Sojournalism: 02/01/2012

quote of note

“The nature of a paradigm is such that it cannot change unless it is replaced" - Sarah Sumner

nehemiah project

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

NT Wright on the Perspective of Paul

NT Wright Afternoon Lecture (audio only) from Fuller Theological Seminary on Vimeo.

posted by Unknown @ 1:45 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Even more on Gen. 1 and Creation Narrative

"Genesis 1 is the inspired opening to Israel’s story as compiled and told in their context. The theological message is clear – and has been clear since it was originally written. God and God alone is responsible for the creation of the world. But the story does not answer modern scientific questions about creation – it assumes ancient ideas about creation. The questions answered don’t relate to the mechanism of creation but are more personal: “Who created the world?” and “Who are we?” The answer is God alone created the world and we are his representatives in the world – his images." - Scot McKnight.

Amen..and Amen.

posted by Unknown @ 11:50 AM 0 comments

More on Creation from Peter Enns

"The theology of Genesis 1 becomes clearer when we read it in its ancient literary-religious context. For those who wish to see support in Genesis for modern science, it may seem a bit of a letdown that God is “only” said to have tamed a preexisting chaos, for example. After all, if we were truly almighty, would he not create out of nothing? But in the ancient world of the Israelites, this was not an active question. In that world the theology of a chaos-tamer working solo, commanding the elements to line up, was counterintuitive and set Israel apart theologically. Genesis 1 is not in any way a modern scientific statement, but an ancient religious one. It drew on the thought categories available at the time to create a powerful statement within its own context for the uniqueness of Israel’s God and his worthiness to be worshiped. (p. 45)"

Emphasis mine....and I wish I could emphasize it even more!

posted by Unknown @ 11:48 AM 0 comments

Creation and ANE Creation stories.

Thanks Scot McKnight for this quote from the third chapter of Peter Enns book, "The Evolution of Adam" in which Enns deals with the Biblical Creation story along side of other ANE creation stories and what effect they should have on our views of the Biblical narrative.
"Perhaps a better way of thinking about the issue is to introduce the phrase “genre calibration.” Placing Genesis side by side with the primordial tales of other ancient cultures helps us gain a clearer understanding of the nature of Genesis and thus what we as contemporary readers have a right to expect from Genesis. Such comparisons have made it quite clear that Israel’s creation stories are not prepared to answer the kinds of questions that occupy modern scientific or even historical studies. Genesis is an ancient text designed to address ancient issues within the scope of ancient ways of understanding origins. (pp. 35-36)"

Could not agree more.

posted by Unknown @ 11:32 AM 0 comments

Coffee with Soren

"Aren't people absurd!" They never use the freedoms they do have but demand those they don't have; they have freedom of thought, yet they demand freedom of speech." - Soren Kierkegaard.

posted by Unknown @ 10:46 AM 0 comments

Monday, February 06, 2012

Gungor...A Wonderful, Worshipful Surprise

There are albums within musical genres, that although we might not recognize it at first, change the genre as a whole. Within the genre of Worship/Praise music, it is becoming more and more clear that Gungor's recent 2011 release "Ghosts Upon the Earth"is doing just that. If you haven't heard of Gungor it is not surprising. Theirs is not your usual contemporary Christian type of worship music, trading pop for creativity, catchy for musical instrumentation, and hooks for real meaningful narrative . Gungor is a self proclaimed "collective" and in fact when speaking of themselves they discard the idea of "musical genre" altogether, saying that their music is not that "simple". Gungor is complex and full, yet accessible and clear. With the use of unconventional instruments they create unexpected levels of melancholic music that on face land them far outside the worship family. However their lyrics save them, not only drawing the music back to its purpose, but setting it within context. From the driving celebratory beat of "When Death Dies" to the melodic invitation of "Let There Be", this is more a journey than an album. A journey of worship that helps to color in the lines of Gospel Story for us to see more clearly. They call us to let "children sing even if they don't know why", capturing the heart of worship as response. And my response to Gungor is 'well done', and thank you for reminding us what it means to worship with all that we have.

posted by Unknown @ 3:37 PM 0 comments

ben thomas

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