parables of a prodigal world

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adders den. --Isaiah 11:6-8 How will all this happen? It's almost to optimistic to accept as a reality. The animosity between the wolf and the lamb, the calf and the lion, these are of the natural order of things, right? It has nothing to with human sin and fallenness, with the weakness of the love of God in the human heart, right? The vision of Isaiah 11:6-8 has got to be a metaphor, right? How big is your vision of the redemptive power of God? How big is your vision of the power of love? They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; because the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord (i.e., lov...

Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Take heart, son! Your sins are forgiven." "Blasphemy! This man talks like he is God!" some of the teachers of religious law said among themselves. Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, "Why are you thinking such evil thoughts? Is it easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or 'Get up and walk'? I will prove that I, the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, take your mat, and go on home, because you are healed!" And the man jumped up and went home! Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen right before their eyes. They praised God for sending a man with such great authority. - Matthew 9:1-8 Say the word "saved" today and most American Christ...

This is the story of a special man. He lived in a world where humankind was infected by a disease that stripped people of their humanness, causing them to love the darkness and hate the light. He was gripped by a calling to save humankind from the disease. He himself was immune from the disease, and he knew that the answer to the world's woes was located in his own person, in his body and in his blood. Having chosen to live in the midst of his infected brethren, he came to the painful realization that he would have to die at their hands in order to deliver to them the salvation of his blood. The gospel of Jesus Christ? No, the story of Dr. Robert Neville, the character played by Will Smith in the movie I Am Legend , which I watched on DVD last night. The movie purposely attempts to echo the salvific theme of the gospel, from the "I Am" in the title to its Passion-esque conclusion: I wasn't aware of this theme in the movie before watching it, so it kind of took me by...

One of my favorite bloggers and cyber-brother, Trevin Wax , has posted a summary review of a new book entitled Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World . The book contains argument for four of the prevailing views on the question of "Who is saved," "Is Christianity the only and exclusive means of salvation," etc. There are hundreds of sub-questions contained within those questions, and the proponent of the four views seek to touch upon as many of the issues as feasible. Trevin's review was brief but edifying. I guess my concern with the entire endeavor is twofold: one as pertaining to the theme of the book, and one concerning Trevin's closing remarks. Regarding the latter, Trevin and I are ordinarily of one mind, in form and format, on nearly 99.9% of the issues both he and I raise, and I feel compelled to point out that this issue does not in any way detract from the respect I have for him. If I had a theological question, Trevin is one of the handfu...

Chapter 12 Rethinking Salvation: Heaven, Earth and the Kingdom of God Chapter 12 culminates the final section of the book. where Wright will attempt to tie in all that he has put forward regarding the proper understanding of the Christian hope to the question of what it all means for us today. This, as Wright likes to say, is the "So What?" moment. The main theme of the book so far, if we can reduce it to just one, is the insistence that the historical Christian hope has very little to do with a disembodied life after death, and very much to do with life here on earth, both today and in the future when God's promise to make "all things new" (not "all new things") is fulfilled. And Chapter 12 continues on pressing that point, but here in the context of clarifying our ideas of Salvation and The Kingdom of God . I thought about summarizing Wright's take on these two themes from Chapter 12, but inasmuch as (1) they are so similar to two lectures that ...