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Mysticism

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Definition

Mysticism is notoriously difficult to pin down.  It may briefly be characterised as seeking ‘an immediate link with the Absolute’ (Winfried Corduan).  This would apply both to Christian mystics and to some types of Eastern religion.

Christian mysticism ‘seeks to describe an experienced, direct, nonabstract, unmediated, loving knowledge of God, a knowing or seeing so direct as to be called union with God.’  (D.D. Martin, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology)

Notable Christian mystics have included ‘Gregory of Nyssa, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, John Ruysboreck, the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, Julian of Norwich, Therese of Lisieux, Thomas a Kempis, Teresa of Avila, St.…

Light

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‘Sense is the light of beasts, reason is the light of men, faith is the light of saints, and vision is the light of glory.’

(Thomas Manton, 1620-1677)…

What’s wrong with Rohr?

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Some months ago, I was asked by a Christian friend to read, and comment on, ‘The Divine Dance: The Trinity And Your Transformation’ by Richard Rohr (SPCK, 2016).  We met, prayed together, discussed the book, and parted without really achieving a meeting of minds about whether this book is a reliable guide to a trinitarian spirituality, or is deeply flawed.

It gives me no pleasure to find fault with an affable Christian teacher, or to contradict a Christian friend who, along with many others, says that he has found Rohr’s teaching profoundly helpful.…

Preaching assessment criteria

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Ian Paul offers the following assessment criteria.

The are based on significant experience both of preaching and of training others in preaching.

Now, I have great respect for Ian Paul.  But I hope it will not seem too cheeky if I make a couple of comments that are not wholly complimentary.

First, in the accompanying article, he suggests that the characteristics of a ‘good sermon’ transcend ‘the specific details of theological commitments on the part of both preachers and listeners’. …

Reframing the debate on the extent of the atonement

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What if the debate around general versus particular atonement is starting from the wrong paradigm, and therefore failing (on both sides) to do full justice to the biblical revelation?

Trevin Wax thinks this is the case.

‘Both the limited and unlimited views of the atonement are misplaced, because they are putting emphasis on only one portion of God’s salvific work, instead of taking in the vast, universal scope of redemption described by Scripture.’

A first corrective, says Wax, is to recognise that the meaning of Christ’s atoning death is not to separated from that of his glorious resurrection (see 1 Cor 15:17, 18).…

Carson on the extent of the atonement

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In his book The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (pp73-78), D.A. Carson argues as follows.

Carson begins by noting that the term ‘limited atonement’ is unfortunate.  For one this, ‘it is a defensive, restrictive expression’, and for another thing, it obscures that fact that all non-universalists ‘limits’ the atonement in some way: the Arminian, by regarding it as potentially for all, but certainly effective for none; the particularist, by teaching that Christ died only for the elect.…

Particular and general atonement

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Walter Elwell provides a summary of the arguments used to support the doctrines of particular and general atonement, respectively.

In favour of particular atonement (the doctrine that Christ died for the elect):-

1. Christ is said to have died for a specific group of people, variously called “his sheep” (John 10:11, 15), “his church” (Acts 20:28), “the elect” (Rom. 8:32–35), and “his people” (Matt. 1:21).

2. God’s intentions cannot be frustrated.  If God had intended all people to be saved, all would be saved. …

Discussion Starters, Luke 24:36-49

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1. At first, Jesus’ disciples thought he was just a ghost.  In this passage, what reasons does Jesus give to persuade them that he is real?

2. Some people today think that Jesus is just an ‘imaginary friend’, of the kind that some of us might have had when we were younger.  Based on this passage, what reasons can we offer people today to help them see that he is not imaginary, but real?…

Atonement: unlimited AND definite

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In theology, we should be as logically consistent as Scripture, but no more so.

Sometimes, we have to accept that a pair of revealed truths are both true precisely because they have both been revealed, not because we can fully reconcile them in our own minds.

Such pairs of truths would include:-

Trinity – God is three and God is one
Incarnation – Jesus is both human and divine
Sovereignty – God is sovereign, and humans are responsible

I have a hunch that something similar has to be said about the extent of the atonement:-

Not only: God in Christ has made provision for the salvation of everyone; but also: God in Christ elects a certain number to eternal life

Robert Lightner puts it like this:-

‘It is no more inconsistent to believe in sovereign election and unlimited atonement than it is to believe in sovereign election and human responsibility—two parallel and complementary truths.’

…

John Newton on the extent of the atonement

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I find myself drawn, a little reluctantly, to consider the disputed issue of the extent of the atonement.  I say ‘a little reluctantly’, because while, on the one hand, I agree that thinking Christians should pursue truth as far as Scripture leads, on the other hand I am not persuaded that the question can be fully resolved in this life, and I fear lest we seek to be wise beyond what is written.

The issue, for me, does not involve Arminian or Hyper-Calvinistic tenets (both of which are, to my mind, clearly lopsided). …