Leithart on Baptism

The Baptized Body by Peter J. Leithart

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For me, this book, like Leithart’s writings generally, was both a hit and a miss. Let’s take it from the top.

Chapter one, “Starting before the Beginning,” was intended to clear “enough ground to move ahead” to discuss the biblical texts about baptism. This chapter seemed a bit choppy, as Leithart’s hitting on different philosophical, ontological, and theological topics. It was intended to be controversial with section headings such as, “Why Sacraments Are Not Signs,” “Why Sacraments Are Not Means of Grace,” and “Why Sacraments Are Not Symbols.” That said, I found the concept of Sacraments as rituals to be compelling and helpful. Sacraments can, however, be signs, means of grace, symbols, AND rituals.

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God Wants Everyone to be Saved (2)…

I ran across a gorgeous little ditty from John Calvin today. It fits into the discussion about God’s will and the salvation of people. Calvin’s little tract is called “Articles concerning Predestination”; it’s found in a volume translated and edited by J.K.S. Reid entitled Calvin: Theological Treatises. In that the article is short, I will reproduce the whole thing below and then add some comments afterward.

Articles concerning Predestination

Before the first man was created, God in his eternal counsel had determined what he willed to be done with the whole human race.

In the hidden counsel of God it was determined that Adam should fall from the unimpaired condition of his nature, and by his defection should involve all his posterity in sentence of eternal death.

Upon the same decree depends the distinction between elect and reprobate: as he adopted some for himself for salvation, he destined others for eternal ruin.

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Moms, Kids, and Covenant Nurture

So, I was sittin’  there, mindin’ my own business, and I noticed a mother and her young son walk past me. They caught my attention because the boy had on one of those fun, little, warm hats that has animal ears poking out the top. A minute later they walked past me again, but this time in the other direction. Evidently, this young mother and her son had walked a piece down the parking lot to meet another young mother with a little boy in tow. The two mothers led their two boys into a sandwich shop to have lunch together. That got me thinkin’.

Those two young mothers were friends. Maybe they met in college, in a dorm. Perhaps they’d been friends much longer, having met in elementary school or at a neighborhood park. It’s even possible that they were friends how their sons are friends. How are their sons friends?

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The Impossible Victory of Christendom

Too often (mostly all the time) we gauge God’s power by our own impotence. If God can conquer one sinner, he can conquer every one of them. If God can take one soldier from the kingdom of darkness and transfer him into the Kingdom of his own dear Son, he can take ALL that’s Satan’s and give it to his Son. If you’re reading this post, chances are very high that God has done exactly this for you. If he’s done this for you, why not your recalcitrant neighbor who hates Christ? Why not your whole neighborhood? How about your whole town or county? Too much to think? Really?!

Let’s do an experiment. Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of our Christian brothers in Rome in the year AD 64. This was the year that Nero began persecuting the Christians, lighting them up in his gardens, feeding them to beasts in the Coliseum, and generally terrorizing the Christians for almost five years. Nero was the head of the Roman Empire, the greatest force in the world. This Empire was opposed to Christ and purposed (on and off) to stamp out Christianity. Okay, now we’re back in Rome, hidden underground, praying for our brothers that have been arrested, and praying that the Roman authorities do not find us. How absolutely unthinkable is it that the Roman Empire should be a Christian Empire? What kind of pipe dream is it that Caesar should become a Christian, and that Christianity should become the official religion of the Empire? That could NEVER happen…

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St. Anselm on Free Will

Augustine & Calvin

I’m always amused when people say that the majority of church history is not “Calvinistic.” I’m amused because it’s both true and false. It’s true in that the Reformation put a fine point on issues of divine sovereignty and human inability. Take note that I said the Reformation, not Calvin. If by “Calvinism” we mean a commitment to the utter helplessness of humanity and a profound commitment to the sovereignty of God in the salvation or damnation of sinners, then we might just as well call it by a name reminiscent of any of the Reformers. Arminius himself was absolutely committed to the utter and absolute helplessness of humanity. If, however, by “Calvinism” we (anachronistically) mean the five points of Calvinism, then a great deal of the church is not Calvinistic… that is, completely Calvinistic.

When I think of the “Calvinism” of the church in broad historical terms, I’m thinking of it in a general sense: a commitment Augustinian anthropology and soteriology.

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Baptism, Identity, and Education

Dear child, do you wish to lead a Christian life and to live according to the will of God our heavenly Father?

Yes, dear father, for I have been baptized in the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit….

These are the opening words from Martin Bucer’s catechism from 1534. Note that the child’s identity is wrapped up in their baptism. “Do you want to live in a way that pleases God?” “Yes, for I am baptized.” That’s not a full answer, but it’s a fine start. We train up our children to grow up into who they are: children of God. Further, note the strong connection between discipleship and baptism, which is drawn from (among other places) Mt 28. Bucer’s commitment to Christian pedagogy also made Strasbourg a thriving center of evangelical education.

(Drawn from Hughes Oliphant Old’s The Shaping of the Reformed Baptismal Rite in the Sixteenth Century [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992], 186.)

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The Bible and Homosexuality

After the post on Michael Glatze, I’ve been engaged in some very interesting conversations on the topic of homosexuality. Some of the most interesting discussions have been with Christians who hold that being gay is quite permissible for the Christian. One brother in particular has been quite engaging and has come back with responses to my comments. I thought it might be better to publish a response here on the blog rather than on Facebook.

As a preliminary remark, one thoughtful commenter here on the blog has helped me in distinguishing between 1) homosexual desire, 2) homosexual sex, and 3) homosexual identity. These are useful distinctions and I will try to keep them in mind from now on. My thinking on the subject of homosexuality is largely informed by the Bible and by conservative Christian culture, so I don’t pretend to be an authority on the subject. That said, I do know the Bible, which is the standard. Let’s look at it.

Let’s start this discussion in the Old Testament, as that’s where God started it.

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Perseverance of the Gays?

A friend from college shared an article on Facebook today which I thought to be supremely interesting. The article is called “My Ex-Gay Friend,” and it’s written by Benoit Denizet-Lewis, a skilled and thoughtful writer.  Give his article a read and then come on back for my thoughts on it.

One of the things I liked most about Benoit’s article is that it captured something of a panorama of Michael Glatze’s life (though he left out the fact that Michael was born in Olympia, WA – where I live!). As such, there are a ton of things that I find interesting in the article. For the time being, I will limit my observations to two areas: 1) the overpowering might of Jesus Christ, and 2) the notion of the perseverance of the gays.

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“He Descended into Hell”

Heidelberg Catechism #44

Q. Why does the Creed add, “He descended to Hell”?

A.  To assure me in times of personal crisis and temptation that Christ my Lord, by suffering unspeakable anguish, pain, and terror of soul, especially on the cross but also earlier, has delivered me from the anguish and torment of hell.

Theological: Our theological instructors (Ursinus & Olevianus), in their pastoral wisdom, skipped over the controversy surrounding this passage; so will I.

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‘Any’ and ‘All’ – 2 Peter 3:9

John Cassian

2 Peter 3:9 is a text that I’ve had thrown in my face by dozens and dozens of Arminians, all of whom think that it proves (beyond any doubt) that God desires universal salvation. This (admittedly long) post will show that exegetically, theologically, and logically, the Arminian position on this verse is untenable. I’ll quote 2 Peter 3:8-9 below, engage some important issues to the interpretation of the text, and then turn to the text and its analysis.

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

As a preliminary remark, the terms “any” and “all” are usually used in an elastic way. From time to time I hear preachers say, “All means all, and that all all means.” That’s a really dumb thing to say.

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