iMonk 101: Is there Mental Illness in the Bible?

I am continuing reposting the 2005 series on Mental Illness.

Is there mental illness in the Bible? This question seeks to move us toward the question of mental illness and the Gospel.

The focus of the Bible is Jesus Christ. When we talk about anything else as it is presented in the Bible, we must be aware that no matter important it might be to us, it is not the main concern of the Bible itself.

For example, I may desperately want to have the Biblical teaching on parenting, but I must start with the admission that the Bible is not a book on parenting. As it shows me parenting, and as I learn from that presentation, I am still on the road to Jesus Christ and the Gospel. So if we find mental illness in the Bible, we should expect that the portrayal of mental illness will not answer all of our questions, but will serve the purpose of the ultimate presentation of Jesus Christ as our salvation.Continue reading “iMonk 101: Is there Mental Illness in the Bible?”

Liturgical Gangstas 17: Preaching Ananias, Sapphira and the Gospel

gangsterWelcome to IM’s popular feature, “The Liturgical Gangstas,” a panel discussion among different liturgical traditions represented in the Internet Monk audience.

Who are the Gangstas?

Father Ernesto Obregon is an Eastern Orthodox priest.
Rev. Joe Boysel is an Anglican (AMiA) priest and professor of Bible at Ohio Christian University in Circleville, Ohio. (Ask him about famous alumni.)
Dr. Wyman Richardson is a pastor of a First Baptist Church (SBC) and director of Walking Together Ministries, a resource on church discipline.
Alan Creech is a Roman Catholic with background in the Emerging church and spiritual direction.
Rev. Matthew Johnson is a United Methodist pastor.
Rev. William Cwirla is a Lutheran pastor (LCMS) and one of the hosts of The God Whisperers, which is a podcast nearly as good as Internet Monk Radio.
Eric Landry is the editor of Modern Reformation Magazine. In addition, he is a PCA church planter in southern California.

Here’s this week’s question: How do you preach Acts 4:32-5:11 (Ananias and Sapphira) without becoming an Old Testament legalist or obscuring the Gospel?

UPDATE: Commenter Louis says: “Fr. Ernesto sees God as above morality. Boysel interprets the event legalistically–God has the right to smite you if you sin once (or perhaps, sin against the Holy Spirit). Richardson thinks God smacked them down for getting too uppity (too Pharisaical). Cwirla brings up the issue of primitive communism–enforced, apparently, by the Holy Spirit–and thinks that such slayings were a regular occurrence. Landry blames their situation on the devil. May I suggest that none of these interpretations show Christianity, or God, in a particularly good light.” What do you think?Continue reading “Liturgical Gangstas 17: Preaching Ananias, Sapphira and the Gospel”

“Will We Have To Leave?”

leaveI’m supply preaching these days at a small Presbyterian church in town. I usually arrive half an hour early, turn on the heat and just enjoy the silence of the sanctuary until the congregation arrives.

Most of my folks live right around the adjacent blocks, some within walking distance. Last Lord’s day, two older ladies arrived together, having walked from just around the corner.

“Yes,” one said, “we had a conversation with the girl that’s moved in across the street. We invited her to church and she said she might come. But she wanted to know if she brought her boyfriend, would she have to leave.”

For a moment, I was puzzled, but then it began to be clear to me.

“I’m guessing she lives with her boyfriend, right?” Both ladies nodded with a bit of embarrassment. Co-habitation is hardly an unusual situation in southeastern Kentucky, but it’s still not a frequent topic with your minister.Continue reading ““Will We Have To Leave?””

Riffs: 11:23:09: Required Behavior Modification and the Gospel

man-praying-aloneLike any and all Riffs, these are simply some of my thoughts inspired by other posts and discussions. Not a throw down, etc.

This morning at evangel, Joe Carter voiced some of his frustration at the way the “law/Gospel” distinction sounds to his ears. I’ve wrestled with this myself on this site. Then, in the comments, Carter responded to Jared Wilson- and quoted him- in regard to the relation of the Gospel and sanctification, which he described as “behavior change.”

Quote: “Indeed, you did and I think you did a good job. But I also think you added in some stuff that leads to the very problem I’m referring to. For example: Then, why, for the love of God, do we preach all manner of behavior modification, none of which could save a single one of us, when only the gospel saves.”

You seem to be implying that “behavior modification” (i.e., sanctification) is not important. Now I know that this is not what you are saying. But how should other people who may think this statement is to be taken quite literally, be expected to respond? You are creating what could be considered a false dichotomy. Yes, only the gospel saves. But does that mean that Christians are not required to modify their behavior?

Continue reading “Riffs: 11:23:09: Required Behavior Modification and the Gospel”

Open Mic at the iMonk Cafe: The Portable Christian

9780306816086I’ve been reading a used copy of a book edited by Christopher Hitchens called The Portable Atheist. Hitchens has selected, edited and introduced 47 various selections from atheist authors, philosophers, writers, journalists and so on. They bring forward a diverse variety of discussions of unbelief in a variety of formats: essays, novels, interviews, book excerpts, etc.

I’m impressed when a worldview can marshal its best representative material from a variety of sources into one volume that someone can make a reading or reference project. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the same sort of book, with all the diverse material in the footnotes taking you into the scriptures, Catholic dogmatics and the Church Fathers. An it’s well written and well organized as well.

So IM audience, it’s time for us to edit The Portable Christian. Whom will you submit to be one of the 50 chapters in our book?

Here are the rules:Continue reading “Open Mic at the iMonk Cafe: The Portable Christian”

Internet Monk Radio Podcast #166

podcast_logo.gifThis week: Push Advent. The Portable Christian. Dawkins and the Why Questions.

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Dawkins at Salon.

My Strange Experiences With An Absent Gospel (Part 4): How It Feels In The Strangeness

strangeThe comments to the three previous posts have featured a variety of responses and reactions to the idea of “Gospel-less” sermons, teaching, testimonies, etc. I am happy for those of you who are in churches where this is unthinkable, but I assure you that here in the Bible belt, this is not an illusion, particularly at the ground level of the most basic understanding of what is being said or proclaimed.

For example, it is not unusual for me to hear sermons with no specific reference to the scriptural, creedal or commonly articulated central ideas of the Gospel. God is generic. The Christian life is “living for God.” The mission of the Christian is either public morality or “being a good witness.” The Bible is a collection of proof texts.

The internet theological class usually is careful to be in a church where all the proper bases have been touched and the theological content is high. But for many other Christians, the Gospel content of a Joel Osteen or the Prosperity preachers seems quite appropriate. Osteen has even said that traditional Gospel content is offensive to what he is trying to do. One can listen to the prosperity preachers or culture warriors for weeks and not hear a clear, cogent articulation of foundational content. Moralism, legalism, cultural religion and shallow sentimentality prevail.Continue reading “My Strange Experiences With An Absent Gospel (Part 4): How It Feels In The Strangeness”

My Strange Experiences With An Absent Gospel: Gospel Articulations (Part 3)

jpI’ve been trying to emphasize the Gospel as the foundational content of the Christian life for many years. While I’ve worked at fresh articulations of the Gospel, there are a lot of familiar articulations of the Gospel that show up in my preaching and teaching with high school students and the adults in chapel and in my classes.

For example, these are four different Gospel articulations that I’ve used repeatedly in speaking and teaching. They are not definitions or creeds. They articulations that summarize and balance the content of the Gospel as I understand it. It’s language I want my hearers to hear frequently. Sometimes in phrases. Sometimes in whole sermons or lessons.

Announcement: The Gospel is the glad announcement that God himself, through Jesus, has done everything necessary to rescue his broken world and save its broken people from judgment and ruin. All persons are invited to believe this glad announcement, to be forgiven and to become a disciple of Jesus who is King and Lord. Continue reading “My Strange Experiences With An Absent Gospel: Gospel Articulations (Part 3)”

My Strange Experiences With An Absent Gospel: Scripture Sources (Part 2)

137The apparent crisis in giving the Gospel its right and Biblically healthy place in evangelical Christian faith exists on several levels.

First, there is the level of scriptural definition. While I can answer the question “What is the Gospel?” it is the Biblical material that should form my definition. Before I give some simple Gospel articulations, what are the Biblical sources of Gospel definition?

Does the Bible give a definition of the Gospel? Or is the Gospel a theme that connects alll of scripture, yielding definitional material and language, but also context, meaning and significance for many other things?Continue reading “My Strange Experiences With An Absent Gospel: Scripture Sources (Part 2)”

Misplaced, Taken For Granted and Ignored: My Strange Experiences With An Absent Gospel (Part 1)

reachIn a recent sermon, I said that I was deeply concerned about the understanding of the Gospel that I hear among adult Christians and especially preachers. I was not just making noise. With every passing year, I’m amazed that the level of Gospel understanding seems to be lower and lower among Christian adults. This isn’t just a failure to hear the Gospel in the terms and definitions I prefer. No, it is an ever lowering articulation of the Gospel, a replacement of the Gospel with other concerns and, perhaps most distressing of all, a replacement and confusion of the Gospel-centered mission itself.

I expect that this emphasis on my part will not endear me to some people, mostly on grounds that I am failing to see the significance of things like moral issues, behavior change and political causes. I’ve come to the point that I realize a discussion of the Gospel is going to have a predictable shape:

1) We all know the Gospel. It’s basic.
2) Once you’ve preached or taught the Gospel, then you need to deal with other things.
3) If you are constantly trying to bring the Gospel to the forefront as the main concern, you’re missing the importance of things like behavior change and obedience.Continue reading “Misplaced, Taken For Granted and Ignored: My Strange Experiences With An Absent Gospel (Part 1)”