tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191622542024-03-07T19:39:34.466-08:00Who in the world are we?Pondering Ecclesiology and Communal Spiritual Formation in the Real WorldLaura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-11033599557894742802009-06-17T07:29:00.001-07:002009-07-23T15:51:42.198-07:00Moving to WordPress<span style="font-size:78%;">witwaw* is in the process of being reborn on WordPress. <s>I've no firm relaunch date (though I'm aiming for July 1.</s></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">I've moved.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><s>Launch Date: July 1, 2009 at ~ 8 pm PDT.</s></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">URL:<span style="font-size:78%;"> <s><a href="http://witwaw.wordpress.com/">http://witwaw.wordpress.com/</a></s></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><a href="http://www.whointheworldarewe.com/">http://www.whointheworldarewe.com/</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><s>(NOTE: URL will go live on the launch date)</s></span><br /><br />The rebirthed blog will focus more specifically on the subjects suggested by the title and subtitle:<br /><ul><li>The church is in the world.</li><li>The identity of the church is critical.</li><li>Ecclesiology is about much more than <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/dic?q=polity&search=search">polity</a>.</li><li><a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/search/label/communal%20formation">Communal spiritual formation</a> should be our common practice.</li><li>The practices of communal spiritual formation must be doable in the real world.</li></ul>More information as things become clearer and closer.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">* <span style="font-weight: bold;">W</span>ho <span style="font-weight: bold;">i</span>n <span style="font-weight: bold;">t</span>he <span style="font-weight: bold;">W</span>orld <span style="font-weight: bold;">A</span>re <span style="font-weight: bold;">W</span>e?</span><br /><br />---<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/tangentrider">Twitter</a> - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Laura-Springer/68603217">Facebook</a> - <a href="http://theologica.ning.com/profile/LauraSpringer">Theologica</a><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-86027227799793624742009-05-18T12:00:00.000-07:002009-05-19T13:36:33.953-07:00Origin of Variation: Concluding Thoughts<ul><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>There is ample evidence for genetic<br />variation.</b><br /></span></li></ul><ul><ul><li><span style="font-size:100%;">First, I offer some examples: The <a title="bananas" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bananas.jpg" id="zkjb">bananas</a> we see in the grocery store are one example of genetic variation, for <a title="wild bananas" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inside_a_wild-type_banana.jpg" id="l1d7">wild bananas</a> are neither as large nor as tidy. Another example is the variety of household <a title="dogs" href="http://www.akc.org/breeds/breeds_a.cfm" id="ec4a">dogs</a> and <a title="cats" href="http://www.cfa.org/breeds.html" id="eyu8">cats</a> . We are surrounded by genetic variation. There is no point in arguing against it, for such arguments are not only futile, they are foolish.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">The extent to which this variation occurs is less clear. So-called microevolution is apparent, as stated above. So-called macroevolution is another matter. We have yet to observe the process of macroevolution and all conclusions regarding it are inference.</span></li></ul><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Questions of origin are not primarily scientific.</b></span></li><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Observational science is not possible, given the unique nature of the events. <a title="speculative science" href="http://altscience.wikia.com/wiki/Speculative_Science" id="y870">Speculative science</a> is possible, but it must be submitted to the scientific method for verification. On the other hand, theology-philosophy can speak directly to the issue; therefore, theology-philosophy has a prominent, and I would say primary, seat at the table when discussing issues of origin.</span></li><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><li><span style="font-size:100%;">These assumptions make the difference in how the data are interpreted. Naturalistic science assumes the universe is a closed system of natural processes and substances, whereas theistic science<sup><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=19162254&postID=8602722779979362474#FOOTNOTE-1">1</a></sup> assumes the universe is an open system in which the natural processes and substances have been created and are acted upon by an immaterial, divine, uncreated being.<br /></span></li></ul><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Non-young earthers rightly question why it looks as if adaptation took millions of years.</b></span></li><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Honestly, I do not believe there is a young earth answer that will satisfy naturalistic science. Theistic science and naturalistic science disagree on basic assumptions--specifically, the participation or non-participation of a divine intelligence. Further, convincing naturalistic science of a theistic interpretation of the data should not be focus of theologians. Rather, we ought to focus on developing an interpretation that is reasonable and coherent given theistic assumptions.<br /></span></li><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><li><span style="font-size:100%;">One reasonable and coherent claim is that God made both the materials of creation and its processes. He created kinds within type and equipped them with the genetic information and capacity for adaptation to various environmental pressures. As time went along, these kinds within types, through the inherent genetic information and capacities, adapted to various environments, resulting in the great variety we see today. <sup><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=19162254&postID=8602722779979362474#FOOTNOTE-2">2</a></sup></span> </li></ul><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Questions of origin, by their very nature, are ultimate questions, best answered by theology-philosophy.<br /></b></span></li><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Let me clarify what I am disagreeing with here with regard to humanity. I am not saying that the process of adaptation by genetic variation has not changed humanity; I am saying that at the beginning of those changes stood two human persons, created by God. They may well have looked quite a bit differently than we do today, but I do not believe the Bible allows any other claim: God created human persons. </span></li><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><li><span style="font-size:100%;">I clearly and fully admit that this is a theological claim, not a scientific one; I also believe that when we are talking about questions of origin, we are going past the capacity of observational science and into a realm where theology-philosophy has more to say and where what it says carries more weight. We are not talking about the observed data, but inferences made from that data on the basis of assumptions.</span></li><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Inferences concerning the origin of variation tell us who we are and how we relate to the world and to God. If we are the product of naturalistic processes, then we are mere animals and ethics, morals, and spirituality are adaptations for survival that have no transcendent quality. But, if we are the product of theistic action and are (as the Bible declares in Genesis 1) created in God's image, then humans have transcendent qualities and transcendent worth, for we are related to something greater than anything in the created universe. </span></li><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></ul><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Conclusions</b><br /><br /></span></li><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Looking at the question of the origin of variation from a theological perspective--that God exists, that he acts, and that he has the power to create by fiat--produces inferences that are coherent and adequately explain the data.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">I realize that those who do not hold to theistic science and who look upon the question of origin as naturalistic will disagree with theistic inferences, and probably vehemently. I understand. <span style="font-family:Verdana;">Do know that we are not disagreeing about the data, but rather about the interpretation of data and the assumptions behind those interpretations. </span>If one holds naturalistic assumptions, then I would agree that an evolutionary explanation of the origin of variation makes sense. But if one holds theistic assumptions--that there is a divine intelligence who has the power and authority to create by fiat--then divine creation logically stands as the origin of variation.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">I claim that these theistic assumptions are not merely my opinion; I claim they are true.</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Current Position</b>: Adaptation by genetic variation originated with divine creation of kinds-within-type that are imbued by God with the genetic information and capacities for this ongoing process.<br /></span></li></ul><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />NEXT: A Short History of witwaw*</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">*witwaw = "Who In The World are We?</span>"<br /></span><br /><hr /><ol><li><a name="FOOTNOTE-1"></a><span style="font-size:78%;">By "theistic science" I do not intend to say that those who hold to naturalistic science cannot or do not believe in a god or that those who hold theistic science believe in a specific god. I am speaking here of the type of science, not the type of scientist.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;"><a name="FOOTNOTE-2"></a>"kind" in the Hebrew Old Testament: Gen 1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25; 6:20; 7:14; Lev 11:14, 15, 16, 19, 22, 29; Deut 14:13, 14, 15, 18; Ezek 47:10<br /><br />Conclusion: "kind" (Heb <i>meen</i>), seems to refer to categories of plants and animals that are able to produce fertile offspring. My best guess is that "kind" in the OT is equivalent to "species." This does not mean new species could not develop through adaptation; on this point I am unsure.</span></li></ol>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-5445461282630334602009-05-04T11:59:00.000-07:002009-05-04T11:59:00.713-07:00Postponed: Origin of Variation: basic concepts and theological significance.School and ministry responsibilities have expanded to fill the available space this week; the post on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Origin of Variation: basic concepts and theological significance</span> should be up next Monday.<br /><br />---<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/tangentrider">Twitter</a> - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Laura-Springer/68603217">Facebook</a> - <a href="http://theologica.ning.com/profile/LauraSpringer">Theologica</a><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-25032202731697346442009-04-27T13:00:00.000-07:002009-04-27T16:56:54.762-07:00Refining My Understanding: Origin of Variation, Origin of Life, and Origin of MatterThrough the helpful interactions on <a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-i-do-not-believe-in-macro-evolution.html">Why I do not believe in macro-evolution</a>, I have learned that I have conflated three notions of origins. With this post, I begin to unscramble the egg.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Origin of Variation</span><br /><ul><li>Looks at the genetic variation among living things, specifically the ultimate and continuing source of this variation</li><li>Science-under-the-canopy (SciUTC*) offers a purely material origin: biological evolution. </li><li>Christian theology offers a divine and material origin: God created the initial types and kinds of living things (Gen 1) and the continuing processes of adaptation by genetic variation. I hold that these continuing processes occur within type and kind, rather than between type and kind.</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Origin of Life</span><br /><ul><li>Looks at the beginnings of what we know as life</li><li>One SciUTC explanation is abiogenesis (“spontaneous generation”), but Pasteur (Benton 15) refuted this. </li><li>Another is the Oparin-Haldric model, which theorizes that life arose from chemical reactions in the earth’s early atmosphere (Benton 24).</li><li>A third set of theories offer that “RNA was the first genetic molecule” (Benton 26).</li><li>Christian theology** claims that God created life (Gen 1) by fiat, speaking it into existence.</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Origin of Matter</span><br /><ul><li>Looks at the beginnings of matter, space, and time</li><li>SciUTC offers the various versions of the Big Bang theory and the Steady State model as possible explanations.</li><li>Christian theology offers that God created matter, space, and time by fiat; the specific mechanisms are less clear.</li></ul>Next week: Origin of Variation: basic concepts and theological significance.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Resources</span><br /><a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/88980"><span style="font-style: italic;">Evolution: A Very Short Introduction</span></a>, by Brian and Deborah Charlesworth (Oxford University Press, USA (2003), Edition: 1, Paperback, 168 pages)<br /><a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/88722"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cosmology: A Very Short Introduction</span></a>, by Peter Coles (Oxford University Press, USA (December 6, 2001), 152 pages)<br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.librarything.com/work/6058808">The History of Life: A Very Short Introduction</a>, by Michael J. Benton (Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (December 15, 2008), 144 pages)<br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen%201-2&version=47">Genesis 1-2</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">NOTE:<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">If I have misunderstood or misrepresented an SciUTC position, please kindly leave a correction in the comments.</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />*SciUTC: looks at the substance and processes of the material universe without reference to immaterial (AKA “divine”) inputs.<br />**The Christian Theology perspectives in this post are my own. Dialogue welcome.<br /></span><br /><br />---<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/tangentrider">Twitter</a> - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Laura-Springer/68603217">Facebook</a> - <a href="http://theologica.ning.com/profile/LauraSpringer">Theologica</a><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-15084863015117483632009-04-20T13:00:00.000-07:002009-04-20T13:32:00.019-07:00What do questions of origin have to do with who we are in the world?<span style="font-weight: bold;">If God created humanity as responsible adults to care for an adult earth, filled with adult plants and animals, who are self-perpetuating through sexual or asexual reproduction, what should be our approach to the data being interpreted by science*? </span><br /><br />In <a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-i-do-not-believe-in-macro-evolution.html">last Monday's post</a>, I dipped my toe a bit deeper in the evolution-creation pond that I had planned. With this post, I dip a bit further, this time leaning toward the theological end.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">---<br /></div><br />I do not dispute the data; rather, I believe both scientific and theological knowledge must be applied to the data. Our knowledge of the universe since the Scientific Revolution has increased dramatically, as mentioned by <a href="http://profile.typepad.com/6p00d8341cd88a53ef">Andrew B</a> in <a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-i-do-not-believe-in-macro-evolution.html?showComment=1240157100000#c2081695438686950998">his comment</a>: "our knowledge of the universe has been exploding through application of the scientific method, logic, reasoning and mathematics." God has placed us in this world and has given us minds that are naturally curious and that seek to reason things out. These great gifts must not be cast aside, but must be leveraged.<br /><br />Science has told and will continue to tell us much about our world and ourselves, but scientific knowledge cannot tell us the entire story, for the origin of humanity, the earth, and all living things is beyond our experimental reach. We can also study what is happening now. We can study the circumstantial evidence left by what has happened in the past. These provide a wealth of information, but an eyewitness report is lacking in the scientific data.<br /><br />If the Bible is inspired by God, then believe Genesis 1-2 provides such an eyewitness account. If it is an eyewitness account, then theological knowledge must be applied to questions of origin. This is not to say that scientific knowledge is discounted; rather, theology must have a place at the table, for these questions have distinct theological/philosophical components.<br /><br />As it stands, at least from my tiny corner of the world, it seems the scientists and the theologians are having a difficult time at the round table. To quote <a href="http://www.searchmagazine.org/On%20God/collins-on-god.html">Francis S. Collins</a>,<br /><blockquote>The shrill voices at the extremes of this debate have had the microphone for too long. Although they will no doubt continue to rail against each other, the rest of us should find ways to bring together scientists who are open to spiritual truths, theologians who are ready to embrace scientific findings about the universe, and pastors who know the real concerns and needs of their flocks. Together, in a loving and worshipful attitude, we could formulate a new and wondrous natural theology ("A New Theology of Celebration," <span style="font-style: italic;">Search Magazine</span>).<br /></blockquote>There is much heat in this discussion--too much heat (a small part of which I have cast about). But to quote Collins again, "If we make a serious and prayerful attempt to do this together, perhaps in a few years this new “celebration theology” could eliminate the conflict between science and faith."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where do we go from here?</span><br /><br />As God's viceroys on earth, an interpretation of the available data must conform to our <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen%201:26-28&version=47">care for and rule over creation</a>. As God's creation, our interpretation of the data must keep in mind <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rom%201:18-23;&version=47;">his divinity and power</a>; it must serve to increase our understanding not only of the universe, but of its Creator.<br /><br />Therefore,<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I issue a call is to scientists who are Christian</span>: have the courage to take off the canopy when it is academically feasible, even if it is only feasible in your own mind. Look at the available data and ask questions such as these,<br /><ul><li><i>Since God is, how should I interpret these data? </i></li><li><i>If God created by declaration, how would I interpret these data?</i></li></ul>Interpretation is a greater issue than the data. If God created by declaration, then God could have created an adult universe that was sculpted with the characteristics of a universe that had developed over time. If God created by declaration, then he could have created human, animal, and plant kinds that the form the bases of all the species in existence today.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I issue a call is to theologians and pastors</span>: have the courage to move from a discussion of the data to a discussion of its meaning, asking questions such as,<br /><ul><li><i>If the earth appears millions of years old and yet was created by God a much shorter time ago, then what is the theological significance of his creating an adult universe? </i></li><li><i>What is the theological significance of the built-in process of adaption and change that we see in the natural world?<br /></i></li></ul>Rather than wasting time refuting data, invest time interpreting the data and discussing theological significance.<br /><br />We are followers of Jesus, but this designation is not to be relegated to Sunday morning rituals or private moments of prayer and Bible reading. We are his followers in this place and at this time. Let us be wholly engaged with God, each other, and his creation.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">*NOTE: I am specifically refuting science that does not reference God, meaning science that interprets the available data according to materialistic assumptions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Next week</span>: Refining My Understanding: Origin of Variation, Origin of Life, and Origin of Matter<br /><br />===<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Further Reading</span><br /><a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2006/06/reliability-inerrancy-and-like.html">Reliability, Inerrancy, and the Like</a><br /><a href="http://www.theopedia.com/Inspiration">Inspiration of the Bible (wikipedia)</a><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen%201-2&version=47">Genesis 1-2</a><br /><br />---<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/tangentrider">Twitter</a> - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Laura-Springer/68603217">Facebook</a> - <a href="http://theologica.ning.com/profile/LauraSpringer">Theologica</a><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-7254012382702967032009-04-13T13:00:00.000-07:002009-04-13T13:48:32.365-07:00Why I do not believe in macro-evolution<ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Macro-evolution does not adequately account for genetic differences among species. </span>Different species have very different DNA coding and the assumption that a fish became a lizard does not seem tenable. The <a title="plethora of DNA evolution theories" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Models_of_DNA_evolution" id="dqpz">plethora of DNA evolution theories</a> testifies to the validity of the issue. Such complex and specific changes in DNA seem more magical than anything theology has come up with.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Atheistic macro-evolution does not adequately account for the impossibility of </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" title="spontaneous generation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_generation" id="knea">spontaneous generation</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> . </span><a title="How did the primordial ooze become life?" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_life" id="lrbr">How did the primordial ooze become life?</a> Scientists have run <a title="laboratory experiments" href="http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/06/harvard-team-cr.html" id="zpkg">laboratory experiments</a> in which they "create" amino acids from some ooze, but these very experiments provide evidence for intelligent design, for the scientists are the intelligent designers of the newly created amino acids.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">If the Scripture is an accurate record of God's ways with his people and his creation, then our perceived timeline should not start at zero. </span> Atheistic macro-evolutionists claim that Scripture does not make adequate sense of the data for the data show that the earth is millions of years old. I would offer that if we were able to travel back in time, to the garden and do tests on Adam and Eve, we would find that the tests "proved" them to be in their mid-twenties, despite the fact that they were mere days/hours old. Just as God created adult humans, animals, and plants, he also created an adult earth, stars, and universe. I happen to be a <a title="crazy young-earther" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creationism#Young_Earth_creationism" id="oon1">crazy young-earther</a> , but I hold that with very open hands. I hold this position because I believe it makes the best sense of the biblical and scientific data. If one is a theist and believes God has the capacity to create, then frankly it makes no sense for that same person to discount God's capacity to create.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Theologically, </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" title="the presence of human death is directly connected to the entrance of sin" href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205;%201%20cor%2015;&version=47;" id="w0k:">the presence of human death is directly connected to the entrance of sin</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">. </span>If death only entered after the entrance of sin, then it is impossible for there to have been death before that. Without death and a succession of generations, there is no way for human evolution to have occurred. Therefore, if one is to take <a title="Genesis" href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%201-2&version=47" id="b52p">Genesis</a> seriously and not merely literally, then, however else micro-evolution fits into the picture, macro-evolution is theologically impossible.<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">In sum</span>, these scientific and theological reasons compel me to reject macro-evolution and support intelligent design, for ID makes the best sense of the scientific and theological data. In addition, I hold that a young earth is both theologically and scientifically possible. I believe it is even likely, but I am unwilling to die on that hill.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What do you say?</span><br /><br />===<br />Next week: <span style="font-style: italic;">What does this have to do with Who in the World Are We?</span><br />---<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/tangentrider">Twitter</a> - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Laura-Springer/68603217">Facebook</a> - <a href="http://theologica.ning.com/profile/LauraSpringer">Theologica</a><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-53173256532038902162009-03-10T12:34:00.000-07:002009-05-05T18:14:34.758-07:00If God is gracious and loving, what about the suffering?God is gracious and loving; he is also sovereign and just. Too often, we await his grace and love, while ignoring his sovereignty and justice. We bifurcate God's attributes into pleasant and unpleasant because we do not want to be confronted with a God who has the right, will, and capacity to command all and to discipline or punish whomever he deems fit. Somehow we assume a disciplining and punishing God is unfair and his purposes unjust.<br /><br />We only want his love and grace; we want heaven NOW! His answer is, Not yet.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">But what about the suffering?</span><br /><br />There is real suffering in the world and something ought to be done. If God is loving and gracious and has the capacity to provide relief, then he should respond. Yet, we do not see his direct involvement in the relief of suffering. Why? I suggest that God expects us to respond.<br /><br />I see at least three alternatives to direct divine response: theological clarification, human compassion, and human action. Theological clarification provides a conceptual context in which suffering might be better understood. Proper theological clarification keeps in mind those who are in the midst of suffering, for whether deserved or undeserved, their suffering is real and its presence in their lives hurts us, whether we know it or not. It hurts us whether the sufferer is our friend or our enemy. No suffering is good in itself, even if deserved. Suffering requires compassionate theological clarification through word and deed.<br /><br />But clarification and compassion are not enough. Those in undeserved suffering deserve relief. Rather than waiting for God to swoop down from heaven, let us assume he wishes to deliver relief through us. For those of us who trust and follow Jesus, let us assume (and rightly so, I believe), that he has blessed us by calling us to be his partners. Let us do his work, share his life, and show his compassion to a hurting world. Let us put our backs and our pocketbooks to the work.<br /><br />It may well be that those searching for hope will see his hope in us.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Related Post</span>: <a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/2009/03/this-world-is-mess-why-doesnt-creator.html">This world is a mess. Why doesn't the Creator intervene?</a><br /><br />---<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/tangentrider">Twitter</a> - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Laura-Springer/68603217">Facebook</a> - <a href="http://theologica.ning.com/profile/LauraSpringer">Theologica</a><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-61373674591944404062009-03-03T12:35:00.000-08:002009-03-30T09:17:10.384-07:00This world is a mess. Why doesn't the Creator intervene?<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.dailybreeze.com/crimeandcourts/ci_11821729"></a><blockquote><a href="http://www.dailybreeze.com/crimeandcourts/ci_11821729">Jiffy Lube worker charged with rape</a><br /><a href="http://www.dailybreeze.com/crimeandcourts/ci_11823546">Burglary suspect caught in Hawthorne</a><br /><a href="http://www.dailybreeze.com/crimeandcourts/ci_11825460">Man cited for stuffing cat in his bong</a></blockquote><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><local news="" headlines="" from="" posting="" day="">Our world is a mess; it has been a mess for millennia. Whether due to natural causes or personal choices, whether on the front page or hidden in the darkness, evil runs amok with restraint running behind, playing catch up. A theist of any honesty whatsoever must wonder, even if silently, what the Creator is up to while the world slowly self-destructs.</local><br /><local news="" headlines="" from="" posting="" day=""></local></div><local news="" headlines="" from="" posting="" day=""><br />Genesis 1 says that the Creator made humanity in his own image (imago Dei). While we struggle to understand what this means, it at least means that by design humanity is glorious and responsible, just like God. Looking around at culture or listening to the daily news, humanity as imago Dei seems a far-fetched dream, for we are a mess and years of trying have not solved even our basic problems. We need help from the Creator, but he so often seems far away.<br /><br />Some think that the Creator, because he has the power, should swoop down and magically fix us, yet he has not done so. Why? If we assume the Creator is good and has our good in mind, then there must be a just cause behind his apparent inaction. In this post, I offer a cause for your consideration: such a bold, unilateral intervention would violate his creative design of humanity as imago Dei. If it is true that the Creator made humans responsible beings by giving us real choice--the choice to trust him or to trust ourselves--then humanity justly bears the burden of that choice.<br /><br />As a race we have chosen to trust ourselves and that has caused no end of trouble. When we trust ourselves as if we were gods, we willfully, intentionally set ourselves off from the Creator, the only source of life and good. In trusting ourselves, we offend him, the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, and make ourselves his enemies. Now, a sovereign must deal with enemies; they cannot be patted on the head and told, "There, there, you're not that bad are you?" No! Either enemies must become friends or they must be removed. If they are not willing to become friends, then they have chosen, by their own will, to be enemies, disconnected from the Sovereign. Since life is in the Sovereign Creator, to be disconnected from him is death.<br /><br />There is a truth here that we hesitate to admit: in the Creator's mind our having real choice is more critical than everything here being pleasant. He created us for relationship and true relationship requires the willing participation of both parties. The Creator honors humanity by giving us the choice to participate in relationship with him. In choosing self over him, we choose to rebel against the Sovereign Creator.<br /><br />As a race and as persons, we have chosen rebellion. Because the Creator is just, our willful rebellion cannot simply be forgotten. Because he is love and acts for the good of the other, he has made a way for humanity to return, trust him, and have life. The Sovereign Creator, the only one with the capacity to fix humanity, has fixed it, all the while maintaining human responsibility.<br /><br />We can get angry and frustrated that he does not fix us the way we want him to. We can rant about and pant about and shake our fists at heaven, and in his grace, he allows us to do so without being smashed. But the truth is, without him, we are dead and as corpses, we have neither right nor capacity to demand how life is given to us.<br /><br /><br />An accurate view of our circumstances depends on an accurate view of the Creator. We all bring our assumptions with us and those assumptions can distort our perceptions. With a more accurate view of the Creator, are we able to magnify and deepen our understanding of and emotional response to his grace. Grace, understood in the context of his sovereignty, glory, and justice, brings us to our knees in gratitude because we finally realize that it did not need to be so. We realize that he had every right to crush us all and start afresh, but he chose to rescue, over and over and over, and then finally and fully in Messiah.<br /><br />Humans who do not trust the Messiah and the way that he has made, are disconnected. Those who are disconnected from him have no life. Trust in the resurrected Son of God, Jesus the Messiah, is the only way for humans to return to the Creator and have life.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"This Jesus is the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%20Psalm%20118:22%20&version=47">stone that was rejected by you, the builders</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." </span><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%204&version=47">Acts 4:11-12</a></span><br /></div></blockquote></local><local news="" headlines="" from="" posting="" day=""><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update--Related Posts</span><br /><a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2005/02/theodicy-live-and-direct.html">Theodicy--Live and Direct</a><br /><a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2005/02/theodicy-live-and-directthe-end-of.html">Theodicy--Live and Direct...the end of the story</a><br /><a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2005/08/tragedy-sucks-and-god-is-good.html">Tragedy Sucks and God is Good</a><br /></local><a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2005/08/tragedy-sucks-and-god-is-good-act-two.html">Tragedy Sucks and God is Good part two</a><br /><local news="" headlines="" from="" posting="" day=""><br />---<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/tangentrider">Twitter</a> - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Laura-Springer/68603217">Facebook</a> - <a href="http://theologica.ning.com/profile/LauraSpringer">Theologica</a><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a></local>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-37521095613938054522009-02-10T08:02:00.000-08:002009-02-11T14:51:50.493-08:00Mission without the Sacred-Secular Dichotomy<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:78%;">UPDATED 2/11/09</span><br /></div><blockquote>Question: Given the <a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2009/02/this-is-part-of-who-we-are-but-there-is.html">identity of church</a>, what are the activities that would express that identity and by what criteria are those expressions to be evaluated?</blockquote><br />For too long, the church has separated its activities from daily life; we have conformed to a sacred-secular dichotomy that does not exist. God is Creator and Ruler of all and we are his people in all of life. We--his church--ought to bear his influence through regular life in our neighborhoods. I do not mean the sort of influence that we often package as programs, but rather an influence had by joining existing services in our neighborhoods, working together in the community as a powerful expression of church in the world.<br /><br />How should we decide which services to join? General grace is one criterion: "For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205:43-48;&version=47;">Matthew 5:45b</a>).<br /><br />As we consider participating in this work, let us ask, "Will we demonstrate God's mercy, grace, and rule before the world?"<br /><br />If the answer is yes, then let us join the work.<br /><br /><br />===<br /><br /><br />I hesitated in posting this, because it is an indictment of and a challenge to me more than to any who read it, for I have separated myself from my neighborhoods.<br /><br />In self-defense, I offer a usual excuse: time. But I must ask myself, "If I am too busy to be a neighbor, them am I not too busy?"<br /><br />I also offer the excuse of calling, for I am called to minister to the church. But does this excuse me from service as the church? I think not.<br /><br />Now, the million-dollar question: Will I take the next step?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Related</span><br /><a href="http://leadingfromthemiddle.wordpress.com/">Robert Campbell</a>:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://leadingfromthemiddle.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/being-a-local-church/">Being a Local Church</a> "...discern those few key points of dissension that will communicate what it means to live the gospel of King Jesus most clearly to our people and our place."</li><li><a href="http://leadingfromthemiddle.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/finding-your-way-with-the-world/">Finding Your Way With the World</a> "...[1] use truth rather than opinion...[2] change the existing culture...[3] shape the arriving culture"<br /></li></ul><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-73122833446694049732009-02-07T14:55:00.000-08:002009-02-07T15:03:18.439-08:00Open Letter to the Sanctify! Dreaming TeamAs we have seen in <a href="http://sanctifytnbs.blogspot.com/search/label/isaiah">Isaiah</a>, God holds individuals and communities responsible for their behavior. In addition, individuals may experience discipline for community behavior, even if their own behavior is good.<br /><br />As <a href="http://sanctifytnbs.blogspot.com/">TNBS</a> and <a href="http://tfbsanctify.googlepages.com/">Sanctify</a> go forth this year, possibly transforming into something beyond what we had envisioned, we need to function with this in mind. We need to remember that we are responsible for the behavior of our community and are obligated to do something about it. Within that task, we must not let loose of the fact that we are also responsible for our relationship with God. We must strive to be holy persons.<br /><br />I, for one, know how difficult it is to act against our habituated ways of being. But God's Word is clear: he expects our lives here, together and alone, to correspond to his ways. God is Lord and Creator of all. Whether it is entertainment, employment, politics, community service, or friends and family, how we live must correspond to God's ways. Living a life that corresponds to his ways means living a whole life, not a few moments here and there.<br /><br />We, as individuals and as a church, are so engulfed by our own ways of being and our culture's ways of being that we do not know how to be who we are. This must change.<br /><br />To bring it down locally, for that is all we can really do, if <a href="http://torrancefirstbaptist.org/">TFB</a> is to become what God wants us to be, we must remember two things: who God is and who we are. Apart from this knowledge, we have no criteria for change.<br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eph%204:15-16;&version=47;">Ephesians 4:15-16</a>, spiritual maturity happens in community as we exercise our grace-gifts in connection to Christ and one another. Our becoming who we are has everything to do with our connection to the Head and to one another. These connections accomplish the work of growth.<br /><br />In 2009, let us struggle to maintain our connections to the Body and the Head. Only in doing so will we as a church become who are are.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Inputs</span><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2024-27;&version=47;">Isaiah 24-27</a><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%204:7-16;&version=47;">Ephesians 4:7-16</a></span><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-63215048293217459982009-02-02T17:05:00.000-08:002009-02-04T20:59:31.688-08:00sketchpad Communal Formation and Disciple Making as SystemsUpdate: Feb 4, 2009<span style="font-size:78%;"> (Thanks to input from <a href="http://da-ath.blogspot.com/">Jeff</a>, <a href="http://pribsmusings.blogspot.com/">Prib</a>, and Plock)</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMWMf9G-QU-TTnHIa-U78biPeZa3E4ImNvF7paTrfGqdFMFUit1T9DauhyVdb-dYWLJt-Zl9ehsiXMu3TbIGByl3NZZGkM9dXm5ieA-FPu096bAGfE8w-qqOE-Qu8u9HInZ9-/s1600-h/communal+formation+system+diagram+v0204-2009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 174px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMWMf9G-QU-TTnHIa-U78biPeZa3E4ImNvF7paTrfGqdFMFUit1T9DauhyVdb-dYWLJt-Zl9ehsiXMu3TbIGByl3NZZGkM9dXm5ieA-FPu096bAGfE8w-qqOE-Qu8u9HInZ9-/s320/communal+formation+system+diagram+v0204-2009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299076918797300850" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">Initial version<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4HElMdpnyk14OX3-N29KcQxWdl9Dsx5BmXwZJx9MtEdH9YDPqsPhyphenhyphenuziYhlhqaWrLEyej6sZ5UjjNwpKmjaE8naCwGd-shyphenhyphenGKAKx_fYHv3FDPcnc7d4jlHszEnmhRU3ogCB7o/s1600-h/communal+formation+system+diagram.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 142px; height: 77px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4HElMdpnyk14OX3-N29KcQxWdl9Dsx5BmXwZJx9MtEdH9YDPqsPhyphenhyphenuziYhlhqaWrLEyej6sZ5UjjNwpKmjaE8naCwGd-shyphenhyphenGKAKx_fYHv3FDPcnc7d4jlHszEnmhRU3ogCB7o/s320/communal+formation+system+diagram.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298371127693559298" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4HElMdpnyk14OX3-N29KcQxWdl9Dsx5BmXwZJx9MtEdH9YDPqsPhyphenhyphenuziYhlhqaWrLEyej6sZ5UjjNwpKmjaE8naCwGd-shyphenhyphenGKAKx_fYHv3FDPcnc7d4jlHszEnmhRU3ogCB7o/s1600-h/communal+formation+system+diagram.jpg"></a>Changes<br /></div></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"discipleship" merged into "Disciples in Training"</li><li>"conversion" --> "Trusting to repentance"</li><li>corrected direction of disciplers-to-Disciples in Training influence arrow</li></ul><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aqIW_NAM_cjKQn36oB0tfmcOcYJjLy7Z3OCqDl9kajDmIooZU-DdJSJwotiC26Z0QBc63umoN0vnCtw9p1uWKeYX9vQhKfcU_BQoOfTUqixe4zy0CpveNlIJW9GVvfMe1ieZ/s1600-h/disciple+making+system+diagram+v0204-2009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aqIW_NAM_cjKQn36oB0tfmcOcYJjLy7Z3OCqDl9kajDmIooZU-DdJSJwotiC26Z0QBc63umoN0vnCtw9p1uWKeYX9vQhKfcU_BQoOfTUqixe4zy0CpveNlIJW9GVvfMe1ieZ/s320/disciple+making+system+diagram+v0204-2009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299076915581087618" border="0" /></a>Initial version<br /></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-Qx_Q86rpKKPoURz1IZnq_0i16LxVuH8I_GtxXm4NswqNgQMMdIdwLloFz0rSZ9rjeIIyKhPS3GidchwdPVZwdv03T9j3hCj2IpKdlS-hFLvZlgXZn22KLDf4ZMFMxv1IYWc/s1600-h/disciple+making+system+diagram.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 144px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-Qx_Q86rpKKPoURz1IZnq_0i16LxVuH8I_GtxXm4NswqNgQMMdIdwLloFz0rSZ9rjeIIyKhPS3GidchwdPVZwdv03T9j3hCj2IpKdlS-hFLvZlgXZn22KLDf4ZMFMxv1IYWc/s320/disciple+making+system+diagram.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298371129355584818" border="0" /></a>Changes<br /><ul><li>added "perceived walk" and "discrepancy"</li><li>changed "functioning body" to "functioning members" and made "APEPT" a subset</li><li>Not knowing how to depict the Head, I created an all encompassing footnote.</li><li>changed title to "Disciples in Training"</li><li>Added <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ep%204&version=47">Ephesians 4</a> references<br /></li></ul><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">yellow box = <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_and_flow">stock</a><br />yellow arrow = <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_and_flow">flow</a><br />black arrow = influence<br />"B" = <a href="http://www.systems-thinking.org/theWay/sba/ba.htm">balancing feedback loop</a><br />"R" =<a href="http://www.systems-thinking.org/theWay/sre/re.htm"> reinforcing feedback loop</a></span><br /><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-81728826602444909162009-01-26T08:00:00.000-08:002009-01-26T10:27:38.017-08:00Identity of Church: by divine definition or human decision?<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Inputs</span>: <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/318546/book/40248885">Horrell</a>, <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/5803956/book/33948062">Viola</a>, <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2024-27&version=47">Isaiah 24-27</a>, <a href="http://tfbsermon.blogspot.com/2009/01/reviewing-purpose-and-mission.html">Sunday sermon 1/11</a></span><br /><br />Who we are is a defined thing and the definition (laid down in the apostolic tradition comprised of the normative beliefs and practices in the New Testament) cannot be changed by our decision. It is not culturally conditioned; who we are does not change across history, country, or language. The particular suit of clothes might change with time and culture, but our identity, expressed in normative beliefs and practices, is definitional. If we step outside of that definition, we become something other than who we are. One of the key ideas, picked up by both Horrell and Viola, is the notion of communality: that God designed us to be a people, not a collection of individuals, but a gathering around a person for whose work we structure ourselves. We do his work, not our work. He comes first.<br /><br />The institutional church has gotten off track by forgetting who we are and who he is. It may well be that our doctrine is in good order. It may well be that our behavior conforms to biblical morality. But if we do not express Christ and who we are in Christ, then we are not church. The uncomfortable conclusion is that many organizations, quite certain they are churches, are actually something altogether different; they are religious organizations, but they are not churches.<br /><br /><span>What do we do with that once we know the truth?</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Related Posts</span><br /><a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/2009/01/being-loyal-opposition-in-institutional.html">Being the Loyal Opposition in the Institutional Church</a><br /><a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2008/08/among-loyal-dissatisifed.html">Among the Loyal Dissatisfied</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" >Key Ideas from the week:</span><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:78%;"> Christ-centered</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;"> part of the one people of God, distinct from but not divided from Israel</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;"> shaped as specifically Christian by belief and practice</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;"> being dancers, creating on a sure theme, rather than docents, merely relating the theme and its history</span></li></ul>Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-71205847448215951312009-01-12T22:04:00.000-08:002009-01-12T22:17:44.050-08:00Being the Loyal Opposition in the Institutional Church<div style="text-align: center;">Thoughts after reading the preface and introduction to <a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/violafrank">Frank Viola’s</a> <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/5803956/book/33948062"><span style="font-style: italic;">Reimagining Church</span></a>, in which he makes a case for church life outside the institutional church<br /></div><br /><br />Regarding Viola’s assumption, that in the institutional church the structure should not be reformed or renewed because the structure is the problem. Though I think the structure is a major problem, I also think structure is more a symptom than a source of the problem. Leaving the institutional church to its own devices will not solve the problem. I hold to another solution: remaining in the institutional church as the bold, yet respectful, loyal opposition.<br /><br />My reasoning is this. If it be true that the persons inside the institutional church are Church and that the Spirit in them in witnessing to their spirits that Jesus is the Christ and the center of our corporate being, then change—including complete reconstruction—is possible (however likely or unlikely). Some first steps are redefining things and positions and removing the business/marketing template.<br /><br />For example, if we say that the large Sunday gathering is worship and celebration rather than the primary event, then we free that definition (“primary”) for application to smaller gatherings throughout the week. These smaller gatherings would include learning groups, serving groups, and everything in between. If these smaller groups redefined themselves as primarily Christ-centered communities with specific tasks I think, the institutional church would begin to change. Of course, there are some things that must be rebuilt from the ground up. <span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span><br /><br />I realize even as I say this, that those who are fully committed to organic or house church will likely consider this a compromise. And indeed it may be, but I think the community of persons inside the institutional church is worth it.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">[1] One thing that we must change is the solo senior pastorate being one (which I believe to be unbiblical and wrong). We need a plurality of elders (“older holy one”) who really do lead—stepping out there first, putting themselves on the line, and living lives that look so much like Jesus that we cannot help but follow.</span><br /><br /><br />Related post: <a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2008/08/among-loyal-dissatisifed.html">Among the Loyal Dissatisfied</a><br /><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/frank+viola" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=frank+viola" alt=" " />frank viola</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-2297672983182488182009-01-11T20:00:00.000-08:002009-01-12T12:54:12.695-08:00The Necessary Primacy of Theology Proper in the Missiology-Ecclesiology DiscussionIn the discussion regarding the relationship between missiology and ecclesiology, I am going to go off the rails and say that theology proper is the only primary theological element. Everything else is part of the web and in direct and constant relation to theology proper; further, everything else is in dynamic and flexible relationship with all the other elements. The connections vary in strength, intensity, and prominence.<br /><br />Those who say Trinity is first are on the right track, but that is not all. In theology proper, we have trinity, attributes, missio Dei, Creator, Paterology, Christology, and Pneumatology. All these are subsets of theology proper. Radiating out from that, with direct connections to the core, is everything else.<br /><br />On any given day and in any given circumstance, the individual elements relate to one another, sometimes as influence, but always with reciprocation. This means, for example, that missiology does not come before or after ecclesiology, but that these are in a reciprocal relationship, where each influences the other. Depending on the specific need, one or the other has more influence. The question is what exactly does this have to do with our practice?<br /><br />Learning and worship are primary, but they are incomplete in and of themselves. If they are only internal to the community of faith or to the individual person, they are incomplete; they are not true learning and true worship. Worship, by its very nature, always leaks out in holy living in the context of community. Learning always leaks out in proclamation and purity. If this is the case, then the sometimes critique of the centrality of worship and learning in the “non-missional” church is actually a critique of incomplete learning and worship.<br /><br />What needs to be created-innovated are opportunities for and means of complete worship and complete learning—both of which need to be considered outside of the constraints of our current forms. What we need to consider, then, is how we actually live in the world (keeping in mind the restraints of holy living) and determine which forms the four functions –worship, learning, fellowship, and mission—might take.<br /><br />Worship and learning never exist by themselves in a healthy community; fellowship and mission will always accompany them. The vertical worship of God is completed by fellowship with our brothers and sisters (and, at a different level of intimacy, with those who do not trust Christ). Vertical learning is completed by horizontal mission, proclaiming the good news within and beyond the community of faith. If, in our practice, we only have one dimension—whether vertical or horizontal—we do not have Christianity; we have something else, which is a pale imitation at best.<br /><br /><br />Written in conversation with <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/318546/book/40248885"><span style="font-style: italic;">From the Ground Up: New Testament Foundations for the 21st-Century Church</span></a>, by <a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/horrelljscott">J. Scott Horrell</a><br /><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-23506341743984497832009-01-04T20:00:00.000-08:002009-01-12T13:34:13.554-08:00Are We Sacrificing the Mission of the Church for the Missions of Her Members?As a <span style="font-weight: bold;">body</span>, the Church performs the <span style="font-weight: bold;">work of her Head</span>, receiving his instruction and being his presence in the world. Maturation occurs as the parts fulfill their proper <span style="font-weight: bold;">functions</span> in the presence of proper and adequate <span style="font-weight: bold;">nutrition</span>. Work and Word are both necessary for health and growth.<br /><br />As a <span style="font-weight: bold;">community</span>, the Church <span style="font-weight: bold;">reflects </span>the unity and diversity of God in the unity and diversity of her internal relations. Maturation occurs as she learns and works in the context of <span style="font-weight: bold;">relationship</span>. The parts must function together and for one another in order that the growth, which flows only from Christ, might occur.<br /><br />As a <span style="font-weight: bold;">storyteller</span>, the Church <span style="font-weight: bold;">tells the story</span> of God’s grace and justice. It is a story of grace, for eternal deliverance and presence are gifts paid for by God alone. It is a story of justice, for those who reject these gifts by failing to trust the Giver will not be delivered and will not live in his presence. The will not do this forever. Maturation occurs as the members hear God’s story and respond by <span style="font-weight: bold;">being and doing</span> that story among themselves before the eyes of the world.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">---<br /></div><br />I am finding a decided inwardness arise in my research into the identity, function, and maturation of the Church in the world. While I believe that the Church must be salt and light, I am not finding that individual believers are to be so intentionally. Rather, individual believers function for the good of the body and for the glory of the Lord.<br /><br />Perhaps focus on the missional function of individual believers has actually reduced the missional influence of the Church. Perhaps refocusing our efforts on body connections and properly functioning persons will produce the missional influence we so desperately need.<br /><ul><li>What does it look like to focus on the growth and health of the body for the purpose of communal work, reflection, and storytelling in the world?</li><li>What would we add to our programs?</li><li>What would we remove?</li><li>What would we change?</li></ul>Related Site: <a href="http://missionaltribe.org/">Missional Tribe</a><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/missional" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=missional" alt=" " />missional</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-54145057348710318232009-01-01T20:00:00.000-08:002009-01-01T20:00:00.548-08:00LEARNING TRUTH THROUGH INTUITION<span style="font-weight: bold;">Intuitive Knowledge as Leveraging Empirical and Rational Knowledge</span><br /><br />Through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intuition_%28knowledge%29#Definitions">intuitive</a> <a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2008/10/input-process-output-what-is-knowledge.html">knowing</a> we innately process the empirical and rational knowledge we have <a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2007/06/rethinking-learning.html">built into our hearts</a>. We leverage this by intentional intuitive knowing in <a href="http://tfbacademy.blogspot.com/2007/06/what-is-learning.html">all three domains</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_Taxonomy#Cognitive">Cognitive</a><br /><ul><li>Know the belief types</li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis">Analyze</a> by <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/dic?q=coherence+theory&search=search">coherence</a>/<a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=correspondence%20theory&db=luna">correspondence</a></li><li>Correct our beliefs</li></ul><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_Taxonomy#Affective">Affective</a><br /><ul><li>Know perspective types<br /></li><li>Analyze by <a href="http://www.theopedia.com/Faith">trust</a></li><li>Correct our perspectives</li></ul><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_Taxonomy#Psychomotor">Volitive</a><br /><ul><li>Know response types<br /></li><li>Analyze by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Righteousness#Righteousness_in_the_New_Testament">righteousness</a></li><li>Correct our responses</li></ul>Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-34517643446302928052008-12-31T21:01:00.000-08:002008-12-31T21:06:48.737-08:00TOP POSTS OF 2008<a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/2008/01/defining-emerging-church.html">Defining the Emerging Church</a><br /><a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/2008/02/emerging-church-ecclesiology.html">An Emerging Church Ecclesiology</a><br /><a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/2008/01/hunting-for-taxonomies.html">Hunting for Taxonomies</a><br /><a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/2008/09/resources-for-study-of-ephesians-411-16.html">Resources for the Study of Ephesians 4:11-16</a><br /><a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/2008/03/office-of-pastor-and-other-nt-myths.html">The Office of Pastor and Other NT Myths</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-60967211650400025442008-12-28T20:00:00.000-08:002008-12-28T21:44:14.180-08:00skethpad--CHURCH: THEME and VARIATIONS<ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">We are the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communion_of_saints">community of holy ones</a></span>, called to be holy in the world for Christ's sake and to mature through cooperation with the Holy Spirit and remaining in Christ.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">We are in process</span>, called to show what it means/looks like to be fit for God's presence and to mature through behaving as ones being made fit.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">We are warriors</span>, called to fight Christ's battle against all forms of evil and to mature through training in discernment, declaration, advocacy/intercession, and emergency care.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">We are heralds</span>, called to introduce God's order and to mature through knowledge, practice, and graciousness.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">We are dancers</span>, called to show that submission to God's ways is freedom and to mature through the disciplines and through "loving God and doing as we please."</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">We are scholars</span>, called to know truth deeply and behave accordingly and to mature through <a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2007/06/rethinking-learning.html">holistic study</a> and <a href="http://www.ericdigests.org/1996-3/education.htm">integrative education</a>.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">We are followers</span>, called to reveal God's fullness in our life together and to mature through increasing knowledge of who God is and through submitting our behavior to that knowledge.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">We are in the world but not of it</span>, called to point to Christ in his incarnate fullness and to mature through intellectual, relational, and personal knowledge of him.<br /></li></ul><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-27681230455191001052008-12-22T20:44:00.000-08:002008-12-23T21:48:59.875-08:00sketchpad—FOUR-WAY BIBLE READING FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTHThe Church is the Body of Christ; the individual members belong to that Body only by virtue of their connection to Christ. He alone is the founder of our faith; he alone is the completer (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=heb%2012&version=47">Heb 12</a>). The Body, therefore, is not a mere collection, as if a part might be removed without consequence. Each person, each connection, each function, each purpose makes the Body what it ought to be. Similarly, persons, connections, functions, and purposes not inherent to the Body contaminate the system and make it what it ought not to be.<br /><br />As the Body, the church functions at the communal and individual levels. In addition to saving grace (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eph%202:8-10;&version=47;">Eph 2:8-10</a>), Christ measures out functional grace (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eph%204;&version=47;">Eph 4:7</a>), equipping each member to serve the local and global church. Persons practice grace so that the church might mature and expand. The Body practices grace that is greater than the sum of its parts; a properly functioning church will have influence beyond what is logical from member’s participation.<br /><br />How does this maturation take place in the world? An important step is to take a clear, focused look at Jesus and confess that we, as his Body, are not behaving in accordance with our identity in him. Only then, after knowing where we are and where we ought to be, can we plan and begin our journey. If the church is broken, the problem is not external; the problem is in the church itself.<br /><br />A major internal contributor is the unbalanced, haphazard way many persons receive biblical input. Too may subsist on pre-chewed <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/dic?q=PABLUM&search=search">pablum</a>. Too many read only emotionally. Too many read only intellectually. If growth results from knowing and speaking truth in the context of love, then adequate biblical input is necessary for life and growth.<br /><br />This biblical input must go beyond mere hearing, mere emotions, or mere intellect. Each person, each community must take responsibility. The following matrix (developed after skimming <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/4958505"><span style="font-style: italic;">Life with God</span></a> by <a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/fosterrichardj">Richard Foster</a>) offers some suggestions.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgizU-FgPuTM2z9K0rYIn1nn0XFLHztHkvWjaUlGMjdVLEIBcjki7je7J3KLL5ov6fEDzYB9hFZAz3W1bTxhwcUqVUuOIwRU45Ci_ZS4RsrYLKDhnrswLeyWsnBVB41Y9qsexcW/s1600-h/four+way+bible+reading.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 384px; height: 86px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgizU-FgPuTM2z9K0rYIn1nn0XFLHztHkvWjaUlGMjdVLEIBcjki7je7J3KLL5ov6fEDzYB9hFZAz3W1bTxhwcUqVUuOIwRU45Ci_ZS4RsrYLKDhnrswLeyWsnBVB41Y9qsexcW/s400/four+way+bible+reading.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282846352311353378" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I realize some may cast doubt on my emphasizing biblical input, placing great importance on spiritual experiences. Such experiences can be important; they can also be false. Others will emphasize listening to the Spirit. This is, of course, crucial and necessary. But to both I must ask, How do you know the experiences or the voices are from God? One cannot merely say, I just know, for we all have personal and cultural filters that skew our perceptions. The only sure way to know God’s voice is to listen to him in community as we gather to read the Word with head and heart, going deeply into smaller portions and gaining breadth in larger chunks.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Relevant Readings and Writings this Past Week</span><br />blog post: <a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2008/12/pursued-by-and-dwelling-in-god.html">Pursued by and Dwelling in God</a><br />book: <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://books.google.com/books?id=lfZbAAAACAAJ&dq=biology+of+human+starvation&ei=zXFQSc2xBIfEkATAorS7BA">Biology of Human Starvation</a><br />blog post: <a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2008/12/lets-blitz-me-prayer.html">Blitz the Me-Prayer</a><br />Scripture: <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=daniel%209&version=47">Daniel 9</a>, <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023;&version=47;">Psalm 23</a>, <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ps%20119:105-112&version=47">Psalm 119:105-112</a><br />book introduction: <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.librarything.com/work/6689446/book/39375346">Thinking in Systems</a><br />blog post: <a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/2008/12/by-guidance-and-intention.html">By Guidance and Intention</a><br />ideas in blog posts: <a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/search/label/monkeybars">monkey bars</a><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-75113995239610852572008-12-01T21:40:00.000-08:002008-12-01T21:48:42.586-08:00sketchpad...LEAKING TRUTH<span style="font-size:78%;">ponderings from the <a href="http://www.moleskine.com/index_eng.php">Moleskine</a>, November '08</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >The truth leaked from our life together in Christ is the necessary precursor to our proclamation of God’s worth.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Knowing begins in relationship with God.</span><br /><ul><li>The triune Creator, Covenant-Maker is foundational.</li><li>Our fear of and love for God develops wisdom: truth lived well in the world.</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Knowing grows in relationship with others.</span><br /><ul><li>Community provides the training and correction needed for growth in truth.</li><li>Working and playing alongside our brothers and sisters adds what is missing in our knowledge and removes what is false.</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Relational knowing leaks truth in the world.</span><br /><ul><li>The methods of relational knowing show that God’s truth is both conceptual and relational.</li><li>Modeling relational knowing before the world bypasses intellectual and emotional barriers, though resistance and acceptance remain matters of volition.</li></ul><br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-43708936480007022212008-11-13T09:03:00.000-08:002008-11-13T09:11:37.734-08:00RESTRUCTURING FOR INTEGRATIVE EDUCATION<span style="font-weight: bold;">Reading this week<br /></span><br /><a linkindex="3" href="http://books.google.com/books?id=-FtQM6WqveAC"><span style="font-style: italic;">Restructuring for Integrative Education: Multiple Perspectives, Multiple Contexts</span></a><br />Edited by<a linkindex="4" href="http://acm.csusb.edu/facultydb/coe/Faculty.aspx?id=137"> Todd E. Jennings</a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">168 pages<br />Publisher: Bergin & Garvey (July 30, 1997)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chapters</span><br /><ul><li>"Developmental Dialectic of Students, Faculty, and Higher Education" (Ivan D. Kovacs and Helen J. Shoemaker)</li><li>"Service Learning and the Liberal Arts: Restructuring for Integrated Education" (Robbin D. Crabtree)</li><li>"Confronting the Ultimate Learning Outcome: We Teach Who We Are" (Susan Drake)</li><li>"Transforming School Psychology: Paradigmatic Assumptions and Impediments to Holistic roles" (Dudley J. Wiest and Dennis A. Kreil)</li><li>"Restructuring Classroom Management for More Interactive and Integrated Teaching and Learning" (Barbara Larrivee)</li><li>"From Alienating to Liberating Experiences: A New Comer's Learning Experiences in the New Culture" (Danling Fu)</li><li>"Recent Mexican Immigrants: Forgotten Voices in the High School Restructuring Process" (Rosalie Giacchino-Baker)</li><li>"Restructuring as an Integrative Process" (Sam Crowell and Renate Caine)</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">My Focus Chapters</span><br /><ul><li>"Developmental Dialectic of Students, Faculty, and Higher Education" (Ivan D. Kovacs and Helen J. Shoemaker)</li><li>"Confronting the Ultimate Learning Outcome: We Teach Who We Are" (Susan Drake)</li><li>"Restructuring as an Integrative Process" (Sam Crowell and Renate Caine)</li></ul>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-21371954143302204182008-11-03T13:39:00.000-08:002008-11-03T13:54:46.718-08:00LEARNING TO LEARN<span style="font-weight: bold;">Reading this week</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/193981"><span style="font-style: italic;">Learning to Learn: Toward a Philosophy of Education</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/gilljerryh">Jerry H. Gill<br /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">262 pages<br />Publisher: Humanity Books (August 2000)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Referenced Persons</span><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Polanyi">Michael Polanyi</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Merleau-Ponty">Maurice Merleau-Ponty</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Wittgenstein">Ludwig Wittgenstein</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrida">Jacques Derrida</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorty">Richard Rorty</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadamer">Hans-Georg Gadamer</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Key Thinkers</span><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey">John Dewey</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_North_Whitehead">Alfred North Whitehead</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Freire">Paulo Freire</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Rogers">Carl Rogers</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-31711104478459468912008-10-01T12:28:00.000-07:002008-10-01T12:32:03.291-07:00WADING IN THE KIERKEGAARDIAN POOLI've begun to wade in the Kierkegaardian pool over at <a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/search/label/kierkegaard">Laura's Writings</a> and will be posting any ecclesiology-related thoughts here as they arise.<br /><br />Basics: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kierkegaard">"Kierkegaard" on wikipedia</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Comments are closed on this post. Comment at <a href="http://lauraswritings.blogspot.com/">LW</a>.</span><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"></a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-23780909803267847292008-09-17T22:09:00.000-07:002008-09-17T22:40:27.786-07:00Resources for the Study of Ephesians 4:11-16<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Updates as they are found...</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/arnoldclintone">Arnold, Clinton E</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/784883/book/21692163">Ephesians, Power and Magic</a>: The Concept of Power in Ephesians in Light of Its Historical Setting</span>. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.<br /><br />________. "Ephesians." In <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/1234239/book/4783640">Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary</a>, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, 3, 301-341. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2002.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/besternest">Best, Ernest</a>. <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/784400/book/4825003"><span style="font-style: italic;">A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians</span></a> The International Critical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, ed. J. A. Emerton and C. E. B. Cranfield. London ; New York: T & T Clark, 1998. Reprint, 2004.<br /><a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/liefeldwalterl"><br />Liefeld, Walter L</a>. <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/90969/book/21782507"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ephesians</span></a> The I V P New Testament Commentary Series ; 10. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1997.<br /><a href="http://www.ridley.edu.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=48"><br />McComiskey, Douglas S</a>. "Exile and the Purpose of Jesus' Parables (Mark 4:10-12; Matt 13:10-17; Luke 8:9-10)." <a href="http://www.etsjets.org/?q=publications"><span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society</span></a> 51, no. 1 (2008): 59-85.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/oneilljc">O'Neill, J. C.</a> "'the Work of the Ministry' in Ephesians 4:12 and the New Testament." <a href="http://ext.sagepub.com/archive/"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Expository Times</span></a> 112 (2001): 336-340.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/pagesydneyht&norefer=1">Page, Sydney H. T.</a> "Whose Ministry? A Re-Appraisal of Ephesians 4:12." <a href="http://www.brill.nl/nt"><span style="font-style: italic;">Novum Testamentum</span></a> XLVII, no. 1 (2005): 26-46.<br /><a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/saucymark"><br />Saucy, Mark</a>. <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/494717/book/26434753"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Kingdom of God in the Teaching of Jesus: In 20th Century Theology</span></a>. Dallas, Tex.: Word Pub., 1997.<br /><a href="http://www.columbiabc.edu/facultystaff/faculty.html"><br />Vooys, John</a>. "No Clergy or Laity: All Christians Are Ministers in the Body of Christ Ephesians 4:13." <a href="http://www.directionjournal.org/toc/?20-1"><span style="font-style: italic;">Direction</span></a> 20, no. 1 (1991): 87-95.<br /><br />Wells, David F. "Christian Discipleship in a Postmodern World." <a href="http://www.etsjets.org/?q=publications"><span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society</span></a> 51, no. 1 (2008): 19-33.<br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162254.post-60824507179899304082008-09-15T20:56:00.000-07:002008-09-15T21:03:40.135-07:00THE CONTINUING WITWAW MAKE-OVERI continue to work on the structure and purpose of this Who in the World Are We? This is the latest.<br /><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As of September 15, 2008, the purpose and structure changed once again. Because I am now working on pieces for publication, I am hesitant to post specific pieces on this blog. Further, the question-resource structure from 8/20 was formulaic. In the new re-formulation, most posts will be bibliographic, with some comment. Once in a while, I may post an essay or article, but this is still up in the air.</blockquote><br /><br />The new subtitle: <span>Resources for the Study of Ecclesiology in General and Communal Spiritual Formation in Particular</span><br /><br />See the <a href="http://whointheworldarewe.blogspot.com/2005/11/about-laura-and-who-in-world-are-we.html">About post</a> for the whole deal.<br /><br />Tag(s): <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ecclesiology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=ecclesiology" alt=" " />ecclesiology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/church" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=church" alt=" " />church</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christian" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=christian" alt=" " />christian</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theology" rel="tag"><img style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 0.4em;" src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=theology" alt=" " />theology</a>Laura Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920102860381840156noreply@blogger.com0