, their alternatives are either to live a life of almost intolerable intellectual schizophrenia (the chapel hermetically sealed off from the classroom) or to be swept along in the secular humanism. Paul’s warning is as applicable now as nineteen centuries ago: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition ad the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Col. 2; 28) Schedule July 11 July 18 July 25 August 1 August 8 August 15 August 22 August 29 Fall Redemption Discerning Structure and Direction General Discussion - Recap Structure and Direction, World as Perverted Creation Salvation as Restoration, The Kingdom of God Jesus’ Ministry, Comparison with Other Views of the Kingdom, Illustration Reformation Societal Renewal Personal Renewal Action
Break. Point Commentary #90720 - 7/20/1999 - Cute Chick, Fat Broad: The Faith Behind B. C. by Charles Colson If you were to name the most widely read Christian of our time, who would it be? C. S. Lewis? Frank Peretti? Billy Graham? Well, the real answer is someone who has more readers than all of these men combined. But don't look for his books at your local Christian bookstore. He's in the newspaper, on, of all things, the comic page. I'm talking about Johnny Hart, the most widely syndicated cartoonist in the world. He draws two well-known comic strips, "B. C. " and "Wizard of Id, " which reach some 100 million readers worldwide every day. Hart is recognized by his colleagues as one of the Best and funniest comic strip artists. But in recent years many newspapers have started refusing to run "B. C. " on some days, and have even canceled it altogether--not because they think Hart has gone stale, but because of something that is, in their eyes, even worse: Over the years, Hart has begun to weave Christian themes into his strip. For example, a recent Good Friday cartoon featured four panels of solid gray, each growing darker until the last panel, which was entirely black, with the caption "Good Friday. " Another strip shows a caveman on his knees asking God why He doesn't reveal Himself. The man's prayer is interrupted by volcanic eruptions, an eclipse, a burning bush. . . and a stone rolling away from a cave. As a child, Hart was raised in a nominally Christian home, but as a young man he developed a drinking problem, and even dabbled in the occult. Then, about 20 years ago, Hart underwent a conversion experience and became personally persuaded that Christianity is true. His life has never been the same since, and neither have his cartoons. Though the strip "B. C. ” originally became famous for characters like "Cute Chick" and "Fat Broad, " today it is growing even better known for the controversies that have erupted over its biblical allusions--especially when newspapers cancel the strip over Hart's allusions to his faith. Ironically, it is typically the liberal papers, like the Washington Post, that are most prone to this illiberal reaction. Yet liberal cartoonist Gary Trudeau, who pens the highly politicized strip "Doonesbury, " says he can't understand what the controversy is all about. "What's the problem? ” Trudeau asks. "That, God forbid, Johnny Hart still believes in God? " As Trudeau puts, it, Hart "is writing about his values as much as I am writing about mine. " Precisely. By subtly introducing "his values" into his comic strips, Hart is proving the wisdom of C. S. Lewis, who once observed that believers would be much more effective in getting their message out if they did not always try to evangelize by hitting people over the head with scripture. Rather, Lewis said, they should depict Christian truths in a context that is not explicitly Christian--such as a cartoon featuring cavemen. Johnny Hart can be an inspiration to all of us to find ways to bring a Christian worldview to bear on our work, whatever it may be. Healthy humor is one of God's good gifts to us, and even writing comic strips can be done to His glory-especially if that comic features a fat broad, a cute chick. . . and the message of Christ's resurrection. Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship Ministries
Lesson # 9, August 1, 1999 Rivermont Presbyterian Church College and Career Sunday School Class ptu Redemption res Biblical Reformational Worldview: Discerning Structure and Direction(1) Reformation = Sanctification and Progressive Renewal Fall i Scr Creation “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the Word of God in prayer. 1 Tim. 4: 4 -5 "The kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough. " (Matt. 13: 33) An Outline For Discussion Introduction In this chapter we look at some for the practical implications of this worldview for societal, personal and cultural lives of Christians. How, for example, should Christians today make sense of the conflicting opinions about technology, or aggression, or political revolution, or dance, or education, or sexuality? Does our examination of the nature of creation, fall and redemption bear fruit for a biblical approach to these affairs? We shall argue that the in all cases the task of the Christian is to discern structure and direction. Structure denotes the essence of a created thing. Direction refers to a sinful deviation from that structural ordinance and the renewed conformity to it in Christ. A reformational analysis of every area of life will apply this biblical distinction consistently. It will place equal emphasis on creation (structure) and on the spiritual contraposition pervading all of creation. All of our lives, and all of the realities of our daily experience, are constituted by structure and direction, the basic ingredients of life. This emphasis makes a radical difference in the way Christian believers approach reality. Because we believe that creational structure underlies all reality, we seek and find evidence of lawful constancy in the flux of experience, and of invariant principles amidst a variety of historical events and institutions. Because we confess that a spiritual direction underlies our experience, we see abnormality where others see normality, and possibilities of renewal where others see inevitable distortions.
Reformation (The sixteen-century revival of biblical religion. Re-discovery of the Word of God. ) 1 - Reformation means sanctification, not consecration. Both words mean “making holy, ’ but they are not synonymous. Sanctification is the process where by the Holy Spirit purifies creation from sin on the basis of Christ's atonement and victory. That purifying activity is a process that brings an inner renewal of God's creatures, not just an external connection to the institutional church and its services of worship. To consecrate means simply “to set apart, to dedicate, to devote to the service or worship of God. ” Consecration means external renewal; sanctification means internal renewal. The word reformation refers to sanctification in this sense of inner revitalization. 2 - A dualistic worldview restricts sanctification and work of the Spirit to the sacred and holy realm (usually the institutional church) and allows consecration (some external connection with the sacred) for the rest of life. But this consecration is far cry from the inner sanctification of business or marital life that the Bible calls for. If these areas of creation are to be truly restored, they must be made holy from within, in terms of what they uniquely are: there must be economic holiness in business and marital holiness in marriage. The renewing power of salvation in Jesus Christ penetrates the very fabric of the "natural world, " sanctifying it from within. 3 - This sanctification is what the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote to Timothy that everything created by God is "sanctified" by the Word of God and prayer (1 Tim. 4: 5). (NIV and RSV wrongly translated to consecrated). (Greek word hagiazein = make holy). Jesus makes clearer when He says, "The kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough. " (Matt. 13: 33). The gospel affects government in a specific political manner, art in a peculiar aesthetic manner, scholarship in a uniquely theoretical manner, and churches in a distinctly ecclesiastic manner. It makes possible a renewal of each creational area from within, not without. 4 - Reformation seeks progressive renewal not violent overthrow. The Dutch Reformers opposed the French Revolution of 1789, Marxism, etc. God calls His people to a historical reformation in all these areas, to a sanctification of creational realities from sin and its effect. What was formed in creation has been deformed by sin and must be reformed in Christ. 5 -Reformation entails that the normative elements in any distorted situation should be sought out as a point of contact in terms of which renewal can take place. Hence reformation always takes as its point of departure what is historically given and seeks to build on the good rather than clearing the historical terrain radically in order to lay an altogether new foundation. ‘test everything and hold fast to what is good” (1 Thess. 5: 21) 6 - Reformational worldview stands in some danger of being perceived as conservatism, as support for the status quo. Such perception is profoundly mistaken, since reformation is inherently and by definition a call for reform. The status quo is never acceptable. In this sense the Christian may never be satisfied with the achievements of any given economic, or political cultural state of affairs. Everything in principle can be sanctified and internally renewed - our personal life, our societal relationships, our cultural activities. There is no limit to the scope of the hallowing operation of the Holy Spirit. (“Nothing is unclean in itself” Rom. 14: 14; Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord almighty”, Zech. 14: 20 -21)
7 - For Christians, this renewing orientation is particularly important, since severe social oppression and injustice can easily seduce us into identifying the whole social order with the "world" in its religiously negative sense. When this fatal identification is made, we tend to withdraw from all participation in societal renewal. Under the guise of keeping itself from the "world" the body of Christ then in effect allows the powers of secularization and distortion to dominate the greater part of its life. This i s not so much an avoidance of evil as a neglect of duty. (We are salt and light - Matt. 5: 13) The intellectual life is not the only road to God, nor the safest, but we find it to be a road and it may be the appointed road for us. . If all the world were Christian, it might not matter if all the world were uneducated. But, as it is, a cultural life will exist outside the Church whether it exists inside or not. To be ignorant and simple now - not to be able to meet the enemies on their own ground - would be to throw down our weapons, and to betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defense but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen. C. S. Lewis. 8 - With regard to the church - we ought not to respond to a sick church by rejecting it wholesale or refusing to participate in its life, but by attaching ourselves to building on the good that can still be found in it. Here too we must "hate what is evil, cling to what is good" (Rom. 12: 9). Whether we work in the arts, business, or media, the strategy of reformation must always guide us. We must respect the historical givens and without compromise call for reform. Conclusions In sum we may say that whereas consecration leaves things internally untouched, and revolution annihilates things, reformation renews and sanctifies them. God calls us to cleanse and reform all sectors of our lives. (Different Expressions - Different Emphasis: Charismatic, Institutional Church, Evangelical, Reformed) Do you believe in God? Yes 83. 8% No 8. 4% Not sure 7. 8% How often do you visit a house of worship? At least once a week 41. 2% At least once a month 11. 0% Rarely, and I feel guilty 17. 6% Rarely, and I feel fine 7155 30. 2% Why are you interested in spirituality? For guidance and fulfillment 61. 6% For help in hard times 8. 0% Family and cultural tradition 7. 0% Religion is very popular these days 0. 3% Other 12. 7% Not interested 10. 4% If you don't have a spiritual life, why not? No time 3. 3% Sexism and/or discrimination in organized religion 3. 3% Science proves that there isn't a God 5. 3% Bad experiences with religion 3. 9% Other 12. 8% I have a spiritual life 71. 3% (AOL) Schedule August 1 August 8 August 15 August 22 Discerning Structure and Direction General Discussion - Recap Reformation Societal Renewal Personal Renewal Action
Break. Point Commentary #90730 - 07/30/1999 - Faith Attack: A College Survival Guide by Charles Colson Once at a major state university, a young woman stayed after class to talk with the professor. "In today's lecture, you said you're a Christian, " she blurted out, almost in tears. "I've never heard any other professor say that, and every day at this university I feel as if my faith is under attack. " If you had any notion that the college campus is a friendly place for Christians, think again. The professor in this story was Jay Budziszewski of the University of Texas, who has written a new book called "How to Stay Christian in College. " The university campus has changed dramatically, Budziszewski says. And Christian parents and teachers had better prepare young people to defend their faith in an increasingly hostile environment. Take one of the biggest intellectual fads of our day: postmodernism. The best way to define postmodernism is that it is a reaction against modernism--which began in the Enlightenment, when many intellectuals proclaimed autonomy from God and sought to find truth by human reason alone. Postmodernism represents the collapse of that hope: It insists that human reason alone is incapable of coming up with any overarching, universal truth. In postmodernist lingo, we can have no "grand metanarrative"--no Big Story--that makes sense of reality. What does this mean for the Christian student seeking to express his faith in the classroom? If a believer talks about the biblical worldview of creation, fall, and redemption, he's likely to be shot down precisely because what he's telling is a " metanarrative"--a Big Story--that claims to describe ultimate reality. But Big Stories have been ruled out of bounds. Case closed. Discussion ended. If that weren't enough to rule out a biblical perspective, consider some further implications. If there's no Big Story making sense of all reality, then reality itself dissolves into bits and pieces. That's exactly what postmodernists say. They think truth is in pieces because they don't believe in a coherent reality that's the same for everyone. They think personality is in pieces because they don't believe in a self, a core identity, that's responsible for everything we do. They think life itself is in pieces because they don't believe it has any ultimate purpose or meaning. How can Christian students respond to these challenges? The answer may surprise you: We can begin by acknowledging a grain of truth in postmodernism. It is absolutely correct that, apart from God, there IS no overarching Truth, no coherent reality, no ultimate purpose to life. But we don't need to succumb to despair, as postmodernism does. The solution is to return to God. That's what the Gospel is all about. Christian students can be confident that biblical faith has answers to the intellectual challenges they face on the college campus. An outstanding resource is Jay Budziszewski's new book, "How to Stay Christian in College. " Contact Break. Point at 1 800 995 -8777, and we'll tell you how to get a hold of a wonderful College Survival Kit, including Budziszewski's marvelous new book, for your own children or grandchildren who are headed for college this fall. Christian students don't need to be defenseless. If we do our homework, we'll discover that God's truth gives an answer to every ideology--in the classroom and in the world beyond. Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship Ministries
Lesson # 10, August 8, 1999 Rivermont Presbyterian Church College and Career Sunday School Class Redemption res Biblical Reformational Worldview: Discerning Structure and Direction (2) Societal Renewal Fall u ipt Scr Creation “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to this eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. ” Eph. 3: 10 -11 “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. ” Rom. 13: 1 -2 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by Him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. ” 1 Pet. 2: 13 -14 “Unto Him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end, Amen. ” Eph. 3: 21 An Outline For Discussion Introduction Let us move now to an arena of society at large, to that great variety of human institutions and associations including the family, the school, the state, the church, the business corporation, and so forth. Do the biblical principles of structure and direction and the strategy of reformation offer any guidelines to how Christians ought to understand their task of sanctification in the domain of public life? Our point of departure will be discernment of structure and direction. Human society give evidence that structured order underlies the great diversity of societal forms in different cultures and periods of history. The creator’s sustaining and governing hand is not absent from the many ways in which human beings organize their lives together.
Societal Renewal Talking Points 1 - However society arranges itself, it must always do its arranging in terms of creational givens. That the family consists of at least a father, mother, and child living together in bonds of committed caring is not an arbitrary accident; nor is it a mere convention that can be dismissed when it has outlived it usefulness. No, it is rooted in the way a wise creator made human nature – rooted in the biological, emotional, social, and moral constitution of men and women. There is a design for the family a basic pattern that allows for a variety but also sets certain very definite boundaries. Families as we know them are partially obedient and partially disobedient responses to the basic creational pattern. The creational structure of the family is the inescapable requirement for the existence of families at all, allowing us to recognize the family as a family. The family is the societal institution established by God the creator. (Genesis 1). (See Break. Point Commentary) 2 - As noted in our discussion of creation, the principle that societal institutions are creational applies across the board. Not only the family and marriage (two distinct communities) but also the institutional church (to be distinguished from the church as a body of Christ which participates in the other societal spheres as well) and the state are divinely instituted. In fact, as we have seen, the new Testament explicitly relates the structures of political authority to Gods ordinance in creation ( see Rom. 13: 1 -2 and 1 Pet. 2: 13 -14) The fact that the scriptures do not expressly speak of a God ordained structure for such institutions as the school and the business enterprise does not mean that they are arbitrary and have nothing to do with God given standards. Our own experience of the creation confirms the general scriptural teaching that Gods ordinances apply to all of life. Someone may try to run a school like a business (businessmen on schoollboards often do), but in the long run such an attempt will prove counter productive. The creational structure of the school resists being pressed into an alien mold-just as business’s resist being run like a family. The resistance is evidence of creational norm. Ignoring Gods good creation in these areas simply does not pay, neither educationally or economically. 3 - Each societal institution is a positivization of creational structure that holds uniquely for it. As we have already noted, positivization is a matter of putting into practice a creational norm. We saw earlier that part of Gods rule over creation takes place through the mediation of human responsibility. Men and women, exercise their responsibility in society and culture by discerning, interpreting, and applying creational norms for the conduct of their lives. The precise form a societal institution takes in a given time and place is the result of how those who bear the responsibility understand the norm for that institution. 4 - An important principle emerges from its creationally oriented conception of the social order. The responsibility of the authorities in a given societal institution is defined by its normative structure. That is to say, the unique creational nature of the family, state, school, and the like specifies and delimits the authority exercise in each case. A father’s authority is parental; it is both characterized and restricted by the peculiar nature of the family. The father is therefor obligated to exercise his authority in a distinctly familial way, not in a matter appropriate to, say, the police force or hockey club. Ruling a family like a military unit, as the widowed father in The Sound of Music attempts to do, goes
Societal Renewal Talking Points (continued) 5 -The upshot of this principle- which Abraham Kuyper called “sphere sovereignty” but which we may also call the principle of “differentiated responsibility”- is that no societal institution is subordinated to any other. Persons in positions of social authority ( or the office) are called to positivize Gods ordinances directly in their only specific sphere. Their authority is delegated to them by God, not by any human authority. Consequently they are also directly responsible to God. If one institution raises itself to a position of authority over the others, inciting its authority between that of God and the others, a form of totalitarianism emerges that violates the limited nature of each societal sphere. Such is the case in totalitarian states, in which political authority overrides all other authority. Moreover, totalitarianism threatens to become the mark of contemporary society, in which the economic authority of certain vast transnational companies has become so extensive that in certain cases it interferes with the political sovereignty of states and with the spheres of many less powerful societal institutions. 6 -Totalitarianism of whatever form is the directional perversion of the creational structure of society. The Christian is called to oppose all totalitarianism, whether of the state, church, or corporation, because it always signifies a transgression of God’s mandate societal boundaries and an invasion into alien spheres. Perversion of God’s creational design for society can occur in two ways: either through perversion of norms within a given sphere or through the extension of the authority of one sphere over another. But that opposition should always affirm the proper and right exercise of responsibility. 7 - Christians should not simply lament the erosion of the family, for example, but should advocate measures enabling it to play its vital role once again. Not only must they confront exploitative corporations with the challenge of a normative view of the enterprise, but they must also enact legislation that both out laws glaring cases of corporate abuse (against the environment, for example) and offer incentives for reassuming genuine corporate responsibility. Christians should actively engage in efforts to make every societal institution assume its own responsibility, warding off the interference of others. That, too, is participation in the restoration of creation and the coming of the kingdom of God. Conclusion: What makes a Christian community Christian is its worship. A radical community, it subverts the dominant culture because it worships, serves and prays to the Living God. Its worship sets the pattern for its whole life. Rather than being conformed to the world, it is a community being transformed by the renewing of its communal mind - its worldview. Consequently its worship is not relegated to just liturgical activities, but it gives whole life to God as a sacrificial offering (this is the point of Rom. 12: 1 -2). Here is the essence of a Christian cultural witness in a society in decline. Wash / Middleton Schedule August 8 August 15 August 22 August 29 Discerning Structure and Dir. Societal Renewal Discerning Structure and Dir. Personal Renewal General Discussion - Recap Personal Renewal
Break. Point Commentary #90803 - 8/3/1999 - White Weddings: What's Behind Neotraditionalism? - by Charles Colson Watching today's movies and television, you'd think young people are little more than animals in heat. Whether it's movies like "American Pie" or television shows like "Dawson's Creek, " the message is that the only view teens have about sex is "the more the better. ” But if you look beyond the Hollywood fantasy and ask people who actually know about the subject, you'll find a much different--and much brighter--picture. A recent issue of American Demographics magazine introduced readers to Ryan K. , a nineteen-year-old student at Georgetown University. While Ryan is, in many respects, like the kids you see depicted on the screen--right down to a pierced eyebrow--his attitudes towards sex and morality are remarkably traditional. Ryan says he no intention of living with a woman outside of marriage. He told American Demographics that he plans to have sex with his future bride for the first time on their wedding night. And Ryan isn't alone in his embrace of more traditional sexual mores. In the past two decades, the number of 18 -to-24 -years olds who say, "it is always wrong to have sex before marriage, " has doubled. In just the past two years, the percentage of unmarried couples who live together has dropped by nearly a third--a staggering reversal of past trends. Kirsty Doig, vice president of a market research group called Youth Intelligence, says these figures indicate a major new trend among the young-a trend she labels "neotraditionalism. " White wedding gowns are in fashion again. Other experts agree, predicting a surge in teen marriages and larger families. What's even more fascinating than these trend are the reasons behind them. Doig told American Demographics that today's 18 -to-24 -year olds "have not had a lot of stability in their lives. " As a result we're seeing "a backlash, a return to tradition and ritual. And that includes marriage. " Another expert on trends among youth is more blunt. Liz Nickles says that much of the impetus behind neotraditionalism is the poor example set by these kids' parents. "[Their] role models were mothers focused on their careers, " Nickles says. So today's teens plan to lives their lives more the way their grandparents did. While Generation Y girls may pursue careers, Nickles says, "their first priority will be their homes. " As we approach the new millennium, it's becoming increasingly clear that our culture has reached an impasse. Thirty-plus years of moral relativism has not made a better world. In fact, it's done the opposite: It has produced fatherless children, broken homes, schoolyard shootings-horrors we never dreamed of. The members of Generation Y know this first hand: They are its principal victims. That's why they're embracing traditional views: they are looking for a way out of the impasse. This openness to tradition presents Christians with an incredible opportunity for witness. We know that as positive as these trends are, they alone are not enough. These kids are doing the right thing. Now they need to embrace the right REASONS for doing these things. That's why we need to help Generation Y see beyond the neotraditional trappings like white wedding gowns to the deep moral Christian truths upon which these traditions rest. Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship Ministries
Lesson # 11, August 15, 1999 Rivermont Presbyterian Church “Unto Him be the glory. . . throughout all ages, world without end, Amen. ” Eph. 3: 21 College and Career Sunday School Class Fall Redemption res u ipt Scr Creation Biblical Reformational Worldview: Discerning Structure and Direction (3) Personal Renewal (The Heart, Aggressiveness, and Gifts of the Spirit) 1 Tes. 5: 23, 24 Intellect “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ” Dt. 6: 4 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. ” Ps. 51: 10 “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. ” Eph. 3: 17 2 Co. 10: 4, 5 Justice Prov 4: 23; 23: 26 Will Ps. 40: 8 Heart Soul “. . whatever is true, whatever is noble …whatever is pure …think about such things. ” Phil. 4: 8 “My heart I offer to you Lord, promptly and sincerely. ” John Calvin Ps. 119: 11 Sent. Phi. 4: 6, 7 Mercy Body Responsibility Competence An Outline For Discussion Introduction Personal Renewal starts in the regenerated human heart. It is from the heart that the springs of life flow (Pr. 4: 23). When we give our heart to the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to create a new and pure heart within us, the renewal process begins. The heart should not equated with the emotions or intellect; it should be seen as the governing agent and direction-giver of the emotions and intellect. With this understanding in mind lets look into “Aggression” and the “Gifts of the Spirit. ”
Talking Points Aggression Thus far we have applied the structure direction distinction very broadly, to society at large. It may be useful at this point to focus our attention on something closer to our personal lives: our emotions. Certainly our emotions are personal and also very important. It will profit us to consider how different worldviews have evaluated human emotions, and specifically how Greek disdain for the "passions" has affected the Christian church. For our purposes it will be valuable to focus on one aspect of human emotion- aggression. In general, people consider aggressive behavior (which includes anger, competition, and self-assertion) to be either bad or good. This inclination is particularly evident among Christians. On the one hand, some believers condemn all evidence of aggression as conflicting with the biblical ideals of gentleness and meekness and with the central command of love. To stand up for yourself, to insist on a certain course of actions, to fight hard to win sports or succeed in business are at best tolerated. And many who disapprove of aggression in this way have corresponding feelings of guilt whenever they express anger of behave aggressively. Moreover, those who view aggression with suspicion tend to feel the same way about human emotion in general, and strive for suppression and control rather than free and open expression. They consider aggression to be an essentially sinful phenomenon, a result of the fall and not a part of the good created order. After all, did Jesus himself relate anger to the commandment against murder (Matt. 5: 22), and did not Paul list "wrath" among the works of the flesh (Gal. 5: 20, KJV)? A Christian psychotherapy founded on this view seeks to bring the client to the point where the need for anger and assertiveness is no longer felt. On the other hand, some Christians see aggression as a natural human function that is essential to emotional health. They argue that human beings too have a natural instinct for aggression that should not be obstructed. If it is blocked, they say, all kinds of neuroses and emotional maladjustments might result. These Christians go so far as to encourage aggressive behavior, suggesting at the same time that aggression should be channeled through socially acceptable outlets or expressed in settings in which it does not damage those against whom it was directed. Psychotherapists of this persuasion, many Christians included, encourage their clients to express their anger, to stand up for themselves when dealing with other people. They may even recommend assertiveness training to held then channel their aggression. Clearly, these different approaches contradict each other. What one school of thought diagnoses as the ailment, the other recommends as the cure. And yet sincere and committed Christians stand on each side of the issue. A biblical worldviews enables us to avoid this false dilemma. It helps us to formulate the problem differently, and in so doing it helps to provide us with genuinely effective means to deal practically with our feelings. Often the way a question is posed determines the answer (or the range of the possible answers) to that question. In the case of aggression, the implicit questions shared by both parties permit only two answers, and since those two answers are only half-right, there at best misleading and at worst downright false.
If we phrase the question in terms of the structure direction distinction, then the question becomes, ” In aggression, what is structural and what is directional? ” Now the possible answers are much different. Underlying our query is the assumption that the fundamental biblical realities of creation, fall and redemption apply here as elsewhere. Aggression therefore must involve feature both of our created human nature and of the perversion or (at least potential) sanctification and restoration of that nature in Jesus Christ. A Christian analysis approaching the question about aggression in such terms can easily take into account the repeatedly warn against the sinful anger and strife and that ascribe the wrath to God and zeal to His servants. As few Christian psychologists have analyzed aggression in terms of structure and direction. It belongs to the structure of being humans that we are aggressive with each other. They point out that the element of aggressiveness is essential for a good discussion, to healthy competition and games, of pursing a loved one and even to making love. It is been argued that aggression is often called for in response to sin, as in admonition or righteous indignation. The opposite of love is not aggression but hate. Aggression can be the loving thing to do, and only becomes the opposite of love as hateful aggression. Hateful aggression is the perversion of a good creational gift. To oppose is to oppose not the gift but the perversion. The call for Christians, therefore, is to sanctify aggression, not to repress it. Meekness and aggression do not need to be contradictory. Paul tells Timothy that the Lord’s servant must be kind and forbearing, “ in meekness correcting them that oppose themselves” (II Tim. 2: 25 ASV) There the verb translated correct normally rendered “ chasten” or “chastise” – has a strongly aggressive connotation. Many fail to recognize that aggression, especially in humankind, is caught into the religious antithesis. There are real distinctions in good and evil in aggression. We need not accept the idea of the elimination of direction in human aggression to learn from about its creational structure. Seen in that light, aggression is one further instance of something created by God that should not be rejected but “sanctified by the word of God and by prayer” (I Tim. 4: 5) Spiritual Gifts It may seem a jump to move from aggression to the charismatic gifts, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There are similarities between the two, however, if only because both are closely tied to human emotion, and because the discrimination of the structure and direction is as helpful in the one case as it is in the other. Unfortunately they are also similar in the extent to which opinion concerning them have polarized, though the controversy is even more intense in the case of the spiritual gifts. Normally, people mean by the “ gifts” such extraordinary abilities as speaking in tongues, prophesying and healing. Paul describes them with the word Charismata. , “free gifts” (I Cor 12). Today there are two extreme positions regarding these abilities. One is that they are supernatural gifts and intrinsically superior to more ordinary gifts such as patience and kindness, and that the Christian who possesses them has a higher spiritual status. The other extreme holds that all contemporary manifestations of the charismatic gifts are at best and oddity and at worst fake. Speaking in tongues, for example, is considered a strange kind of ecstatic utterance that is neither supernatural or uniquely Christian. As a “natural” phenomenon, it fits within the range of traditional psychological categories. The same applies to the gifts of healing and prophecy: no supernatural agency is needed to explain these extraordinary abilities.
Before we analyze these conflicting viewpoints, it may be well to carefully look at the word supernatural, which occurs so often in discussions of the spiritual gifts. The term has a number of different meanings, all of which involve the idea that “ nature” is transcended. Nature may mean “creation” (in which case only God and His acts are supernatural) or “ earthly creation” (in which case God and all heavenly creatures are supernatural) or “the secular realm” (in which case the Church and Christian virtues are supernatural). Moreover, supernatural can be understood to apply not only to something that itself transcends “ nature” {however defined) but also to something that belongs to “nature” but owes its existence to some extraordinary power or influence outside nature. I consider the fruits of the Spirit as “supernatural” in this last sense, not in the sense that they transcend created reality. If we take the supernatural to mean “above earthly creation” then I believe on the basis of the structure – direction distinction that the charismatic gifts are not supernatural at all; rather, they belong to the nature of God’s good created earth. They are gifts of the Spirit as genuinely as love, joy and peace are, but they do not add anything to what God had intended fore His earthly creation from the beginning. They are therefore thoroughly “natural. ” They are like faith: only someone regenerated by the Holy Spirit can have faith (true faith, that is, Faith in Jesus Christ). But this regenerated faith does not make it foreign to the creators’ original purpose. And just as faith as general human function is not unknown outside the body of Christ (though it is always misdirected there), so the Charismatic gifts are not unknown outside Christianity (though they are misdirected and abused there). As creational possibilities, the Charismata manifest structural traits; as serving either the kingdom of God or the world, they manifest directional traits. The importance of this point is that spiritual gifts are on a par with all the other gifts. More correctly, all human gifts opened up by the Spirit of God for the edification of the church and the coming of His kingdom are by that token spiritual gifts. The gift of tongues is a great and glorious gift of God (if used appropriately), but the same is true of , say, the gift of intelligence( with the same proviso) and the gift of administration. In fact, Paul expressly mentions administration as a charisma in I Cor. 12: 28. Peter used the same word when talking about such ordinary gifts as extending hospitality and “serving” (probably to be understood as waiting on table) in I Peter 4: 9 -11. All human talents and abilities can flourish and blossom under the regenerating and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit, to the Glory and service of God. When opened up by the Spirit they are all charismatic gifts. This applies to social tact, to a way with children, to a knack for communicating, a mechanical skill, or whatever. There may be degrees of importance and splendor in the gifts, but all alike qualify as “ charismatic. ” And “spiritual” if they are directed to Christ’s redemption, sanctification, and reconciliation. This is not to say that everyone has the potential to possess all the charismatic gifts, including tongue speaking and healing. Certainly we cannot possess all of them to the same degree. Just as we do not all have a natural head for figures or a talent for administration, not matter how saintly or well coached we may be, so we can assume that not everyone is naturally gifted with the more dramatic of the charismatic gifts. On the other hand, the gifts may be much more widely distributed than we presently suspect. The point for now is simply that they are not supernatural-that is, they are not foreign to the everyday reality God created for us. This position is neither a put down of the gifts nor a sellout to irrational enthusiasm. It is rather a refusal to accept the current dilemma and an effort to make the biblical distinction between creation and the claims of Satan and Christ upon it fruitful for Christian insight. We must all seek to develop the gifts that God has given us, not forgetting that the greatest of these gifts is love (I Cor 13. )
Not I but Christ
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