I thought the story Rob Bell told was both interesting and engaging.  The point of Rob Bell’s talk was that God loves us and that He uses the hard times in our lives to reaffirm that to us.  Rob Bell differs from most preachers I have heard because the majority of his talk is a story.  If you just stay home and watch Rob Bell’s videos, it is impossible to encourage your fellow Christians as Hebrews 10:25 commands us to do. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” NKJV 

There are four different types of emergent churches according to Mark Driscoll.  First, there are the Emerging Evangelicals, who try to make church more relevant to today’s generation.  Secondly, the House Church Evangelicals, who want churches to become smaller and the members to become a close knit community.  Thirdly, the Emerging Reformers, who are charismatic.  Finally, there are the Emergent Liberals who question key points of the Bible, such as the virgin birth of Jesus.

If I were to start a congregation, I would want it to follow the Bible, adding nothing that God did not command us to do.  The congregation would partake of the Lord’s Supper every Sunday to remember Jesus’s death, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.  The members would give back to the Lord every Sunday, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2.  The congregation would sing praises to God, Ephesians 5:19.  A man would teach the congregation about the Bible, Acts 20:7.  There would also be prayer, 1 Timothy 2:8. Elders would oversee the spiritual needs of the congregation, 1 Timothy 3:1-7.  Deacons would take care of the physical needs of the congregation, 1 Timothy 3:8-13.  Love would be present, John 13:34-35 and Mark 12:30-31.  The congregation would strive to worship God in spirit and truth, John 4:23-24. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loFBGdeXGtg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58fgkfS6E-0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcCUdIBaZig

The Apologist's Evening Prayer

From all my lame defeats and oh! much more
From all the victories that I seemed to score;
From cleverness shot forth on Thy behalf
At which, while angels weep, the audience laugh;
From all my proofs of Thy divinity,
Thou, who wouldst give no sign, deliver me.

Thoughts are but coins. Let me not trust, instead
Of Thee, their thin-worn image of Thy head.
From all my thoughts, even from my thoughts of Thee,
O thou fair Silence, fall, and set me free.
Lord of the narrow gate and the needle's eye,
Take from me all my trumpery lest I die.

C.S. Lewis, Poems (1964).


 
Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." NKJV  God has given us His creation as proof of His divinity and power.

A Clear View Chapter 5

There are four primary views of man’s place in the universe.  One, man is fated and subject to the forces of the universe.  Two, man is the center of the universe and is the full determinant of his destiny.  Three, man is subject to chance and there is nothing sure, predictable or controllable.  Four, man is created by God with purpose and intentionality.  The first view is frequently seen in movies, such as Forest Gump, where Forest Gump says, “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.”  The second view is found today in democratic countries.  The fourth view is seen in the Church today.  The first and third views give people an apathetic outlook on life.   Someone with a first or third view looks to social conventions to make decisions.  The second view gives man an impression that he is in control of everything.  Someone with the second view holds democracy and self-government in the highest regard.  The fourth view gives man an intentionality and accountability in life.  Someone with the fourth view obeys God and sees people as created by God for a purpose. 

On a daily basis, I interact with people with the fourth view.  In the fourth view authority ultimately lies with God.  Some people in denominations today have decided to take authority into their hands, creating a disconnect between authority and the view of man in the church.  Romans 14:10^c - 12 clearly says God is in authority and we will answer to Him on the judgment day.  “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

A Clear View Chapter 2

           There are three ways we can know something, cognitively, empirically or by revelation.  Cognitive knowledge is intuitive; it is what we are born knowing.  For example, babies are born knowing how to cry when they are hungry.  Empirical knowledge is learned through experience or observation.  Driving a truck is empirical knowledge.  We can also know things that are revealed to us.  We can gain knowledge by revelation through reading God’s word. 

            Herodotus, Parmenides, Plato and Aristotle all had different ideas about what we could know.  Herodotus said the world was constantly changing, so we can never know the true nature of the world.  Parmenides said the world was unchanging, but could not be known by our senses or reason.  Plato and Aristotle both believed in a world with two layers. One layer was revealed to us by our senses and the other layer was a world with physical objects. Plato said the universals were not fully present in the material things, while Aristotle said they were.  Aristotle said the objective world of universals was not something separate and illusive from matter, but something that could be known.

            Thomas Aquinas helped define our understanding of what we could know by causing a shift from Plato’s ideas to Aristotle’s ideas.  The shift of ideas led to a discussion about the relationship between nature and grace.  Thomas Aquinas described the world as having an upper story, the unseen immaterial world of God and grace, and a lower story, the seen material world of man and nature.  The upper story is understood by faith and revelation is required to know it.  The lower story is understood by reason and the senses are required to know it. 

            The “Aristotelian Revolution” was a shift in focus from the upper story to the lower story.  The “Revolution” resulted in nature and humans becoming the objects of art.  Dante, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo produced amazing art and architecture during this time.  Great advances were also made in physical sciences.

            During the Renaissance, man began to see the lower story and nature as superior to the upper story.  Man defined morals, meaning and absolutes with reference to man.  Man began to trust more in his own reason, than in the upper story and thus, humanism began.  As theology, art and philosophy became separated from the upper story and no longer relied on God, theologians, artists and philosophers began to search for a universal truth that governed life and its meaning.  As a result, man looked only to himself for truth and greatly diminished the importance of the upper story.

            The Reformation was an attempt to restore a proper relationship between the upper story and the lower story.  The Reformation was in response to the exaltation of the lower story during the Renaissance.  The Reformers brought grace back to a position of importance, but did not diminish nature because God had created it.  During the Reformation education, art and music flourished.  Just laws, civil governments and economics were created.  Reason was revitalized and tempered by revelation.  The Reformers created harmony between the upper story and the lower story. 

Chapter 1: An intro to Worldview

For Worldview class I'm reading A Clear View by Keith Ogorek.

          Worldview, as defined by James Sire, is a set of presuppositions, which we hold consciously or subconsciously about our world.  Each person has their own worldview that is shaped by their family, friends, community, schooling and experiences.  I think the question that has the most influence on a person’s worldview is the question of whether or not there is a God.  If a person believes there is a God, then they will develop their idea of His attributes that will lead them to live their lives in a certain way.  If however, a person does not believe there is a God, then they will act accordingly and view the world in a very different way. 

          A person’s worldview is dynamic, meaning it can change over the course of their life.  As a person meets new people or reads new books, they encounter new ideas that might alter their way of thinking about the world.  A life picture, as defined by Keith Ogorek, is the perspective or conviction we have about the common things of our life that is informed and influenced by our worldview.  I think the family is the most important issue in the life picture diagram in A Clear View.  I think the family is most important because the family is a key building block of society.  When families deteriorate, then your society begins to deteriorate as well.  On the other hand, when families are strong and structured the way God designed them to be, then your society will benefit as well.  

Between Heaven and Hell

            A sage is a practical philosopher who has three prominent characteristics.  The first being unusual insight or wisdom into the human heart and character.  The insight includes universal truths about human nature and peculiar truths as well as falsehoods of the individual.  The teaching of a sage is challenging, surprising and often upsets people.  Sages are pioneers and liberators who tell people the truths that they need most.  Secondly, sages are loving, compassionate and selfless.  They are humble, thinking not of themselves, but of others and caring for others.  Thirdly, sages are creative.  They cannot be predicted or controlled. They turn situations around and ask the questioner questions.  I do not think we value sages today because sages teach the truth that people need, but most do not want to hear.

There are four possibilities of who Jesus could be.  Jesus could be an intellectually bad man, a morally bad man, a good man or God.  In other words Jesus could be insane, a blasphemer, a good man or God.  Jesus cannot be simply a good man because a mere man who claimed to be God would not be good, but a liar.  If He was a mere man and believed His claim to be God, then He would be intellectually bad and if He did not believe His claim to be God, then He would be morally bad as He would be a blasphemer.  Jesus was a sage by definition.  Sages teach the truth so they are trustable and Jesus claimed to be God.  If Jesus was trustable and what trustable people say is true and Jesus said He is God, then isn’t Jesus God?

 

            In Between Heaven & Hell Lewis said he wanted to be his own God.  He wanted to be his own God because he did not like the thought of a God who barged into his world and interfered with his life, values and his nature.  Lewis simply wanted to be his own boss.  Lewis then brings up the topic of self-deception because he had deceived himself for many years simply because he did not want to believe there was a God.  He is convinced that many people reject Christianity in spite of the evidence because they do not want to believe in a God as they would then have to face the truth and make changes to their lives.

 

Source:

Between Heaven and Hell by Peter Kreeft

The Emergent Church

The emergent church has its roots all the way back in the Middle Ages with Thomas Aquinas.  Thomas Aquinas, a monk, believed man had revolted against God and that, while the human will was corrupted, the intellect was fine.  Aristotle emphasized particulars (men and things) and sought to find a meaning for man and life. Aristotle also sought to find the basis for morals.  Aristotle’s teaching led to people questioning whether the Bible was necessary to find truth.  Later on in history, humanism began to enter the church and soon the authority of the church became greater than that of the Bible.  God’s commands were exchanged for church traditions.  John Wycliffe and John Hus said that the Bible is the only and supreme authority and men needed to return to it.  Here we see the beginning of the corruption of the Church by humanism.

Today the emergent church targets young people in their 20s and 30s.  Church leaders noticed a decline in membership among the young people who had been affected by post-modernist thinking.  One of the emergent church leaders said Christianity is not about uniformity.  While all churches may not worship at the exact same time each Sunday and may not sing the same songs, or pray the same prayers, God has told us in His infallible word the way He wants us to worship Him.  If we stray from what He has commanded, are we not wrong in our actions and worship?  The emergent church is to be a place of dialogue and conversation where one can go to experience God. Where can one go to experience God more than reading His word?  Emergent churches are simply traditions of men that are not rooted firmly in what God commanded. 

Postmodernism as seen by a comedian is the most aggressively inarticulate generation in a long time.  Under postmodernism is not cool to be knowledgeable or believe strongly in what you talk about.  It is not cool to be a nerd, to be personally invested in something, or to have strong opinions.  People are unsure, have conflicting feelings, lack conviction and speak declarative sentences as questions.  We need to combat this lack of conviction and personal investment that we see all around us today in America.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf79xW6RAh4 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTSKU0FgZts&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLDgrBGwMX8&feature=relmfu