My First Response

I start classes this week for my online degree program with Regent University and I am excited. A lot of work and time will be required but I think it will improve my reading speed, ability to think, and write. I am taking a Worldviews class and a British Literature: Middle ages to 18th Century class.

Below is what I have produced for the week one response to the question:

What kind of spirituality do you embrace? What spiritual practices do you maintain? I.e. do you pray or meditate?; do you read or study certain works?; do you attend regular religious or spiritual meetings of some sort?

Why do you do these things, and how do these things make your life different than that of mundane people?

What follows is my response:

Spirituality

I embrace Christian theism as professed in the Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed, Symbol of Chalcedon, Athanasian Creed, and the confessions of the Reformed churches. I agree with Sire that we are dependant on God as his creatures, we have rebelled against him, and we must rely on him for our restoration to fellowship (Sire, 2004, p. 250) This restoration is made possible through the redemptive work of Christ Jesus applied to us through the work of the Holy Spirit.

A fundament piece or consequent of this restoration is Sunday morning covenant renewal worship. “According to the Scriptures, in corporate Christian worship the people of God are engaged by the Spirit and drawn into the Father’s presence as living sacrifices in Christ (Eph. 2:18). This is how God renews His covenant with His people. He draws near to draw us near. And in drawing us near to Him we are renewed through sacrifice.” (Meyers, 2003, p. 56) In this service we the saints worship the Triune God, receive the Word, pray, and celebrate the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

My individual practices include prayer, reading and memorizing Scripture, and studying theology. In “Flex the Brain” Veith promotes the idea of reading outside of Christian writing for insight we can draw from it as long as we read mindful of our Christian worldview. This has been a weak spot in my reading that I hope to change and build on; as my ability to think in terms of worldviews develops I hope to read more promiscuously.

Ultimately, the work of the Spirit in regeneration and sanctification produces these spiritual practices. The Spirit gives us a new heart and a new life as it works faith in us and we place our trust in Christ as our Savior and King. Van Til, quoted in Van Til’s Apologetics by Bahnsen (1998, p.20) is instructive and encouraging, “I have learned something of what it means to make my thought captive to the obedience of Christ, being converted anew every day to the realization that I understand no fact aright unless I see it in its proper relation to Christ as Creator-Redeemer of me and my world. I seek his kingdom and its righteousness above all things else.”

The difference is significant. For the non-believer the world is without purpose, meaningless, and ultimately unintelligible. The Christian finds meaning and purpose because all things work according to God’s purpose and plan (Romans 8:28; Isaiah 46:8-11) and justification for knowledge rests in the attributes of God and his personal involvement in creation as Frame discusses in his book The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God.

After attempting to produce an answer to this question I recognize my inability to draw on what I have read and bring it into a concise product. I don’t like all of my connections and I am uncertain of whether I clearly communicate what I am trying to do. I could spend weeks trying to develop this into a better, more intelligible response, but time does not allow. I do hope through these online courses I will better develop my abilities in this area.

Trinitarian Anthropology

Originally I intended to write an outline of Leithart’s arguments concerning a trinitarian anthropology and how it influences ecclesiology, soteriology, and baptismal efficacy. After giving this brief summary I was going to present White’s response to Leithart’s paper. In the interest of time and a desire to move forward with the book I will not.  I will briefly present my overarching thought concerning the two essays in this post and follow up with a post answering White’s questions.

Reasoning from a trinitarian ontoloty to trinitarian anthropology Liethart builds a perspective  reality, church, and salvation. This perspective has particular view of what “church” and “salvation” are and how that works itself out in our lives. As a perspective it is internal sound and the only possible challenge would be whether Scripture speaks about the “church” and “salvation” in the same way. White does not challenge at this level but instead he asks questions that presuppose his own systems understand of “church” and “salvation”.  This begs the question of whether White’s system is the correct one in which to understand Scripture, reality, church, and salvation–the very reason the debate exists–furthermore, it doesn’t deal with Leithart’s position in a legitimate and meaningful way.  He completely misses the mark.

Quotable Friday

But no one in this earthly prison of the body has sufficient strength to press on with due eagerness, and weakness so weighs down the greater number that, with wavering and limping and even creeping along the ground, they move at a feeble rate. Let each one of us, then, proceed according to the measure of his puny capacity and set out upon the journey we have begun. No one shall set out so inauspiciously as not dailty to make some headway, thought it be slight. Therefore, let us not cease so to act that we may make some unceasing progress in the way of the Lord. And let us not despair at the slightness of our success; for even though attainment may not correspond to desire, when today outstrips yesterday the effort is not lost. Only let us look toward our mark with sincere simplicity and aspire to our goal; not fondly flattering ourselves, nor excusing our own evil deeds, but with continouous eff0rt striving toward this end: that we may surpass ourselves in goodness until we attain to goodness itself. It is this, indeed, which through the whole course of life we seek and follow. But we shall attain it only when we have cast off the weakness of the body, and are received into full fellowship with him. (689)

Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin

Quotable Friday

Creation as a whole, and the divine-human relationship in particular, are echoes of the eternal music of Triune life. (62)

Without a plurality of persons in God, there would be no harmony because there would be no difference, and here would be no beauty because harmony is the keynote of beauty. (63)

The Auburn Avenue Theology: Pros and Cons, “Trinitarian Anthropology” by Peter Leithart.

Quotable Friday

The clearest evidence that we live in a degenerate culture is the fact that we practice so little genuine biblical friendship; even the word friend itself has ecome a hollow term, drained of its biblical content and weight. (9)

Face to Face: Meditations on Friendship and Hospitality, Steve Wilkins, Canon Press, Moscow Idaho