john piper's thoughts on the prosperity gospel...

book list...

some of you have asked what I am reading...or waiting to read...

currently reading (re-reading)
velvet elvis, rob bell
simply christian, n.t. wright
the wideness of God's mercy, clark pinnock
the reason for God, tim keller

waiting to read...(hopefully this summer)
war and peace, leo tolstoy
anna karenina, leo tolstoy
exclusion and embrace, miroslav volf
free of Charge: giving and forgiving in a culture stripped of grace, miroslav volf
the climax of the covenant: christ and the law in pauline theology, n.t. wright
sex god, rob bell
vintage jesus, mark driscoll
inspiration and incarnation, peter enns

hope.

"but hope that is seen is no hope at all. 

who hopes for what he already has?"

Romans 8.24

I read this poem in a book called God at the Mall by Pete Ward, which discusses the importance of incarnational student ministry, and have recently come across it again. It was prepared for a JOY service in Oxford some time ago.

some people say - life is a circle - 

you're born - you grow up - you work -

you grow old - you die

some people say - what will be, will be

some people say, "there are no jobs

so no one will want me."

some people say, "there will always be war -

what can I do about it?"

some people say, "there will always be homelessness - tis a shame"

some people say, "the world's a terrible place

and I want no part in it."

some people say - "who knows what my life will be like tomorrow, 

I'll just wait and see."

Hope says "bullshit."

hope helps you see a different reality,

a world where anything is possible

not just for tomorrow but for today.

hope helps you see, not just what things could be like

but what today is like

in a different light.

hope is not an empty promise

or a dream of escaping.

hope changes the color of the world we live in.

hope changes our faces from 

the faces of the bored and the defeated

to the faces of those who

see life as an adventure.

life requires risk, experiment, 

adventure, possibility, 

in short,

life requires hope.

if there's no hope, there's no point.

with God there's never no point.

I enjoy this little piece of literature as it presents the antithesis of a world which is utterly hopeless with a God who is entirely hopeful. I find particularly intriguing the words of the apostle Paul in his address to the Thessalonians as he constructs faith, hope, and love as the tri-focus of the church. His letter suggests that the endurance of hope, that is to say, the strength and  fortitude of hope lies in the very person of Jesus. The Old Testament hope has been realized and the New Testament implications surround us. 

The fantastic thing about hope is that everyone is in possession of it. In some degree hope is displayed by every part of humanity. Perhaps the only question remains in what does one hope? In people, the answer to this question might only be found packed into desires of the soul and the actions which reflect them. 

While each day I observe a world in which hope seems to be wholly lost. The paradigm of my soul leads me to gaze beyond what is seen and observe that which has not yet been fully accomplished. Jesus has provided this. It is to this end that I endeavor. 

rabbits, cigarettes, and the resurrection.

greater love has no man than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.

-John 15.13

Call me a pessimist, but the easter bunny makes me angry. I work at a little skateboarding shop disguised as corporate-retail-superpower (which is another story in itself) store inside a mall. This picture was taken directly outside of my store. The most awkward encounter for me with this bunny was coming out of work a couple of weeks ago and witnessing the bunny, with his head sitting next to him on the curb, smoking a cigarette. How odd, I thought. 

For the past month or so I have watched parents bring their children to get their picture taken with this rabbit. How does this make sense? 

I realize the pagan traditions involved with the pre-Christian holiday recognized by most today. What bothers me, I suppose, is the amount of followers of Jesus who have no problem taking part. Before I sound like a raging fundamentalist, which I am dreadfully fearful of, let me explain. The Easter holiday, to a believer in the risen Jesus Christ, means everything. I paraphrase the apostle Paul in saying that if the resurrection did not take place, then we of all people, are the most to be pitied. For we have believed in a hoax! (I Corinthians 15) To reduce the remembrance of our Lord's resurrection to a day filled with baskets, bunnies, and egg hunts seems to me to be a great tragedy. I wonder what the disciples, who had lived with Jesus for years and then witnessed his brutal death would think or do if they witnessed little children sitting on bunnies lap for a picture, or the painting of and hunting for "Easter" eggs.  I wonder if they would be extremely saddened and maybe even angry (most likely Peter) by the state of irreverence for the moment in history when everything changed. 

Maybe I am making too big of a deal of nothing. Or maybe its just that I am agitated in the amount of disconnect I see in the church today, whereby we champion two mutually exclusive ideologies and end up confusing everyone.  Or maybe...I am conservative after all. 

Perhaps today, instead of looking for eggs in the backyard. Read the stories of Jesus remembered by his friends in the gospels. 

inclusivism: the importance of dialogue and disagreement

Over the last couple of weeks I have read a few different works from Clark Pinnock, an evangelical inclusivist (debate still stirs if this does not actually serve as a paradox), regarding his understanding of the salvation of humanity. He writes, 

"Inclusivism believes that, because God is present in the whole world (premise), God's grace is also at work in some way among all people, possibly even in the sphere of religious life (inference). It entertains the possibility that religion may play a role in the salvation of the human race, a role preparatory to the gospel of Christ, in whom fullness of salvation is found."

For the past few years, without actually reading an inclusivists understanding of his/her own inclusivism I have ignorantly rejected its notion without fully engaging it. In fact, I have found that, in the past few years, there have been an increasingly large number of issues I have dismissed without fully engaging. This admission is both honest and embarrassing. Yet not without playing a vital role in my own philosophical and theological development. In reflecting on these experiences I have come to realize, especially in the last couple of years, that before fully dismissing anything or anyone it is vastly important to engage the proponents and propositions thereof. Furthermore, when I have come to the end of my investigation into these ideologies, I have discovered there is a kind way to engage and disagree with those whom are in opposition to my own understandings. 

Without wandering too far from the issue of inclusivism, I say all of this to provide a back drop and context to my state of mind while I investigated its ideas.

With that said, I must confess that inclusivism does not appear to be as open and shut as I originally thought it to be. I greatly respect Pinnock and other inclusivist proponents such as C.S. Lewis, Dallas Willard, and some of those at the Vatican II. At first glance, it appears that inclusivism has very strong theology (and even Pinnock admits that there is work still to be done) and the differences from orthodoxy are very subtle. I believe their biggest disconnect to be in view of the Old Testament saints as well as those who are never confronted with the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is mainly where they find issue and have therefore searched to find a theology more compatible with their understanding of a God who is lovingly interacting  with humanity and its implications with regards to redemption. Many times I have discovered the phrase, "I cannot believe in a God like that."  While I understand their point, and do not believe it to be flippantly  or notoriously made, it is a weak and often dangerous move to make God into the image we find more compatible with who we want him to be. I find issue with this argument and the idea that one might be saved without an objective element in the faith. Even the Old Testament saints were saved because of their belief  in the promises of God. Which was directly linked with the character of God. I fear that the inclusivistic worldview might go too far without properly defining or respecting the tenants of the gospel or even true faith as defined in the book of Hebrews. 

But then again, I have been horrendously wrong before. The title of this blog comes to bear as I conclude with appreciation of Pinnock and those who continue to question and reform the Christian theology and ethic. These issues are worth dialogue and certainly worth each party still retaining conviction. Allister McGrath put it best that "dialogue implies respect, but it does not presuppose agreement." Perhaps in the future, as I continue to investigate this issue, I will post a better critique and position for why I stand where I do. 

But for now, this is my first impression. And as my good friend Bells would say, your thoughts?