By wyman on 7/29/2009 9:34 AM

Ok, here's the deal:  you will either (a) understand this and think it's one of the greatest things you've ever seen or (b) not understand it and hate it. 

There is no middle ground.  I'm with "a"!

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By wyman on 7/28/2009 9:26 AM

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By wyman on 7/22/2009 9:38 AM

 

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By wyman on 7/19/2009 9:41 AM

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By wyman on 7/15/2009 11:09 AM

Update: I've reworked the definition in light of some helpful feedback.

The New Testament offers numerous descriptions of the nature of the gospel, of its implications and its importance, and of its effects on and in and among the people of God and the world.  I've recently finished working through every New Testament reference to "the gospel" and have been looking closely at these various descriptions.

There are a number of good summary definitions of "the gospel" out there, and, insofar as they harmonize with the witness of Scripture, they are good.  It is helpful, though, to summarize "the gospel" yourself, if only because it challenges us to think through our own assumptions about the gospel and to hold them up to the judgment of Scripture.

So, after having just finished this study, I've been trying to hammer out a definition of "the gospel" that does justice to the New Testament picture.  I'd love your thoughts, suggestions, and feedback, as well as any summaries of "the gospel" that you have come up with. 

I more than realize that it is not for us to define the gospel.  It is of God.  He has defined it.  But we must proclaim it, and this involves being able to say what it is without quoting verbatim the many, many NT references to it. 

Here's my best shot at it.  Share yours.

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By wyman on 7/14/2009 7:56 AM

Don't act like you haven't missed it.

Oh, and blame Lee Herring.  He asked for it!  :-)

Without further adieu, I give you Bob on Tuesdays...

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By wyman on 7/10/2009 4:52 PM

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By wyman on 7/7/2009 2:02 PM

There are books and then there are books.

There are those books that affect you, then there are those books that haunt you.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's dissertation, Sanctorum Communio, is a haunting book and I return to many of its statements time and time again.

One such statement has stayed with me and I feel like I wrestle with it day after day.  I am inclined, most of the time, to say, "Yes!"  I am inclined at other times to say, "Well, kind of."  I am inclined at other times to say, "No!"  But I don't know why I sometimes say "No!" other than that there is something in me that resists this statement.  And I'm not sure why I sometimes say "Yes!" other than that it seems absolutely correct.

The church is the body of Christ.  We are the hands and feet of Christ in the world. 

No doubt.

But what do you think of this statement from Bonhoeffer? Here it is.

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By wyman on 7/3/2009 5:10 PM

Last Sunday morning I mentioned in my sermon how God uses the "foolish" things of the world to shame the wise.  In the context of Genesis, I was talking specifically about God's penchant for making great mothers of women with barren wombs (Sarah, Rebekah, et al.).  But this also works as a general principles, as the beginning of 1 Corinthians and numerous other texts and examples make clear.

As an aside, I mentioned "The Alexamanos Graffito."  This ancient graffiti is one of the oldest depictions of the cross, and it is not a flattering depiction.  In fact, it is a piece of anti-Christian mockery in which a young man, Alexamanos, is seen worshiping before a cross on which is crucified a man with the head of a donkey.

Scribbled beneath are the words, "Alexamanos worships his God."  The graffiti is dated to around 200 AD.  Here is a picture of the original (discovered in Rome in the mid-19th century), with a pencil or pen rubbing beneath it making things a bit clearer.

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By wyman on 6/29/2009 8:37 AM

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