Well, at least he stopped branding faces …

People tend to lament the conversion of the Roman emperor Constantine to Christianity.  Yes, he wasn’t perfect.  Yes, he probably chose Christianity to unify his empire.  But, it wasn’t all bad. 

John Meyendorff highlights the mixed-bag nature of the Christianization of the Roman Empire: “If the Roman  state, now Christian-inspired, hardly modified its philosophy of marriage, it did begin to integrate some principles of Christian family ethics.  Thus help was provided to parents unable to feed their children and tempted to abandon them.  The sale of children to slavery and their use for prostitution was severely punished.  Laws prohibiting celibacy, which was encouraged by the Church, were abolished.  Homosexuals were to be burnt at the stake.  Earlier, Constantine had condemned pederasts to gladiator’s fights, but soon decided to abolish such fights altogether, after also forbidding mutilation, by fire-branding, of a criminal’s face because ‘it bears the similitude of God’” (Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions, 10-11). 

So, in the midst of what most would consider barbaric punishments, we have laws against child-abuse, and a thoroughly Christian reason for not branding criminals on their faces! 

I love Meyendorff–although he is Eastern Orthodox, he is truly objective.  He doesn’t shy away from the messy (or objectionable) details of church history, and nor does he over-emphasize the virtues of the early church.

 

Review – Great Lent

Great Lent: Journey to Pascha by Alexander Schmemann

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is another liturgical classic from Alexander Schmemann. He helpfully explains the principles behind the development of the Orthodox Church Year, and shows how all of our worship leads up to Easter. You don’t have to be Orthodox to profit from this book, as Schmemann is generous with criticisms of his own tradition, as well as the Western tradition. He closes with practical observations on how to focus on God in the midst of our busy, frentic, and secular life-style. This is the main point of the book–how to bring every area of our lives under the Lordship of Christ. At times, Schmemann sounds quite Reformed … or is this just basic Christianity?

View all my reviews >>

 

Review – Your Church is Too Small

Your Church Is Too Small: Why Unity in Christ’s Mission Is Vital to the Future of the Church by John H. Armstrong

I have an advance copy of John Armstrong’s newest book. It looks spot on so far. Armstrong is a Reformed teacher, with over 20 yrs. of pastoral experience. He now heads ACT 3, and I really need to check otu their web-site.

I haven’t read much of the book, but I like it already. Here’s the outline of Par 1 to whet your appetite:

PAST
The Biblical & Historical Basis for Christian Unity
1. the road to the future
2. my journey to catholicity begins
3. searching for the elusive truth
4. the jesus prayer for our unity
5. our greatest apologetic
6. christ the center
7. the four classical marks of the church

It looks like Armstrong is going to present a clear brief on what “reformed catholicity” might look like. Check back for reviews!

View all my reviews >>

 

Advent & Liturgical Colors

I love Advent and Christmas!  It’s the one time of the year when Christians remember the importance of liturgy, symbolism, ceremonies, feasting, sharing with the poor, and aesthetics in the home.  I suppose dour Puritans just sit through the season, frowning at all the joviality, but for the rest of us, it’s a reminder of what really matters.  Deep down, we know that high and important holidays call for a high liturgy.  I dare say even the most contemporary, seeker-sensitive church does something different in their worship service to mark this time of year.  And even though we loath the self-centered commercialism of it all, deep down we know that birth of a King should be honored with ceremonies, feasting, and decorations, and gift-giving.  We know this at weddings, we know this at Christmas and Easter, but we forget it for the rest of the year. 

As Douglas Wilson says about much of American worship these days: ”The problem with contemporary worship music is not the kind of music it is, but rather the kind of occasion everyone seems to think the service is,” (Mother Kirk, pg. 130).  We realize that Christmas and Easter are really holy-days, and so we treat them differently.  But, the rest of the year, Sunday is just a time when we come to church to be entertained, to socialize, to hear an inspiring sermon, and get our spiritual “fix” for the week.

Now, to the main point.  Caleb Roberts (check out the promising new blog he contributes to) asks: “I am fortunate enough to attend a PCA church that embraces the use of the colors but doesn’t seem to draw them in and establish them in the life and heartbeat, if you will, of the church. I am still learning, but is there not some significance to the assignment of various colors to the different periods of the Church Year? If so, what was the historical way in which the colors were woven into the fabric of the liturgy?”

For starters, The Voice  has a good summary of how liturgical colors are used (both in the past, and currently).  And this is a good place to make my main point–there is no fixed pattern for liturgical color use.  There are general patterns, which have become standardized over time (just as there is no one liturgy that Christians have always followed, but there are liturgical patterns that have become standardized over time).  We should be wary of adopting any color scheme, thinking that we are somehow returning to the practice of the ancient and universal church.  It just ain’t so.  This is, however, a useful area to explore, because it forces us to consider some deeper questions.

 

The Eucharist

The Eucharist Sacrament of the Kingdom: Sacrament of the Kingdom by Alexander Schmemann

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Although Alexander Schmemann did not live to polish this last of his works, it is still a major contribution to liturgical theology. Schmemann writes with his usual piety, knowledge, and practical insight. The work is devotional and pastoral, rather than academic and polemical. Schmemann points out many areas in which Eastern Orthodox practice has fallen away from its own rich history and legacy. He is not afraid to criticize his own tradition, and I admire him for that. At the same time, I believe we Western Protestants have much to learn from Orthodoxy. Many of the theological “problems” that we obsess over simply aren’t that big a deal for Orthodoxy. They have refreshing, and complementary, perspectives on liturgy, the eucharist, and even the meaning of salvation.

View all my reviews >>

 

St. Spurgeon on Theosis

The Eastern Orthodox concept of theosis is much maligned and mis-understood.  I was startled to find no less an authority than Charles Spurgeon waxing eloquent on the topic, sounding like an Orthodox church father:

“Partakers of the divine nature.”—2 Peter 1:4.

“To be a partaker of the divine nature is not, of course, to become God. That cannot be. The essence of Deity is not to be participated in by the creature. Between the creature and the Creator there must ever be a gulf fixed in respect of essence; but as the first man Adam was made in the image of God, so we, by the renewal of the Holy Spirit, are in a yet diviner sense made in the image of the Most High, and are partakers of the divine nature. We are, by grace, made like God. “God is love”; we become love—”He that loveth is born of God.” God is truth; we become true, and we love that which is true: God is good, and He makes us good by His grace, so that we become the pure in heart who shall see God. Moreover, we become partakers of the divine nature in even a higher sense than this—in fact, in as lofty a sense as can be conceived, short of our being absolutely divine. Do we not become members of the body of the divine person of Christ? Yes, the same blood which flows in the head flows in the hand: and the same life which quickens Christ quickens His people, for “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Nay, as if this were not enough, we are married unto Christ. He hath betrothed us unto Himself in righteousness and in faithfulness, and he who is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Oh! marvellous mystery! we look into it, but who shall understand it? One with Jesus—so one with Him that the branch is not more one with the vine than we are a part of the Lord, our Saviour, and our Redeemer! While we rejoice in this, let us remember that those who are made partakers of the divine nature will manifest their high and holy relationship in their intercourse with others, and make it evident by their daily walk and conversation that they have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. O for more divine holiness of life!”  (Charles Spurgeon, Morning By Morning)

A most apt way to describe what Orthodox Christians mean by theosis!

To learn more about what Orthodox Christians really believe about theosis, I would recommend Light from the Christian East (ch. 8),  Eastern Orthodoxy Through Western Eyes (ch. 6), and Eastern Orthodoxy Christianity: A Western Perspective (ch. 6).

 

The Eucharist & Ecumenism

The Eucharist and Ecumenism: Let us Keep the Feast by George Hunsinger

Hunsinger is amazing. Not only is he a top-knotch theologian who finds significant common ground between the Reformed, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodoxy, but he also manages to argue for women’s and gay ordination in a logical and level-headed way. I disagree stridently with him on women’s and gay ordination, but he is still a model for peaceful discussion. There is a time for calling down the wrath of God, but we must also demonstrate that we aren’t frothing-at-the-mouth fundamentalists.

View all my reviews >>

 

The Primacy of Peter-Review

The Primacy of Peter: Essays in Ecclesiology and the Early Church by John Meyendorff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Although this book is a collection of essays by Eastern Orthodox writers, it is useful for Protestants who are rediscovering their family history, namely the history of the Church. The Orthodox churches have preserved many ancient traditions. We should seek to understand them, at the least, and not dismiss them out of hand. There is also much valuable information for countering the claims of Roman Catholics. The Orthodox claim to be “catholic,” but not Roman. There is a plethora of misinformation about Romanc Catholicism, and the authors in this volume write in an irenic and sympathetic tone. They sincerely desire unity among all Christians, and not mere platitudes about “catholicity.” For some, “catholicity” seems to mean that we can all just affirm the Apostle’s Creed, and then go our separate ways. This is not what “catholicity” meant to the Church Fathers, nor do I believe the Apostles would be pleased with our reductionism. Lastly, for those of us in the CREC, I believe this book contains gems of insight into the importance of the “local church,” and how the primacy of the local church relates to “catholicity.” Highly recommended for the stout of heart!

View all my reviews >>

 

The Church Fathers Knew the Bible!

The Fathers quoted Scripture constantly.  Bruce Metzger notes: “so extensive are these citations that if all other sources for our knowledge of the text of the New Testament were destroyed, they would be sufficient alone for the reconstruction of practically the entire New Testament.”[1]

We might criticize some of the father for this or that doctrinal oddity, but we should respect their deep knowledge, and reverance for, the Scriptures. 

---

[1] Meztger, The Text of the New Testament, 3^rd ed., 86, qtd. in Lightfoot, How We Got the Bible, 106.

 

Interesting Typologies

I’m reading through the Orthodox Study Bible this year.  Each year I’m trying to read through a different translation/study Bible.  After a few years of reading the KJV, I read through the ESV last year.  Now, it’s a year in Orthodoxy!  Part of the reason is a research project I’ve been working on.  The other reason is that the Orthodox consider the Septuatgint to be the inspired and authoritative version of the OT.  So, since I teach Greek, I’m trying to become more familiar with the Septuagint.