My challenge for readers is to post a series of images that reflect
the Confessional Lutherans and the Orthodox
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Is Mary Holy?
Do you think Mary is holy? Like the Catholics do? Because doesn't it say she is blessed. But blessed means made holy, so that would mean she is holy. But aren't we also blessed once we enter heaven? Because I thought only God could be holy. So how does this all work?The quick answer: YES
However there are a lot of issues in this message that need to be explained and expanded. I will take each question and comment and share a few thoughts of my own.
Do you think Mary is holy?
Yes, I believe Mary is holy. The scriptures call many people holy. In fact the word "saint" is more accurately translated "holy one"
- In Hebrew the word is חסיד (chaciyd)
- The Greek Word is ἅγιος (hagios)
To call someone holy is not reserved alone to God. Holy means SET APART. Cities are called holy, places are called holy, mountains are called holy.
Mary was most certainly set apart by God. She was the one women in all of history who was set aside to give a Human nature to God, and to clothe divinity with flesh in her womb.
Therefore it is both good and right to call Mary Holy.
Like the Catholics do?
The Catholic church confirms a few things about Mary that are hard to find in scripture.
The main things Protestants get uncomfortable about are:
- She is Queen of Heaven
- She was born without the effects of original sin
- She was sinless in life
- She is The Mother of God
- We can ask her for intercession on our behalf
These are all Theological statements that actually point to realities which most Protestants affirm. They have generally come out of HUGE theological controversies dealing with the nature of Christ and The Church.
The Catholic Church did not invent these concepts to create new doctrines about Mary, but rather developed the language so that they could continue to AFFIRM doctrines about Jesus and the Church.
- Queen of Heaven tells us the Jesus reigns in his Humanity as well as His divinity as King of all creation
- Affirming she was born without the effects of original sin points to the reality of the grace of God in the lives of all Christians, and the purity of Jesus' human life.
- Believing Mary was sinless in life is an icon of the Christian Life that God calls all in His Church too in obedience to the movement of the Holy Spirit.
- Saying she was The Mother of God is an important way of affirming that although has both a human and divine nature Jesus is one unified person
- Believing we can ask her for intercession on our behalf is an affirmation of what the scriptures say about the prayers of those on earth being offered by the saints (Revelation 5:8).
Of course these are all HUGELY controversial and it would take multiple books to exhaust any one of them in their entirety, but the main take away is that in Catholicism Mary mainly does two things:
- She points to truth about Jesus
- She is an icon of the Church
I can't say I believe everything about Mary that Every Catholic does, but I do think that in at least in the two affirmations above I agree.
doesn't it say she is blessed?
It does... it also says she is "Full of Grace": in Greek χαριτόω (charitoō) meaning "to honor with blessings, to be highly favored, make accepted"
What do you think that means?
It is God's grace that transforms us and allows us to be Holy. For Mary to be "full of Grace" means that she has been made accepted in a way that no other person in scripture is said to have been made. In fact the only time that word is used in scripture apart from Mary is Ephesians 1:6 where Paul discusses the ways in which Christ makes us pure and Holy before God....
All in all I think those of us outside of the Catholic Church can learn A LOT about Mary from them, and should.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Church Profile: Mars Hill Bible Church | Grand Rapids
I recently visited the “Mars Hill Bible Church” in Grand Rapids, MI. This is not a church in my own tradition (Lutheran / Evangelical Covenant), but it is one that I have had some history with (my brother has been a member of this community for about 9 years).
Mars Hill is a church that was planted in 1999 by Calvary Church pastor Rob Bell and a core of people from that community. It comes out of what could be described as “mainstream evangelicalism”. This basically means that it’s been influenced by the polity of American Revivalism. This is reflected in the service in it’s emphases on preaching (this makes up over half the service, and is VERY well done) and lack of traditional liturgy.
There are many things that make Mars Hill distinctive. Their theology stems a great deal from the ideas of “Narrative theology”. They are also influenced by the writings of N.T. Wright, Richard Rohr, and many others that are part of what many consider more “progressive” movements in the church. Rob Bell’s teaching has been greatly impacted by the Rabbinic tradition and he has often drawn from the Talmud and Mishnah in his interpretation of the Bible. Another Pastor, Shane Hipps, comes out of the Mennonite tradition.
The Worship Space at Mars Hill is very plain. The chairs are arranged in a square all facing the center where the music and sermon are presented. Above the heads of the musicians is a Cube that is made up of four screens where white text is projected on a black background. There is one cross in the back corner of the church, and Psalm 119 is written in chunks by each door. My wife, who is Catholic, says that when she goes there she almost feels surprised when God is mentioned since the space is so devoid of things that point to God, and actually devoid of almost anything interesting to look at. My son got much more fidgety there then he does in a typical catholic church since he didn’t have anything to look at (he is less then a year old).
Music there is done by a band with all the typical rock and roll accouterments (drums, bass, guitar, keys) but they add a little flair with xylophone or electronic music thrown into the mix from time to time.
The congregation is fairly young, very white, and seems to be mostly middle class. Generally men run the service, but they do occasionally have women teach and lead.
The service has no liturgy of the word per se, but the sermon is started out with a passage of scripture that is commented on. There are no consistent liturgical actions but the week I was there there was an interesting practice of turning your body toward where a person you were praying for was (this led to some awkwardness, but I thought it was kind of cool).
The service started with music (very loud, very rock-and-roll, mostly new interpretations of older material the week I was there). Then there was prayer (leader led, but subjective in nature. We prayed for people we knew that fit into categories but the church didn’t pray together for one thing). The remainder of the service was the Sermon.
I believe that there is communion quarterly.
The language at Mars Hill is informal, but well thought out. It’s clear a lot of time goes into planning everything that goes on, and there is a certain cadence that the leadership uses that everyone seems to fall into (lots of pregnant pauses). Very little “churchy” vocabulary is used.
The focus of the service seems to be the preaching. People are here to be taught information about the Bible and the world around them. The sermon is the main attraction and the longest part of the service. Even beyond the service Mars Hill offers a lot of classes. This might be contrasted with a Catholic church which has a very small homily, and tends to offer things like adoration and the rosary, or an Orthodox church that offers Vespers service. It’s not that Mars Hill doesn't have times for prayer, or social justice (they do!) but it seems that teaching is the main focus of what they do, and thats why people are there and not somewhere else.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Hebrew - Vocab Flash Cards!
For all the seminary students out there using Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar
by Page H. Kelley I have below links to simple flash cards that you will need to study in order to pass.The main reason I'm posting this is so that I will have an easy way to bookmark all these links on my phone, but go ahead bookmark this page too! It will make your life a lot easier.
This might be a fun little review to go over if you have taken Hebrew in the past!
Have an amazing day!
CLICK HERE FOR THE MOBILE VERSION OF THIS LIST
Kelley Vocab Flashcards
| Chapter 1 Chapter 2 - N/A Chapter 3 Chapter 4 - N/A | Chapter 31 |
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