The Theologian's Table

benirwin.files.wordpress.com      Like a child who pleads with their parents for one more bedtime story, the inquisitive Christian says, “Please, Father, tell me more.” The Bible holds many mysteries that beg to be explored for those who decide to pick it up and read it. There are also some stumbling blocks within it that can make people outside Christianity, or even Judaism, from seriously considering taking a closer look.      The Issue      One of the main issues many have with the Bible is that God seems to command the Israelites to commit much violence in the Old Testament. I’m no scholar, especially when it comes to the OT, but when I set out to study the OT in earnest I decided to also take special notice for possible explanations on why God would command said violence. What I present here is some of the things I have observed and please keep in mind that it is just observation and is by no means a definite answer.   ...

Well, now that I have fixed some formatting issues along with a few typos, I can finally re-post this. Below is a paper I wrote for my Christian Theology class concerning the Christus Victor view of the Atonement and why it is a relevant, Scripturally sound, albeit incomplete, view that adds more richness to the Christian faith.  THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHRISTUS VICTOR VIEW OF ATONEMENT  Introduction  Finding salvation through Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, but many people seeking faith and those who are living an atheistic, or agnostic lifestyle may not understand why they need to be saved, or what s/he needs to be saved from. The next issue for these people may happen to be the issue of what Christ’s sacrifice on the cross does for their potential salvation. For the church today, we are blessed by God to have been given many great thinkers over the past twenty centuries that have mulled over these issues and created detailed accounts of ho...

Flickr The largest obstacle preventing us from reconciling conflict is the lack of involving God in healing the problem. We may pray that He will sort it out, but we ignore the wisdom He provides through Scripture and the wisdom He gives to people that can counsel us. We run from our problems because we fear they are too big for us even though God tells us not to be afraid and that His perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:8). We tear down our supposed opponents with words and violence and forget about cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. We forget that God solved the most important conflict of all, reconciling us back to him through the blood of Jesus. Managing conflict isn’t something to ignore, or even win. Scripture admonishes us to seek reconciliation. Jesus says in his Sermon on the Mount that even before we go worship God at the temple (church), if one close to us is angry with us then we should first “go and be reconciled,” (Matt 5.24 NIV). Also, the Apostle Paul wri...

Green Environment - Stephen Dun - flickr My Christian Ethics class has been enjoyable and challenging time as it has forced me not only to think critically about today’s issues, but to reflect critically on how the Bible relates to today’s issues. The final subject the class focused on was the environment and if Christians should care for it as much as some secular environmentalists do. There is of course baggage that comes with the image of an environmentalist, the granola crunching, sandal wearing, dread-locked, bongo drummer holding a “Save the Rainforest” sign that was probably made out of a tree cut down in the rainforest. There is, however, merit in their compassion for the health of our planet. I have found two things that outwardly caring for our planet accomplishes for the believer in Christ. Love Thy Neighbor The first is that caring for the environment is an extension of "loving thy neighbor" (Matt 22:39). When believers question the status quo at...

           The year is 2015 and despite opinions about two recent events racism has steadily and thankfully declined since the civil rights era. As of 2010 the U.S. Census reported that 9 million people were claimed to be more than one "race." In my personal life I know of many inter-racial families and marriages. My brother is married to a woman from Venezuela. I have beautiful nieces and a nephew that are half Hispanic and half White. My wife takes care of a little girl whose mom is White and whose dad is African American. My own son is largely Native American from his mother's side and European from my side. So it would seem the United States has mostly moved towards multi-cultural tolerance and acceptance.      Imagine my surprise when I hear out of the mouths of some people that everyone needs to stick to their own kind. What makes these word worse are the fact that they are uttered out of Christian's mouths of any bac...

Mary Ann Morgan  - "Worshiping hand on blue" - Flickr Disclaimer : They say honesty is the best policy, but it can sometimes lead to hurt feelings or offense. What I have to say in this post may hurt some. All I can do is apologize in advance and tell you that writing posts such as this helps me sort through my thoughts and clarify my positions. Of course, feedback is always welcomed. Generalizations           I'm not sure if the average Southerner is aware that there are certain stereotypes pitted against them when it comes to spirituality. It may not be the case for every Northerner to hold these views, but this one did. What I'm talking about of course is the stereotype that most Southerners who go to church are swinging off the chandeliers, speaking in tongues, falling over in the aisle types of worshipers. Or they are people who check their mind at the door, sing hymns and passively listen to a preacher shout fire and...

See what I did here?      Like the local bar-b-que, living life in the south for the past 5 years has been a sweet and savory experience. LA may have a Starbucks across the street from each other, New England may have have a bar on every corner, but here in Georgia we have churches right next door to each other! Although I wouldn't mind a Starbucks on every corner... Here there is no terrible rush, unless you're on the interstate, but overall there is a more relaxed pace of life. Perfect strangers are friendly enough to wave at you while you're walking by and small talk is an art form. The summers may be hot and humid, but most every place has a/c. The winters are just cool enough to give you the taste of the season and it rarely snows (despite the recent snowpocalypse).       There, now that I have the staples of the South out of the way I can talk normally. Everything that I mentioned above is true, but there is much more to the South ...