Randy Greenwald

Concerning Life as It Is Supposed to Be

Marilynne Robinson and Popular Misconceptions of Calvinism

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On September 17, 2010

In Theology

No matter what we think of Calvinism, that short-hand name given to the predominant theology of the Protestant Reformation, we should want to make sure any ‘-ism’ is accurately understood, which this one ordinarily is not.

Wonderfully, the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Marilynne Robinson liberates Calvinism from the misconception that the system teaches that people are awful. This from an interview with Christianity Today.

Q. Over against the popular science writers, you write, “I believe it is only prudent to make a very high estimate of human nature, first of all in order to contain the worst impulses of human nature, and then to liberate its best impulses.” How do you reconcile this belief with what Calvin’s followers have called total depravity (“No one is righteous, no one understands, no one seeks God,” Ps. 14)?

A. I am happy to welcome the psalmist to the ranks of Calvinism. “Total depravity” means that the effects of the Fall are felt through the whole person and that this is always true. It is a rejection of the pre-Reformation teaching that after baptism, sin is localized in the lower functions of the body, in “concupiscence.” The effects of Calvin’s teaching are to remove the special opprobrium that attached to the flesh and to draw attention to the complexities and fallibilities of consciousness.

Calvin celebrates the brilliance of mind and body, as any reader of The Institutes is aware. Over against this is his insistence on our tendency toward error, toward sin. So human life is full of the potential manifest in the gifts God has given us, and full of our inevitable falling short. This is a very dynamic understanding of the self. I find no difficulty in accepting both of its terms as true. Pressed for evidence, I would point to the history of civilization and the present state of the world. Calvin offered human brilliance as proof of divinity in humankind. If we accepted this, there would be a great enhancement of respect for ourselves, and, crucially, respect for others, that could only make us better citizens of earth.

A wonderful response, especially the witty ‘welcoming’ of the psalmist. I continue to be amazed by this woman.

She says many other worthwhile things in the interview. I commend to you.

Finally

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On September 16, 2010

In Sports

As much as I would like to take credit for this, I rather doubt anyone at the Orlando Sentinel is paying attention to me. This was the way this morning’s sports page announced the Rays victory last night:

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Much better.

Wise Words on Judgment

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On September 16, 2010

In Uncategorized

The quote below is from Donald Carson’s commentary The Gospel according to John and references the following words of Jesus:

Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.”

John 7:24 “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

John 7:17 “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”

Carson comments:

“In an age when Matthew 7:1 has displaced John 3:16 as the only verse in the Bible the man in the street is likely to know, it is perhaps worth adding that Matthew 7:1 forbids judgmentalism, not moral discernment. By contrast, John 7:24 demands moral and theological discernment in the context of obedient faith (7:17), while excoriating self-righteous legalism and offering no sanction for censorious heresy-hunting.” (page 317)

Wise words worth pondering.

Context is everything in interpretation.

Yankee Town

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On September 15, 2010

In Sports

It has been 101 days since we moved from Bradenton, south of Tampa Bay, to Orlando, 150 miles east.

We might as well have moved 1200 miles North.

I have ranted before about the baseball coverage in this area, or its lack. And I wrote yesterday about the general media bias here and throughout the country against the Tampa Bay Rays.

But finally, I have realized the truth. The truth is I have left Rays-ville and moved to Yankee-Town.

My wife and I noticed Tuesday that there was little mention of Monday’s Ray’s win in the paper. A dramatic win capping a supreme pitching duel, which moved the Rays into first-place in the competitive AL east was noted on the bottom of page 6.

That afternoon I picked up a short segment of a local sports talk show host who was seeking to console Yankee fans after their ‘surprising’ loss.

All doubt regarding the sentiments here were removed with this morning’s sports section. The top of the front page is pictured here.

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Randy, welcome to Yankee Town.

+ + + + +

[Note: for the record, we are now, according to Google Maps, 93 miles closer to Yankee Stadium than we were in Bradenton. It was 1172. It is now 1079. Perhaps that explains this phenomenon.]

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

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On September 14, 2010

In Uncategorized

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

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The picture above is of the ‘cloud of witnesses’ welcoming Rays batter Reid Brignac ‘home’ after his game winning home run late Monday night.

Can the reception of God’s redeemed people be anything less when He calls us home?

I’m moved by the thought.

Baseball. Wow.

By

On September 14, 2010

In Sports

It does not get any better than this.

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Media Bias

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On September 13, 2010

In Sports

Our ten year old pretty much nailed his parents’ newspaper reading habits this morning at breakfast. “Mom reads about politics and Dad, you read about sports.”

As much as I wanted to defend myself and show that I care as much about the real world as I do about the make-believe worlds of college and professional sports, I really had nothing to say. He had me nailed.

(I could add, though, that for some, politics is sports. A very politically active friend once told me that whereas I could rattle off the name of the current MLB home run leader or the pitcher with the best record, or explain the impact of certain averages on the outcome of a game, he, blind to those details, could give me the voting record of senators I’ve never heard of. Some of the more cynical among us might suggest that what goes on in Fenway Park or Wrigley Field or Yankee Stadium might have more impact upon our national quality of life than what goes on in Capitol Hill. Well, okay, maybe not Wrigley…)

All that as the background for my rant about media bias. With the Tampa Bay Rays in a statistical dead heat with the NY Yankees for the AL East lead (but 1/2 game back due to playing one less game) the Orlando Sentinel (no lover of Tampa Bay sports) says this, speaking of an upcoming series between the two teams:

“…a stretch of seven games the American League East rivals will play over an 11-day period. Every game is important for the Rays….”

Emphasis is mine. What this says is true. What it does not say, as often is the case, reveals the bias, here, and in political writing as well.

This is important for the Rays, but not for the Yankees? Come now.

The fact is, the world assumes that the Yankees are the crown jewels of baseball. They are the elephants that no mouse can topple. They will, we are to presume, coast to the AL East championship, unless the Rays win some of their ‘important’ games.

Please.

Jehovah-shalom – “The LORD is peace.”

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On September 13, 2010

In Prayer

I am slowly catching up on posting Jon Boardman’s pastoral prayers from the worship services of Covenant Presbyterian Church. Here is his prayer from Sunday, September 5, 2010.
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Pastoral Prayer
Covenant Presbyterian Church, Oviedo, Florida
9/5/2010
Jon Boardman

Jehovah-shalom – “The LORD is peace.”

In the Old Testament, men of God would build an altar to the LORD, whenever God did a mighty act on their behalf, and would name it after the characteristic that the LORD had revealed to them at that moment.

For instance, Abraham built an altar after the Isaac incident and called it “the LORD is my provider”; Moses named his altar after the armies defeated their enemies and called it “the LORD is my banner”; and in Judges, Gideon also built an altar and named it “The LORD is Peace.”

Gideon built this altar after an angel had appeared to him and told him to fight the Midianites, and then Gideon realized he had been talking face to face with God. The idea of facing God, let alone his enemies, was a terrifying prospect for Gideon. However, God said to him: “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die” (6:22-24).

In response to God’s presence, Gideon built his altar and worshipped the LORD.

When we feel discouraged and overwhelmed by the enormity of life’s trials and its battles and when the darkness just seems too overwhelming, the LORD assures us of His presence and His peace. We must go to Him, in worship, and find our solace in our Savior.

Join me as we pray to the God of peace.

Jehovah-shalom,

You are peace.

In You we find wholeness, completeness, and soundness of life.

Forgive us when we try to base our peace on circumstances, relationships, or material possessions.

Peace can only be found in a right relationship with You. And we acknowledge what Jesus has done in procuring our peace.

Because of Jesus, we have peace with You. We thank You for the assurance of our salvation and for not having to fear anything from You.

Grant Your people peace this morning – peace from internal strife and external strife.

We pray for those whose lives are restless due to internal strife.

Whether the struggle is with depression, temptations, anxieties, life decisions, or bitterness, we ask that You would grant them the power of Christ to overcome such struggles.

We also pray for those facing external strife. Whether the strife is due to difficult neighbors, marital conflicts, gossiping peers, overbearing bosses, unresolved conflicts, or other such relational problems, we ask that You would bring Your reconciliatory power upon each of these relationships.

We pray also for our church and for her peace and purity. You have raised up elders with the task of maintaining the peace. Grant them Your wisdom and courage to fulfill their calling.

We pray for stability and peace as we move from this facility to the next. May we find encouragement and confidence in our worship of You regardless of the meeting place.

We also pray for peace in our community, across our country, and throughout the world. There are political, economic, social, and racial divisions that threaten the peace and unity of the people of God. But You, O God, have united us under the banner of Christ and the gospel of peace.

Help us to live in unity as Your church in the world and to be peace makers as we take the good news to the far corners of the earth.

We pray for the children affected by the wars and divisions of this world.

Just as Jesus prayed that in this world we would have tribulation, but we can take courage because he has overcome the world, we pray that our children would find courage in Christ.

And Lord, we ask that You help us to make the most of the opportunities to reach our young people for Christ.

We pray for our missionaries and evangelists this morning. We ask that You grant them health, prosperity, well-being, security, and rest.

Protect them from the powers of darkness; be their shield and their rock.

We especially pray for Carole as she travels in Africa and mentors women and equips others with the gospel of peace.

We also pray for David Clow during his travels. Grant him safety and give him wisdom to make difficult decisions concerning his mother.

We now turn our thoughts on those who suffer in the body and seek relief from their pain.

For Don, Mary Ann’s brother-in-law, we ask for Your healing touch from the lesions in his brain. In these uncertain times for him and his wife, we ask that they would embrace You, the LORD of peace. May they find comfort in our Savior.

For Joey, we ask that you might heal her from her back injury.

For Henry, we ask for his healing from his broken leg.

For Jim, we ask for respite from his pain and healing from his cancer.

For Lisa, we too ask for your mercy and for mending touch.

For Joseph, we ask for continued strength and healing.

And for so many of our loved ones battling ailments of the body, we ask for your mercy.

Grant all these loved ones Your peace and assurance.

And we pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Amen.

An Exemplary Response

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On September 10, 2010

In Politics

Follow this link to a public response of the faculty of Covenant Theological Seminary to the sad and frustrating attention being given to one extreme “evangelical” pastor calling for the burning of the Koran.

Apart from the content of the response which is dispassionate and sensible, we can learn a great deal from the APPROACH taken. Two things stand out:

1. The authors of this response have shown great respect to the pastor and his flock by actually READING and interacting with what he has written and said, and not relying on the media distortions of what he MIGHT have written or said. This should always be our policy. Listen before we speak.

Christians have, for example, taken President Obama to task for his ‘support’ of the proposed NYC mosque. But how many took the time to READ what he actually said? (You can do so here.)

This is an important principle. If we are going to be critical, we should exercise great humility in doing so, especially if we have not directly interacted with what we criticize.

2. The authors practice a principle of gospel peace by finding all they can to affirm before they turn their guns to critique. This is so rare, and sadly rare among Gospel believing Christians. There is truth to affirm in a bad movie, in an awful hymn, in a questionable pastoral position, and yes, in a president with whom some have frequent disagreements. To affirm what we can before we critique is merely to practice what we have come to know as the Golden Rule. How many of us want to burn Terry McCoy as viciously as he wants to burn the Koran? We must always find what we can affirm before we criticize.

So, this is an important statement not only for its content but also for its approach. I hope we, at least, learn from it.

Leonardo, Martin, Christopher, and Me

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On September 10, 2010

In Movies

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There are few occasions where I can say that Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and I share something in common. In this, we do: each of us needs story to address a sense of our guilt.

Nothing demonstrates this more powerfully than two recent movies: Scorsese’s Shutter Island and Nolan’s Inception. Both movies star DiCaprio as a man wrestling with a deep sense of his guilt. (Is it coincidence that in both, that guilt has some relationship to the death of his wife? I’d like readers to weigh in on that.)

In wildly different ways, DiCaprio in each movie retreats inwardly and
spins an elaborate fictional reality which enables him somehow to deal with the guilt of his actions. Both movies show guilt as an actual reality with powerful motivating force in the human psyche. It is something that must be dealt with, and it is dealt with, it seems, by story, by creating a reality in which the guilt is atoned for or passed off upon another. Guilt cannot reside within us without being addressed.

Remarkable to me is that these master story tellers – and these films are technically masterful – both intuitively see and accept what every preacher of the Gospel preaches each Sunday: that guilt is real and must be assuaged. It will have an effect on us. We will face it one way or another.

And, like Scorsese and Nolan, the Christian preacher tells a story by which the guilt of his listeners can be addressed. His story points to a Man come from God who took guilt upon Himself. It is a story the preacher calls upon his listeners to embrace.

The movies should challenge us to face the importance of dealing with the guilt but should also cause us to ask this question: Does the Christian story have any greater validity than the fictions created by Mr. Scorsese or Mr. Nolan, or by any number of others? Is the Christian story simply another elaborate fiction generated deep within the human mind by which sin is addressed? Is that all it is?

This, I think, is the question forced on us and left unanswered by these intriguing movies.

I have come to my own answer on that question. What is yours?

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