Coram Deo Blog
Archive for July 2008
30 July 2008 at 7:26 am by Bob Thune · church history, sabbath
The Church Fathers is the title respectfully given to those writers, leaders, and pastors who led the church in the first 600 years of its existence. Any modern student willing to mine writings of these old saints will find a rich repository of history, theology, and devotion. The writings of the Fathers – available as a multi-volume reference set in most higher-education libraries – are generally divided into two categories: the Ante-Nicene Fathers (those who lived before the Council of Nicea in 325 AD) and the Post-Nicene Fathers (those who lived and ministered after Nicea).
During my sabbatical, I devoted myself to reading the first volume of the Ante-Nicene Fathers series (containing the writings of those fathers who lived before 200 AD) as well as three volumes from the most eminent of the Post-Nicene Fathers: the great St. Augustine, who died in 425. Over the coming weeks I will post some of my reflections and reviews from these books: sometimes in more polished prose, and other times in a terse bullet-point format. My hope here is for blog readers to encounter at least in cursory form some of the great Christian writers and thinkers of past ages.
Thanks to our friend Hooley, we’ll start with St. Augustine.
Augustine: “On Free Will”
[In Library of Christian Classics, John Baillie, John McNeill, and Henry Van Dusen, eds, Volume VI: Augustine: Earlier Writings (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1953)].
De Libero Arbitrio is an early writing of Augustine in which he seeks to answer the question: is God ultimately responsible for sin? Or, to quote from the work itself: “If sins originate with souls which God has created, and which therefore have their origin from God, how are sins not to be charged against God at least mediately?” The work is written in a dialogical format: Augustine disputes with a student, Euodius, using the Socratic method. This design makes the various logical conclusions in the argument easy to follow. Augustine makes his interlocutor chase all possible permutations of the question, and therefore the work provides a very comprehensive apologetic for why evil in the universe cannot be charged to God.
Distinctive Features:
- Very thorough argumentation. The Socratic method allows the dialogue partners to resolve all possible questions and allows the reader to follow the methodical progress of the argument.
- An early statement of Augustine’s classic faith-as-the-ground-of-knowledge position: “We cannot deny that believing and knowing are different things, and that in matters of great importance, pertaining to divinity, we must first believe before we seek to know… He cannot be said to have found, who merely believes what he does not know. And [yet] no one is fit to find God, who does not first believe what he will afterwards learn to know.”
- A thorough argument (in the beginning of Book 3) for how God’s sovereign and exhaustive foreknowledge does not mean he is the author of sin. The argument proceeds like this: by definition, our willing must be voluntary, not coerced. If God’s foreknowledge makes us will something, then by definition it is not an act of the will, because willing is voluntary. “Who but a raving fool would say that it is not voluntarily that we will? …[But] there are those who say that if God has foreknowledge of what I am going to will, since nothing can happen otherwise than as he has foreknown it, therefore I must necessarily will what he has foreknown. If so, it must be admitted that I will, not voluntarily, but from necessity. Strange folly! If I must necessarily will, why need I speak of willing at all?” The argumentation here is closely reasoned and worth poring over for all who wrestle with this question.
- A helpful analogy: memory. “Just as you apply no compulsion to past events by having them in your memory, so God by his foreknowledge does not use compulsion in the case of future events. Just as you remember your past actions, though all that you remember were not actions of your own, so God has foreknowledge of all his own actions, but is not the agent of all that he foreknows. Of evil actions he is not the agent but the just punisher… he has no responsibility for the future actions of men though he knows them beforehand.”
- Even at this early stage, Augustine has a carefully nuanced view of human nature and sin. Most of his disputation concerns human nature as it was created by God (i.e. Adam and Eve), because the question revolves around why they chose to sin in the first place. But he acknowledges that for us who live after the Fall, the words “sin” and “nature” are more complex than the argument allows. “All that a man does wrongfully in ignorance, and all that he cannot do rightly through what he wishes, are called sins because they have their origin in the first sin of the will when it was free. These are its deserved consequences. We apply the name ‘tongue’ not only to the member which we move in our mouth when we speak, but also to what follows from that motion, namely, words and language. Thus we speak of the Greek or Latin tongue. So we apply the word ‘sin’ not only to that which is properly called sin, that is, what is committed knowingly and with free will, but also to all that follows as the necessary punishment of that first sin. So, use the word ‘nature’ in a double sense. Properly speaking, human nature means the blameless nature with which man was originally created. But we also use it in speaking of the nature with which we are born mortal, ignorant, and subject to the flesh, which is really the penalty of sin. In this sense the apostle says: ‘We also were by nature children of wrath even as others’ (Eph. 2:3).”
- Interestingly, this work became fodder for Pelagius later in Augustine’s life. Augustine argued so persuasively in defense of human free will that Pelagius found his arguments useful in defending his own position. In his later Retractions (I, ix, 3-4), Augustine defended himself: “Do not let the Pelagians exult as if I had been pleading their cause, because in these books I said much in favor of free will, which was necessary for the purpose I had in view in that discussion… in these and similar words of mine no mention is made of the grace of God, because it was not under discussion.” Augustine was arguing for human freedom as the cause and root of sin, whereas Pelagius was arguing against original sin and for human freedom as the ground of salvation.
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28 July 2008 at 3:36 pm by Bob Thune · prayer
Since the beginning of Coram Deo, we have gathered almost every Wednesday night from 8-9 PM to pray together. Lane Freemyer’s house at 9508 Spencer has become a veritable second home for many of us as we have built the weekly rhythm of corporate prayer into our lives.
In the coming weeks we are asking God to work against the natural drift of spiritual entropy and bring renewal to our souls and to our church community. Prayer is crucial to renewal, and so I want to ask and urge you to join in the work of prayer by coming to our prayer gathering this Wednesday night at Lane’s place. Please don’t neglect this important communal discipline. Praying together is deeply formative to our own souls and deeply crucial to God’s work in our church. Don’t let the burden of many be carried by a few.
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28 July 2008 at 3:18 pm by Bob Thune · sabbath
Yesterday we talked about how the discipline of rest is foundational to spiritual renewal. I recently wrote a mini-essay on sabbatical for the benefit of some Acts 29 brothers, and I thought I’d post it on the CD blog for further reflection. Forgive the autobiographical tone… this was written as I reflected on my own sabbatical leave and tried to distill the principles I learned through my own experience. As you read, consider how you might implement some of these principles in a more truncated fashion (i.e. once a week instead of 6 straight weeks). I trust the restatement of these principles will be helpful as you seek to build Sabbath rest into your life.
THE PRINCIPLES OF SABBATH
- Rest. That means forgetting about doing and taking time just to BE. I spent every morning of my sabbatical reading and praying, and every afternoon making great memories with my kids by doing something fun together. In his book called Prayer, Richard Foster talks about restful prayer as “wasting time with Jesus.” If you’re a doer, it’s going to feel like you’re wasting time – like you could be getting something done, but you aren’t. Exactly.
- Reflection. After your mind and soul are at ease, and you are enjoying just being with Jesus and with your family, the Holy Spirit can easily move you to reflection. Most of us are so busy existing that we don’t take time to examine ourselves. One discipline of self-examination I undertook was to read through my prayer and ministry journals from the last 10 years. In some cases it was very encouraging (remembering ways God had used me that I had long forgotten); in other cases it was discouraging (seeing that “the same old struggles that plagued me then are plaguing me still”). I also spurred reflection through reading (I immersed myself in the church fathers and in Calvin’s Institutes for a few hours each day) and through prayer. Sometimes I would stare off into the sky for 30 or 40 minutes just thinking about God, myself, my church, my calling. Whenever I felt like the Spirit was really working on me in some area, I would journal or type it out so I could come back to it later.
- Repentance. The natural by-product of reflection is repentance. As I had unhurried time to consider the man I have become and the man (by God’s grace) I would like to be, I was moved to repentance. I won’t air all my laundry here, but for the sake of humility and encouragement I will mention two areas of conviction. First, God convicted me that I often use people for the mission instead of loving them like Jesus. Part of this is due to how I’m made (mission-driven) and is not sinful; but another part of it is definitely sinful – a violation of the Great Commandment. I had to repent for the ways I have driven my people toward the mission without loving and shepherding them effectively. Second, and more grievous, God convicted me that I do the same with my wife. I tend to try and drive her toward sanctification instead of honoring her as a weaker vessel and living with her in an understanding way. The gospel has become more precious to me in these 6 weeks as I realize how very much NOT like Jesus I am, and how deeply I need his empowering and sanctifying grace.
- Renewal. After an extended period of rest, reflection, and repentance, God works renewal in your soul and in your leadership. Jesus granted me new vision and energy for the next stage of our church. I prayed through some nagging doubts and questions. I discerned preaching topics for the next year. I gained prayerful insight on what I need to start doing and what I need to stop doing. He gave me new energy and zeal for being a great husband and father. I return home refreshed, renewed, and ready to step into the yoke again, leading Jesus’ people forward by His grace into the next stage of shaping a movement.
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24 July 2008 at 7:03 am by Bob Thune · formation
Souls are subject to entropy no less than mechanical or biological systems. Over time, we tend to lose spiritual vitality. We naturally drift toward stale orthodoxy or vague feelings of distance and discontentment.
During the next 6 weeks, we’re going to focus on the theme of RENEWAL at Coram Deo. To get us started, I want to throw out this question to the blogosphere: what does spiritual entropy feel like in your life? When you are losing momentum spiritually, how do you know it? What are the symptoms, the warning signs, the first effects? Post away.
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24 July 2008 at 7:00 am by Bob Thune · apologetics, theology
Looking over the list of books I read during my sabbatical, I anticipate that some readers will find it obtuse. Many of these will be dismissed as books that only “professional theologians” have time (or interest) to read. In other words, some of you guys will leave the Augustine and Irenaeus to me, and content yourselves with Don Miller or Dallas Willard or CS Lewis.
Now, please don’t get me wrong: all reading is good reading (well… almost). I love Miller and Willard and Lewis and wish all Christians would read them. So this post is not intended to discourage that sort of reading. Rather, it’s meant to encourage you toward the more difficult sort of reading: the kind that takes discipline.
We are fast losing the discipline of reading. In our affluence and comfort, Americans have become used to reading only works that interest us; books we have immediate use for. The Information Age has led us to favor breadth over depth, as if knowing lots of facts about something is the same as knowing it. Even the school systems, in an attempt to keep unruly kids at bay, are allowing children to read more and more of what they want to read and less of what they need to.
The problem is: it’s not just the content of what we read that shapes us. It’s the practice of reading itself. In the same way that listening to accomplished musicians hones our musical faculties, in the same way that athletic exercise strengthens our physical capacity, so reading good (and difficult) literature sharpens our intellect. The payoff is not in the content we can regurgitate tomorrow, but in how our mind learns to function. Difficult reading trains us to be a certain kind of thinker.
Here’s an example: I recently made my way through one of Augustine’s anti-Pelagian treatises called “On Nature and Grace.” [Pelagius was an early heretic who denied original sin and held that moral perfection was possible for all humans without God’s grace.] It could be argued that this book has almost no practical value for a 21st-century pastor/elder. Though many Christians in our day may in fact be functional Pelagians, virtually no one is making closely-reasoned theological defenses of Pelagian theology. What good did it do for me, then, to read this work?
Simply put: it allowed me to watch an intellectual giant at work. It took me inside the mind of one of history’s greatest thinkers as he debated the conclusions of a very intelligent and capable antagonist. I saw how Augustine, with grace and charity and godliness, sought to render the Pelagian point of view untenable using its own presuppositions. The value wasn’t so much theological, but apologetic: how might Augustine tackle the theological and philosophical issues of our own day?
This fall, we will preach a series at Coram Deo on Objections to Christianity. That series will require that we cogently explain biblical Christianity while earnestly and seriously considering honest objections to it. We don’t want to be those obnoxious Christians who regurgitate tired apologetic arguments in defense of our own shallow faith. We want to have the intellectual courage and theological rigor to dive deeply into the objections and criticisms of our cultural neighbors. To do that requires a certain kind of mind.
Developing such a mind is essential to discipleship, for Scripture commands us to “Love the Lord your God… with all your mind” (Mark 12:30). For us to be effectively missional, we must all seek to develop our critical faculties to whatever extent God has gifted us. As CS Lewis writes, “God… wants every one to use what sense they have… [He] is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers” (in Mere Christianity, Book 3, chapter 2).
To that end, then, may God make us a people who delight in the discipline of reading.
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23 July 2008 at 7:57 am by Bob Thune · announcement, church planting
Today marks a significant day in the life of Coram Deo. Ivy Linger, our omni-capable administrative assistant, is handing over her responsibilities at CD and moving into the full-time role of mommyhood. It’s been over 3 years since I hired Ivy away from her lucrative job at the YMCA to help us plant a church. She was our first paid employee and she has been with us since we were the size of a rural-high-school graduating class.
FUN FACTS ABOUT IVY:
- Ivy can throw a football better than most dudes in Coram Deo.
- Ivy has organized and coordinated the work of Coram Deo for 3 years using a donated computer that may actually be powered by hamsters.
- God told me to hire Ivy while I was mowing my lawn.
- Ivy’s starting wage was almost as much as a gas station/mini-mart employee.
- In the early days, our pastoral test for dudes who wanted to lead was: would Ivy follow them? If not, their job was to get discipled by Ivy.
- Bob’s most significant pastoral legacy to this point is helping Ivy move from resolute man-hater to happily married wife and mom-to-be. It took lots of prayer.
- In the early days, Ivy was stalked by numerous college-age men who would “drop by” the offices because they were “just in the neighborhood” and “needed to talk to Bob about something.” “Oh, Bob’s not here? Well, that’s OK, Ivy… how are you?”
- I have witnessed Ivy fake a cell phone call in order to avoid one of the aforementioned stalkers.
- Ivy has long been known for casually tossing out words and phrases which do not actually exist in the English language, and then defending them to the death when challenged.
Ivy League, you’ll be missed around the office. Thanks for devoting yourself to the mission of God so wholeheartedly. I know your ministry within our church will continue to grow and flourish as you move into a new phase of life.
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22 July 2008 at 3:07 pm by Bob Thune · church history, sabbath, theology
Richard Lovelace: Dynamics of Spiritual Life (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1979)
I am intentionally reserved about recommending books and resources. I would be rich if I had a dollar for every lame manuscript that is shamelessly hyped to consumers as the “next big thing.” But of all the books I read during my sabbatical, one stands out to me as a must-read for every thinking Christian: Dynamics of Spiritual Life by Richard Lovelace. [Part I of this book – which is really the most significant section – is updated and summarized in Lovelace’s shorter work Renewal as a Way of Life, which will be available at the CD Resource Table this Sunday.]
Lovelace is a Princeton-educated historian who served for decades as professor of church history at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is now in the waning years of his life and rarely darkens the classroom door. But in his prime, he was a true old-school professor: an expert in his field and a steward of knowledge, not a publication-happy status-seeker. He instructed countless Christian leaders in the dynamics of spiritual renewal, including New York pastor Tim Keller, who counts Lovelace as one of his most formative theological mentors.
Dynamics of Spiritual Life is a work of historical theology centered on the theme of spiritual renewal. In the preface, Lovelace explains his aim: “For several decades I have studied the history and theology of religious awakenings… In doing so I have sought to isolate the main streams of spiritual vitality which have flowed through the church’s history and to determine the principles which govern the force of these. Gradually I have come to formulate a general theory of individual and corporate spiritual health.” In other words, Dr. Lovelace has isolated the “common denominators,” the distinguishing marks that seem to be present every time the Holy Spirit brings dramatic spiritual revival within the church. He believes that if Christians would remain devoted to these things, the church would experience continual spiritual renewal and ongoing empowerment for effective mission.
To those familiar with Coram Deo’s teaching of the cross chart, Lovelace’s work will seem a long-lost friend. “The proclamation of the gospel in depth is the most important condition in the renewal of the church,” he writes. And his understanding of the gospel revolves around two familiar poles: awareness of the holiness of God and awareness of the depth of sin. The genius of Lovelace’s work is the depth to which he takes his readers in understanding why the gospel is essential to spiritual renewal. Those who have learned the what of the gospel through Coram Deo’s ministry will understand why the gospel has transformed their hearts so deeply. They will also begin to see why they find much of current-day Christianity shallow and anemic. But rather than fomenting a critical and judgmental spirit, Lovelace’s book will motivate hopeful prayer that the Spirit of God will bring gospel renewal dynamics to life in the church at large.
Why is Lovelace’s writing a must-read? I find myself unable to do that question justice. Here’s the best I can do: it’s a madly efficient use of your mental and spiritual energy. It has taken me years of study to become familiar with the vast landscape of church history, to understand the work of the Holy Spirit in my own life, to comprehend the interaction of gospel and culture, and to gain my bearings in the current evangelical milieu. Those who read either book will have a massive head-start in all these areas. Lovelace’s writing communicates a vast universe of content simply, succinctly, and clearly. It reads like a pastoral theology (think Eugene Peterson or AW Tozer or Thomas Merton) but it communicates a depth of information and insight more appropriate to a serious historical tome. Like Jonathan Edwards and John Piper, Lovelace is both a Puritan and a Pietist. He models well the Reformation heritage of a high and worshipful theology anchored in the deep personal experience of regeneration and spiritual renewal.
Don’t get me wrong: this book is not a breezy read. Mental effort and close concentration is required. Brand-new Christians might find themselves behind the ball contextually, as Lovelace assumes a measure of familiarity with history and with the American religious landscape. But for pastors, church planters, missional leaders, and thinking Christians, the benefits of this book will be well worth the effort.
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21 July 2008 at 9:49 am by Bob Thune · sabbath
My family and I have recently returned from a 6-week sabbatical. One of the main activities I engaged in during this time away was reading – lots of reading. And one of the things I’ll be doing over the next few weeks is posting insights, quotes, and gleanings from various authors that the Lord used to refresh and challenge me.
For you academic types, below is the list of books I read. Lots more to come from these authors in the weeks ahead.
Augustine
On Free Will
The Teacher
Enchiridion
On Faith and the Creed
The City of God
John Calvin
The Institutes of the Christian Religion
Clement
Epistle to the Corinthians
G.K. Chesterton
Heretics
Orthodoxy
Irenaeus
Against Heresies
Justin Martyr
First Apology
Second Apology
Timothy Keller
The Reason for God
C.S. Lewis
Mere Christianity
The Abolition of Man
Richard Lovelace
Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal
Polycarp
Epistle to the Philippians
The Account of the Martyrdom of Polycarp
Jules Verne
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
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19 July 2008 at 11:40 am by Will Walker · politics
If you live in Omaha, you probably heard or read the news story a few weeks ago about a little girl and her mom getting attacked by a pit bull. Well, Charlotte and her mom, Wendy, attend Coram Deo. I spent some time visiting with them last week and they are doing remarkably well, considering. They wish to say thanks to all in our community who have visited, brought meals, etc. Additionally, Wendy would like to inform people about the upcoming legislative discussions concerning pit bulls in Omaha. Open the attachment to read a note from Wendy and to find information on how to take action if you wish to do so.
On behalf of Wendy and Coram Deo, this post is not intended to “push” anything politically, but rather to inform you on how you can get involved, which we encourage you to do.
pit-bull-legislation (click here to see info)
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17 July 2008 at 8:17 am by Kendal Haug · hannahisms
- We are so interested in being important that we will die in insignificance.
- Most arguments are lost on the basis of sociology, not theology.
- [Regarding preaching] … You go for the jugular and then explore its grace.
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The Church Fathers is the title respectfully given to those writers, leaders, and pastors who led the church in the first 600 years of its existence. Any modern student willing to mine writings of these old saints will find a rich repository of history, theology, and devotion. The writings of the Fathers – available as a multi-volume reference set in most higher-education libraries – are generally divided into two categories: the Ante-Nicene Fathers (those who lived before the Council of Nicea in 325 AD) and the Post-Nicene Fathers (those who lived and ministered after Nicea).
