Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Essential vs. Peripheral Doctrine

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Erik Thoennes, Life’s Biggest Questions: What the Bible Says About the Things That Matter Most, (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), 35–37 (formatting added):

Essential vs. Peripheral Doctrine

The ability to discern the relative importance of theological beliefs is vital for effective Christian life and ministry. Both the purity and unity of the church are at stake in this matter. The relative importance of theological issues can fall within four categories:

  1. absolutes define the core beliefs of the Christian faith;
  2. convictions, while not core beliefs, may have significant impact on the health and effectiveness of the church;
  3. opinions are views or personal judgments that generally are not worth dividing over; and
  4. questions are currently unsettled issues.

These categories can be best visualized as concentric circles, similar to those on a dart board, with the absolutes as the “bull’s eye” (see fig. 3.4).

Into which category an issue falls should be determined by the cumulative force of at least eight considerations: [Read more…] about Essential vs. Peripheral Doctrine

Prodigal Love for the Prodigal Son

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That’s the title of a sermon. But it’s not one by Tim Keller, author of The Prodigal God.

This sermon was preached in 1891 by Charles Spurgeon.

The text is three words from Luke 15:20: “And kissed him.”

Some excerpts:

  • When sinners come to God, he gives them a loving reception, and a hearty welcome.
  • He forgives like a God.
  • Their past lies hidden under the blood of atonement.

HT: J. D. Crowley

 

Luther: The Graphic Novel

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I recently read all 144 pages of this graphic novel to my three-year-old daughter, and she loved it (even though some of it is over her head):

Susan K. Leigh. Luther: The Graphic Novel; Echoes of the Hammer. Illustrated by Dave Hill. St. Louis: Concordia, 2011.

This 32-page sample PDF illustrates the book’s format and style.

The story has five parts:

  1. Luther’s Early Years
  2. Luther the Heretic
  3. Luther the Outlaw
  4. Martin and Katie
  5. The Reformation Continues

It’s published by Concordia Publishing House, the publisher of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, so I’m guessing they know something about Luther.

Related: My wife and I reviewed this book in 2008:

Paul L. Maier. Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World. Illustrated by Greg Copeland. Saint Louis: Concordia, 2004. 32 pp.

The Myth of Mutual Submission

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“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph 5:21).

This 11-page chapter (available for free as a PDF) concisely and convincingly explains why the phrase “mutual submission” is unhelpful at best:

Wayne Grudem, “The Myth of Mutual Submission as an Interpretation of Ephesians 5:21,” in Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood  (ed. Wayne Grudem; Foundations for the Family Series; Wheaton: Crossway, 2002), 221–31.

Outline: [Read more…] about The Myth of Mutual Submission

Why Some Reject the Godness of God

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Paul Kjoss Helseth, “Response to William Lane Craig,” in Four Views on Divine Providence  (ed. Dennis W. Jowers; Counterpoints; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 113 (formatting added):

While Reformed believers are persuaded that faithfulness to the God of the Bible requires us to affirm and really believe that God “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11), they acknowledge that many evangelicals find it difficult to swallow what Reformed theologians like Douglas Wilson call “the Godness of God” for reasons having to do with something other than exegesis. [Read more…] about Why Some Reject the Godness of God