I always like to find a namesake. Recently I came across in reading, another Mr. Howell. We have more in common than just our last name. We both spent alot of time in Texas, and both have a passion for the study of scripture. His ability as a student of scripture far surpassed mine however. He knew large chunks of the bible by heart, memorized much of it by the time he was 12. He was a walking concordance that would put most of our pastors to shame with his comprehensive knowledge of scripture. When he taught, He encouraged his students to check everything that he taught against scripture. He had a problem with his interpretation though, because it was based on a False Authority – his own. His practice then, was not grounded on God’s precepts. False traditions slowly developed over time, and were “based on scripture” so they felt right to those who listened to this learned bible teacher. We should do what feels right, right? Some still follow his teachings today, though they do not call him Vernon Wayne Howell, they prefer to call him David Koresh. They prefer to call him their messiah.
In several ways our contemporary evangelical Christian culture has infected our hearts and minds with the traditions of men. Yes, (shock) this is true even in “Bible” churches. When we focus on our exegesis to the point that it leads to private interpretation, we have set aside the tradition of God for the tradition of men. When we “buy” into the “prosperity ecclesiology” which over-emphasizes church growth and programs, likewise, when we accept and adopt a pastoral theology based more on business models than on soul care, we set aside the tradition of God for the traditions of men. This should not be. We need to listen to the tradition of the apostles and the prophets, to valid sources of tradition to ground our understanding of scripture and ground our practice on Gods precepts.
In the opening verses of Mark 7 we see that Israel had Accepted False Tradition from False Authority (7:1-7:4). Now these Scribes and Pharisees were false authorities in that they did not have the appointment by God as Prophet, that is to deliver God’s requirements to his people, nor the appointment by God as Priest, to lead the people before God in worship. Yet the understanding of these ‘interpreters of the Law” was passed on as if it was holy writ, slowly adding to and eventually setting aside the traditions of God for the traditions of men. Read more…
Mark, July 31st 2009 |
Tags: Eucharist, Koresh, Mark, Praxis, Tradition
Posted in Christianity, Faith and Practice, Nicene, Orthodoxy, Theology
This is the first p
ost on what will probably be a series on the Nicene Creed that will lead up to, and continue from the conference at Beeson Divinity School. I’m acrtually working on another peice right now, but came across this quote from Pelikin which just had to be posted.
“For the “will to believe” it so relentless — or, if I may put it this way, so insidious — that when it is denied or frustrated and when religious toleration, instead of being “justified by faith” (Rom 3.28), is justified by non-faith, belief will (in Dostoevsky’s phrase) go around the locked doors and sneak in through a window, substituting Wotan for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and replacing the Shema, andNicene Creed with the creed of Blut und Erde.” - Jaroslav Pelikan
Why do we need to confess what the church has always confessed about the nature of God and his redemption? Because we are “prone to wander” but unlike the popular song, we do not often feel it when we do. This is around the point where some of my less “confessional” friends will tell me that we do not need a creed, because we have the bible. The problem with this, I think, is that while we are believer/priests, we are not apostles. By the way, exactly NONE of the “apostolic fathers” considered themselves to be apostles. Every crack-pot heretic and most inventors of religion, read the bible, use the bible, and refer to the bible for their understanding. Some of them also claim to be apostles :> The key word there is understanding. The early church (second century) used whatever scripture they had (many old testament documents and perhaps some new testament writings that were beginning to circulate.) yet the primary thrust of the argument is what do the biblical writers MEAN. The early church was very interested in carefully handling and passing on the understanding of scripture received from apostolic teaching on the meaning of the text. Read more…
Mark, July 28th 2009 |
Tags: Creeds, Nicene Creed, Orthodoxy, Pelikan
Posted in Faith and Practice, Nicene, Orthodoxy, Sacraments, Theology
by Michael J. Svigel
One day my wife sent me to the store to buy peanut butter—specifically, natural peanut butter. In other words, no fake stuff. This seemed simple enough . . . until I arrived in the peanut butter wing of the grocery store. The options overwhelmed me—creamy, chunky, extra chucky, honey-flavored, jelly-filled, low fat, organic, and countless sizes, shapes, brands, and prices! George Washington Carver himself would have shaken his head in despair. I’m sure that managing that isle alone must be a full time job.
So there I stood, paralyzed with indecision, wanting nothing more than to just grab the cheapest jar of peanut butter and dash for the checkout. Instead, showing due diligence, I searched for “natural peanut butter” amidst the flashy brand names that virtually called out from the shelf like brochure-pushers on the Vegas Strip: “Pick me! Pick me! Don’t you remember all those commercials you saw as a kid? All those smiling faces? Those cool special effects showing golden roasted peanuts magically spread into smooth, creamy Jif [or Peter Pan . . . or Skippy]?”
Lured by the flashy labels, my eyes landed on “Skippy” paired with the keyword “Natural”! How convenient!
I snatched it off the shelf. Read more…
Mark, July 10th 2009 |
Tags: Christianity, Evangelicals, Orthodoxy, Svigel
Posted in Christianity, Evangelical, Faith and Practice, Orthodoxy
