are we looking at the same thing?
I listened to a radio program on 1210 am today where Mike Horton, a professor from Westminster, was complaining how the church doesn’t teach enough doctrine and theology. People don’t know what propitiation, justification, sanctification or atonement mean anymore. Instead we are always trying to translate the bible into everyday “real life” when the bible, doctrine and theology actually define real life.
I’m also reading this book Redeeming the Routines by Robert Banks where he says, “Doctrinal topics or broader social and political questions… tend to squeeze out more everyday concerns in study groups.” He also says, “Most Bible studies are of little help here. They tend to concentrate on the exposition of biblical books or on the discussion of theological themes.” He goes on to talk about how pulpits have lost touch with the everyday lives and concerns of people… i.e. “real life.”
Not only does it seem like the two guys have totally different points of view, they also seem to have totally different ideas of what is actually taught in churches. But perhaps their points of view color what they think is actually taught in churches.
Powered by FireStats
2 Comments, Comment or Ping
vangelicmonk
lol. Great point. Something I always think about. The Body of Christ is not a monolith upon which we can ascribe or project upon it our disagreements upon it’s segments. When people say the Church, what church, the US church, Chinese Church? What denomination or tradition? What about the multiplicity of non-denominationalis.
I know they are generalizing to make a point and to make it easier for the lay people who don’t know the intricacies of Body proper. However, I think saying “some churches” or “certian segments of the Church” etc is helpful. Christ does this in Revelations by pointing out what is good about a chruch and what is not so great. These are churches which are close in geography and similar in culture, but yet are vastly different in their approaches and focus.
This bugs me when Emergent/Emerging use generalizations and hyperbole with Evangelicals and Evangelicals doe the same with Emergent/Emerging. When Catholics do this to Protestants and Protestants with Catholics. We end up speaking past each other rather than dealing with the specific minutia of our differences and being faithful to how each one describes their stand.
Great post.
May 13th, 2008
kingdomsheepdog
Our worldview colors how we perceive ‘reality.”
May 14th, 2008
Reply to “are we looking at the same thing?”