My Theological Worldview

QuizFarm… helping distracted web-surfers define themselves since 2004. Here’s what the Theological Worldview Quiz had to say about me:

“You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don’t think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.”

Emergent/Postmodern		71%
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan		68%
Neo orthodox		68%
Reformed Evangelical		54%
Roman Catholic		50%
Modern Liberal		43%
Classical Liberal		43%
Charismatic/Pentecostal		29%
Fundamentalist		25%

What’s your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

Rifts & Reconciliation

Was poking around the blogosphere, looking at blogs of friends of friends and whatnot. I came across the blog of Dwight Friesen, one of my friend Matt ‘s professors at Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle. There are many good posts on Dwight’s blog, and I found this one to be most interesting.

If you’re someone that shares my interests, you probably know at least a little bit about Marc Driscoll, who pastors the Mars Hill up in Seattle (not affiliated with the Michigan/Rob Bell Mars Hill Bible Church). I don’t play the Black/White, Us/Them game, so while I will neither fully endorse nor condemn Driscoll, let’s just say he’s a lightning rod. He accomplishes some tangible good, and he draws some legitimate criticism as well. One “hot potato” issue is his overall view on gender roles. The author of the open letter in Dwight’s post does a very eloquent and civilized job of declaring her concerns about Driscoll’s handling of the issue and inviting him into dialogue. Hearing Rick McKinley (of Imago Dei) at Catalyst got me to begin chewing on the idea of the Kingdom of God in the here and now. Rose Swetman, the letter’s author, appeals to this view in her discussion of gender roles:

“My basic theological presupposition is Kingdom of God theology […]. I believe the Kingdom is here now, but “not yet.” This view leads me to the conclusion that the future of the Kingdom is here in the present and that we, the church, are to be a sign and witness of Kingdom order. When the Kingdom is consummated, the Scripture states that “we will all” reign with Christ.”

Also, I really was hooked by Rose’s citation of Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia:

“The passage in Galatians about no Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free seems to sum up God’s story in Jesus.”

So whether or not you agree with the snippets I’ve provided above, just go read the letter; it’s good food for thought.

2004 Coppola Diamond Collection Shiraz

This entry has been a saved draft for a couple weeks, and now I’m finishing and posting it.

At our anniversary dinner we ordered a bottle of a sentimental favorite, a 2004 Shiraz bottled by Niebaum Estate (formerly the Coppola-Niebaum Estate Winery). Normally I’m suspicious about celebrities getting into fields like wine-making and whatnot (cough cough Greg Norman cough cough), but hey, it’s Francis Ford Coppola. I think the man behind the Godfather trilogy might know a thing or two. Well, actually, I can tell you he does.

Rauschenbusch

Picked up a new book from a freebie table yesterday… A Theology for the Social Gospel, by Walter Rauschenbusch (wiki). I studied him a little bit in an undergrad class, and didn’t think much of what he had to say. But now, with the current church climate, I think he will be a refreshing read.
Basically, he was all about missional living waaay before the emergent movement made it cool. So I’ll be diving into this book next, and probably find some good stuff to chew on (and of course, post here!)… stay tuned.

New Quote Page

Instead of blogging about every cool quote I come across (which can be kind of daunting and hinder the quote from getting published even sans commentary), I have instead set up a new page full of the gems I find in my readings. So go check it out. And it’s a dynamic list, so feel free to join the conversation. You’ll see when you get there.
Also, I dropped the winter theme and decided it was time for something new, mainly because I wanted a theme that displayed the posts’ tags in the posts themselves.

Selfish(?) Frugality

Just read an article that I wandered over to while checking my Hotmail.

The author has taken on a vow of (relative) poverty. Her motives aren’t as noble as the friars of old, but I think it’s cool that she’s doing it to finish off her education. However, I’m not so sure I can commend her for leaving her marriage just for a change of pace: “Make no mistake: I’m poor by choice, because I needed to change my life. I chose to leave my marriage, and I chose to become a student.”

A high point of the article is the author’s devotion to remain faithful with her tithe. I’m not sure if her justification of it –feeling rich by giving– is really why she does it or if that’s just par for the course for an article to be posted on MSN Money, but I’m glad that millions of readers can see someone giving to the Church from a motive besides guilt.

All pros and cons aside, the article is an interesting read that offers a little illumination to each of us on what it might mean to cut back a little bit.

What if Christ-followers got serious about financial responsibility, got serious about aligning priorities with cashflow, got serious about putting their pennies or dollars (cf. the widow in the temple) towards working for the reconciliation of Creation to its Creator?