Christ the image of God

“There is no doubt that in Christ God may be said to be made visible, because he was joined together with man in the same person [hypostasis]. So those who saw Christ could say that they had seen God. And whoever beholds and perceives him by faith sees much more than if he should see the burning bush of Moses. Hence it is written to the Colossians that in him are places all treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” – Peter Martyr Vermigli

[Visions: How & How Far God May Be Known in  The Peter Martyr Reader ed. John Patrick Donnelly, S.J., Frank A. James III, Joseph C. McLelland (Kirksville, Missouri: Truman State University Press, 1999), 120-21.]

Peter Martyr on law & gospel

“Moreover, Holy Scripture is divided into Law and Gospel. The law is the teaching handed down by God’s authority concerning things to be required and to be avoided. Its work is varied: through God’s will to expose, reveal and reproach for transgressions; to appease the anger of God; to inflict penalties and damnation, and also for these reasons to drive the elect of God to Christ, who brings back to himself those who have been initiated in the faith when they assented to him, by the regeneration granted for accomplishing the will of God, just as is offered in giving the law to us. For he bestows the Spirit freely, and by regeneration causes the will which rejects the precepts of God to become willing. But as Paul defined it, the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. That is, the instrument God uses for our salvation. Its function is that of encouraging and consoling the consciences of the afflicted. For you can interpret its authority as good and fruitful, and bringing news. But you should consider carefully taking up these two books because everywhere they have connections with the Old as well as the New Testaments. For all through you see now the law, now the Gospel promises being impressed on us.” – Peter Martyr Vermigli

[Preparing to Study Scripture in  The Peter Martyr Reader ed. John Patrick Donnelly, S.J., Frank A. James III, Joseph C. McLelland (Kirksville, Missouri: Truman State University Press, 1999), 78-79.]

the confidence of faith and the church

“ . . . in the assembly I am not the one speaking and listening at the same time, as happens when I read the word of scripture on my own; rather, it is another who speaks, and this becomes an incomparable assurance for me. Total strangers proclaim God’s grace and forgiveness to me, not as their own experience, but as God’s will. It is in the others that I can grasp in concrete form the church-community and its Lord as the guarantors of my confidence in God’s grace. The fact that others assure me of God’s grace makes the church-community real for me; it rules out any danger or hope that I might have fallen prey to an illusion. The confidence of faith arises not only out of solitude, but also out of the assembly.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

[Sanctorum Communio: A Theological Study of the Sociology of the Church ed. Clifford J. Green, trans. Reinhard Krauss and Nancy Lukens (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998), 230.]

“let us therefore put away all doubting . . .”

“Dear ones in Christ, let us therefore put away all doubting and vacillating attitudes concerning our salvation. Nothing is more incompatible with a faith that is the sure and lively foundation of all blessing: are not believing and doubting quite repugnant to one another? I cannot for the life of me see how I can truly believe in Christ, my only and true Savior, and at the same time suppose that having gathered me to himself he nevertheless refuses to save me—especially since his Spirit within has given abundant evidence of his kind and merciful disposition toward us.” – Peter Martyr Vermigli

[Commentary on the Apostles' Creed in The Peter Martyr Reader ed. John Patrick Donnelly, S.J., Frank A. James III, Joseph C. McLelland (Kirksville, Missouri: Truman State University Press, 1999), 34.]

an excellent discussion on inerrancy

@ ancienthebrewpoetry.

Marion and the death of God

“Notably, the ‘death of God’ presupposes a determination of God that formulates him in a precise concept; it implies then, at first, a grasp of the divine that is limited and for that reason intelligible. One therefore must add quotation marks to what is thus named God—’God’—that indicate less a suspicion than a delimitation: the ‘death of God’ presupposes a concept equivalent to that which it apprehends under the name of ‘God.’ It is on the basis of this concept that the critique exerts its polemic: if ‘God’ includes alienation in its concept (Feuerbach, Stirner, Marx), or a nimble figure of the will to power (Nietzche), then it will—to the point of absolute disappearance—undergo the consequences of this concept. Which implies, obviously, the equivalence of God to a concept in general. For only this equivalence renders ‘God’ operative as a concept. Which means that an atheism (conceptual, naturally, and not every atheism—even though the tie between conceptual atheism and sociological atheism may be of consequence) is worth only as much as the concept that contains it.”
- Jean-Luc Marion, God Without Being trans. Thomas A. Carlson (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991), 29.

The Tea Post

So I haven’t posted for a few weeks. There’s no particular reason, just haven’t felt much like posting. I have been reading a lot of interesting books so maybe in the near future I’ll post some thoughts on that.

In the meantime, since I am obsessed with tea, I have decided to post my “set-up” (I’ve seen people post on the type of camera equipment they use, or biking equipment, etc. and this is kind of like that–yes, I know, my life is not exactly adventure-packed, but you work with what you’ve got). Guys at the seminary have seen the different tea paraphernalia I’ve been bringing to class, and I’ve had some ask questions here and there so I thought it would be cool to post my “tea gear.” Of course, I’m well aware that those who have inquired are probably not interested in starting their own tea collection, but I need an excuse to post this. Don’t hate:

Ahem.

Let us begin. [For those interested: I've provided links to sites where you can purchase the items mentioned, just click on the pictures. And no, I don't get any points from you clicking the links. BUT, if you do want to help me out, you can click here and shop WTS books.]

Exhibit A: My Favorite Tumbler

What I especially like about this tumbler is the extremely wide brim. This means that no matter how hot the tea is, it will be cool enough to drink since the distance from the tea-mass to my mouth gives enough time for the stream to cool down. Does that make any sense? It probably doesn’t. Just take my word for it. If you’re tired of waiting 15 minutes before drinking hot tea, this is your tumbler. And it fits in the cup holder, and it’s cool-looking. Moving on now. . .

Exhibit B: The Tea Strainer

This nifty little device here is great for those who enjoy loose-leaf tea. I’ve tried different types of tea-strainers and have found this to be the most efficient, and the easiest to clean. It’s about nine bucks on Amazon. Initially, I was looking into tea-bags (which cost about six bucks for 100), but found this. In the long run it will save you some money over tea bags. Some reusable tea-strainers let some bit of the tea leaves get into the tea, but this one doesn’t let any junk through. Yes, jolly good.

Exhibit C: The Tea

Here I will guide you through the three main teas that I enjoy drinking.

Morning: Peets’ English Breakfast Tea. I think it’s stronger than coffee and there is no crash. I like to drink it with milk and sugar.

Rest-of-the-day: South American Yerba Mate. You can buy a pound for $13 at Whole Foods, or you can go to your local Argentinian Market and buy a kilo for $5. I opt for the latter. I drink this tea throughout the day–usually without adding anything, though it is good with sugar. For a few weeks I used a bombilla and a gourd, but that proved to be a little too much for cleaning up and taking around. So now I just use the tea-strainer above. I like the tea, it has less caffeine than coffee, but more than green tea. Good to drink while studying (I drink about six cups a day).

Evening: At night I like to drink South African Rooibos (redbush) tea. It’s caffeine-free and has a sweet taste. I add a little bit of honey (and sometimes some lemon) and drink until I fall asleep. It’s nice because, no matter how long it is steeped, it never gets bitter. I didn’t like it the first time, but it grew on me. Now I drink it every night.

Well, there you have it, folks. Enjoy your tea.

As for me, I must make-up for the precious study time I lost posting this.

Bultmann and the Jesus of history

A biting critique of Bultmann’s program of demythologization:

The plain fact is that Bultmann shies away from the weakness of God on the cross, as Paul called it, and so is offended at the cross. The fact that the eternal God is there in all that weakness is a scandal to his ‘Greek’ mind, and the fact that his eternal salvation must repose upon a contingent fact of history in Jesus frightens him — and therefore it is Bultmann himself above all who seeks false security by cutting the kerygma adrift from history and all its weakness, so that it will not be open to the criticisms of rationalism. Or, paradoxically, he deliberately uses all the weapons of positivist science in order to destroy the historical foundations of faith, so that faith may rest on something that is not subject to weakness and change and relativity and contingency. He thus has not the courage to rest his faith upon the weakness of God in the historical Jesus, and so seeks falsely to secure himself and his self-understanding within the limits of scientism.
- Thomas F. Torrance, Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ ed. Robert T. Walker (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2008), 290.

Berkouwer on Van Til’s Critique of Barth

. . . My main objection to Van Til’s interpretation is not that he criticizes Barth. I criticize Barth also, and in this very book, but Van Til’s analysis does not correspond to the deepest intents of Barth’s theology. Hence it does not surprise me that Barth says in amazement that he cannot recognize himself at all in The New Modernism.

As I see it, the deepest ground of this unwarranted interpretation consists of this: that only particular parts of Barth’s theology come into consideration — a factor which makes for great onesidedness — and that the whole of Barth’s theology is not discussed in terms of all his writings. Hence the motivating lines of Barth’s development in contrast to modern theology and his great appreciation of Kohlbrugge do not become at all clear. Nor does it become clear why so sharp an attack upon him is being conducted by most of the prominent liberal theologians. Apparently they recognize that in Barth’s theology they are coming into contact with a form of theological thought which they cannot merely subordinate and work into their own theological system.

. . . Such is the problem of synthesis which Van Til, as I judge it, has not sufficiently seen. It is a problem which indeed plays a role not only in Barth. It is a general problem in the whole of the history of dogma. It applies — to mention no others — also to Augustine and Thomas. Anyone who undertook to judge of their theology on the basis of particular philosophical influences would simply have to arrive at a negative judgment, both of Augustine (Neo-Platonism) and of Thomas (Aristotle). But it is evident that the relationships are too complicated to permit of this kind of argumentation. . . .
- G.C. Berkouwer, The Triumph of Grace in the Theology of Karl Barth (London: Paternoster Press, 1956), 388-89.

Seeking God’s Heart

“If we seek God’s fatherly gentleness and His heart which is favorably disposed toward us, we must in the first place direct our eyes to Christ in whom alone the heart of the Father rests.” – John Calvin, Institutes, III, xxiv, 5.