Theology Of The Body
Let us, therefore, not develop habits that abuse and overindulge the body.
All posts filed under: theology
Theologian Trading Cards
I was spending some time a few minutes ago on one of my favorite blogs of all time and came across this post. I thought this was the coolest thing ever. It is officially on my list of father’s day gifts – yes – you got that right – gifts! Zondervan’s Theologian Trading Cards offer an incredibly novel way to learn theology and church history. Creator Norman Jeune III came up with the idea to imitate baseball cards at seminary while listening to students discuss theologians as if they were baseball players. The result is 288 trading cards featuring important figures in church history including heretics and philosophers. Each card features the theologian’s name, lifespan, short biography, and quick list of significant contributions that influenced Christianity. If you want a quick yet thorough lesson on church history, these cards will be one of the better options if not the best. There are 15 teams used to categorize the theologians. It’s a mix of fun novelty and useful classification, which helps users understand the big picture of …
95 Thesis
Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter. In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance. 2. This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance, i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by the priests. 3. Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers mortifications of the flesh. 4. The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven. 5. …
Baptism: The triple portion
I heard the story about a bunch of guys who used to gather together to read their bible every day on their lunch break. They were all from different denominations, so they agreed that they will not make it the goal to change each other’s theological point of view, but will allow the Word of God to do the speaking. One day while reading, they stumbled across a very controversial subject and each man found himself drawn into a deep discussion. But there was one guy in the group who was not an active participant in the discussions. So, he was asked to share his opinion. He sat up , cleared his thought and said, “I really don’t care about what is written in there, I am going to stick with what I’ve been told.” Could it be, that what you have been told about the Holy Spirit does not measure up with what is written about Him in God’s book? In this study post, I encourage you open the book for yourself and explore. …
New Age Movement
Scripture exposes the deception of the New Age Movement. “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Rom. 3:10-12). Unlike New Age, the Bible declares that truth is found, not by looking inward to self, but by looking upward, not by looking to men, but by looking to God (Jer. 17:5,9). Paul’s rhetorical question says it best: “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Cor. 1:20). Indeed, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
This is rest – This is repose
When we read the stories about the Israelites and their disobedience to God and His judgements against them, we sometimes think – how can they make the same mistakes over and over again. But we fail to realize that we are no different. God says this is the way walk ye in it and we say “excuse me” this is my way and I am going to walk just where I want. Well, we may not say it quite bluntly, but we do exactly what we want. Just like the Israelites we know that our safety, security, deliverance, peace and rest depend upon our total obedience and allegiance to the Lord, yet for the same reasons they chose to ignore God we choose to do the same. Consequently, we reap the fruits of disobedience. In the same way God warned them by his Prophets that their safety and security, their deliverance from their present calamities and from the apprehensions of still greater approaching, depended wholly on their trust in God, their faith and obedience; he does the same for us – …
Pray without ceasing
I am sure that you have heard this catchy phrase used before – but what does it truly mean to Pray without ceasing? Does it mean that we have to be on our knees 24/7? Does it mean to constantly, throughout your day, bow our heads, close our eyes or be in verbal conversation with God? What did the apostle Paul have in mind when he penned these words – “Pray without ceasing?” Pray without ceasing means that Christians are to pray continually. We can’t bow our heads, close our eyes, and fold our hands without ceasing, but those are customs of prayer, not prayer itself. Prayer is communication with God, and we can live each minute of the day in a constant, flowing, conversation with God. There is significant, important value in a time where we shut out all other distractions and focus on God in a time of “closet” prayer (Matthew 6:6). But there is also room – and great value – in every-moment-of-the-day fellowship with God Further Reading Psalm 141:2; Exodus 30:1; Exodus 30:6-8; Hebrews 7:25; …
Living between two worlds
Too Busy I believe that every believer has in the back of their mind the notion that when they die they will go to heaven, or at least they expect to see him soon. But I don’t know how many of these believers live in a daily expectation and readiness of that reality. I don’t know how many have that burning desire to see him appear in the sky. The passage of scripture we are looking at today seems to teach that every one of us, on a daily basis need to live with that burning desire. Look at 1 Thess. 1:10: to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come… Wait a Minute The word “wait” is a word that is still used in modern greek today and it stresses a certain eagerness in this waiting. This waiting or looking forward to also implies a state of readiness. Unfortunately, many christians are not really thinking about heaven, they are too focused on the here and the now, too …
Luther’s 95 Theses
Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences Commonly Known as The 95 Theses
Out of love and concern for the truth, and with the object of eliciting it, the following heads will be the subject of a public discussion at Wittenberg under the presidency of the reverend father, Martin Luther, Augustinian, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and duly appointed Lecturer on these subjects in that place. He requests that whoever cannot be present personally to debate the matter orally will do so in absence in writing.
Walter Bright 