Some theological musings for a Sunday morning.
1. Acts 11:26–Followers of The Way are first called “Christians” after Jews and Greeks come together to form the church. They are followers, disciples, believers, etc. But they are not explicitly called Christian until the walls of division (ethnic and religious division in this case) are torn down by the legacy of Jesus and the power of the Spirit. We might be the “church” or “followers” or “believers” . . . but are we Christian? What walls need to be torn down in my life (personal, spiritual, social, ethnic, racial, religious).
2. Is the ultimate problem with Calvinism (at least the hyper-variety) the fact that Jesus, himself, makes a poor Calvinist in the gospel narratives? Is that ultimately where Calvinism falls to pieces? After all, Paul and Torah provided some pretty convincing evidence for Calvinism (and some evidence for other perspectives). But Jesus/the gospels . . . ?
3. I don’t know if I believe what I’m about to write but I’m going to write it anyways. If the ultimate test of religion is what said religion offers its non-adherents, historic Christianity might offer a pretty compelling narrative.
To die for a friend = the Qur’an.
To die for a stranger = Torah.
To die for an enemy = Jesus (the Gospels).
Josh,
Probably an accurate summary, regarding the outlook of the Qur’an and the Gospels.
And speaking of Islam and other faiths…are you going to give a summary of what happened at your lecture at the Baha’i center?
by Jeff (Jun 10 2012, 5:15 PM)