Saviors from Space

I'm a big SCI-FI geek and rarely miss an opportunity to catch the latest movie at the theater. Science fiction movies usually do pretty well at the box office. Probably the most noteworthy, oldie-but-goodie, is The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), adapted from the 1940 short story "Farewell to the Master" written by Harry Bates. Like so many movies of the era, their storylines were often set against the backdrop of the Cold War. The Day the Earth Stood Still is no exception. But there is another element that is often missed by moviegoers. There's a great deal of religion mixed in. Probably the most overt example can be found in the Star Wars movies and its use of the Force. George Lucas admitted that he "put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people. . . . I think there is a God. What that God is and what we know about God, I'm not sure."

There's a more subtle expression of religion in The Day the Earth Stood Still in addition to Klaatu's stated belief in "the Almighty Spirit":

Scriptwriter Edmund H. North transformed the alien emissary Klaatu into a Christ-figure, implying that extra-terrestrials would be the true saviors of mankind. He did this in a subtle manner, having Klaatu adopt the earth name Carpenter and through the alien’s death and resurrection. North considered it his "private little joke" hoping "the Christ comparison would be subliminal."

In your spare time, sit down to watch Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, and Billy Gray, who played "Bud" in Father Knows Best, and see how many New Testament, Christ-like allusions you can find in The Day the Earth Stood Still.

He is Risen!

The Incredulity of St Thomas by Caravaggio.

19On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."

24Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."

26Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 28Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." --John 20:19-29

He is risen indeed!

In the Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio depicted the moment the disciples recognize their risen lord.

About the artist:

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (September 29th 1571 – 18 July 1610) was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. He is commonly placed in the Baroque school, of which he was the first great representative.

What is Good Friday?

Good Friday is the Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday. It is traditionally the day on which Jesus was crucified. Why is Good Friday referred to as good? What the Jewish authorities and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good (see Matthew chapters 26-27).

Calling the day of the Crucifixion ‘Good’ Friday is a designation that is peculiar to the English language. In German, for example, it is called Karfreitag. The Kar part is an obsolete word, the ancestor of the English word care in the sense of cares and woes, and it meant mourning. So in German, it is Mourning Friday; and that is what the disciples did on that day—they mourned. They thought all was lost.

However, the result of Christ’s death is very good! Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.”

The Bible does not instruct Christians to remember Christ’s death by honoring a certain day. It does give us freedom in these matters (see Romans 14:5). The Bible instructs us to remember Christ’s death by observing the Lord’s Supper. First Corinthians 11:26 declares, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. -Luke 23:44-49

What is Palm Sunday?

The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, fresco in the Parish Church Zirl, Austria.

Palm Sunday is the day Christians remember the "triumphal entry" of Jesus into Jerusalem, exactly one week before His death and resurrection. For many Christian churches, Palm Sunday, often referred to as 'Passion Sunday,' marks the beginning of Holy Week, which concludes on Easter Sunday.

Some 450-500 years earlier, the Prophet Zechariah had prophesied, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9).

Matthew 21:7-9 records the fulfillment of that prophecy: "They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!"

'The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem' mosaic by the Master of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo, Italy
(Greco-Byzantine workshop, gift of Roger II, c. 1150)

Jesus the Messiah, enters Jerusalem on a donkey, an animal of a man of peace. A conquering king would ride a horse. The people seem to have recognized the kingship, but not to have seen the emphasis on peace. Jesus Christ makes peace with God the Father by sacrificing Himself on our behalf; thus He has paid our debt and granted us peace with the Father.

The biblical account of Palm Sunday can be found in Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; and John 12:12-19.

For Whom Did Christ Die?

Christ Carrying the Cross (1737-38) by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Just finished a Sunday school class on the Essentials of Reformed Theology or "What We Believe". This was a good course that sparked much discussion. As we went through the Five Points of Calvinism (TULIP: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints), several students had problems with the third point, limited atonement.

John Own, one of my favorite theologians of all time, summed up the issue rather nicely:

For Whom Did Christ Die?

The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent punishment for, either:

1. All the sins of all men.
2. All the sins of some men. Or,
3. Some of the sins of all men.

In which case it may be said:

1. That if the last be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so, none are saved. 2. That if the second be true, then Christ, in their stead suffered for all the sins of all the elect [His people] in the whole world, and this is the truth. 3. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins?
You answer, "Because of unbelief."

I ask, is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it be, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!

The author of Psalm 111 writes in verse 9: 'He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name.'

E.R. on Liberal Theology

Top Twelve Theology Books of Christian History

I like "top" lists. Here's a list of the top twelve theology books of Christian history. I got it from the Torrey Honors Institute (part of Biola University). Following their great books curriculum and a Socratic pedagogy, they give students a one-semester introduction to the classic Christian texts. The faculty assigns, along with the Bible, the Top Twelve Theology Books of Christian History. The competition was fierce and the answers can’t be final. They imposed a few artificial limits: the books have to be things that generally educated adults can read and discuss profitably, and they have to come from a range of time periods and cultures. They have to be influential on multiple generations, which rules out newfangled stuff from the last couple of centuries.

Here’s what they came up with, and what they take their students through every year. Can it be improved? (Note: You will not find 'Your Best Life Now' or anything from Joyce Meyer , T.D. Jakes, Paula White, et al.)

1. Selections from the Bible: Paul’s Letters and John’s Gospel. It may be cheating to count these as one entry, especially since more than half of the semester (fifteen three-hour discussion sessions) is spent on these texts. Reading Paul’s letters in chronological order (Thessalonians to the pastorals) and discussing them over the course of several weeks is a remarkable experience. John’s Gospel then provides some of the crucial categories that will be taken up by the church fathers in the next centuries.

2. Irenaeus of Lyons, Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching. Circa 150. If you can only read one church father from before Nicaea, Irenaeus is the man. This little book shows him at his best, synthesizing the biblical data into the big apostolic picture. Bottom line: It takes two testaments to make one Bible, and three persons to make one God.

3. Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation. Circa 325. Athanasius concentrates his thought on the life of Christ, and everything in Scripture seems to reorganize itself around this shining center. One the Incarnation reads like a suspense novel, with the making and remaking of humanity by God’s eternal Word as the plot line.

4. Gregory of Nazianzus, The Five Theological Orations. Circa 381. The grand, objective mysteries of Christian doctrine are presented here with striking clarity. Nobody can teach the Trinity and the incarnation like Gregory. His work was a major leap forward in understanding Scriptural truth, and he remains readable today.

5. Cyril of Alexandria, On the Unity of Christ. Circa 440. Cyril, for too long neglected in modern theology, had a theological grasp of what it meant that our savior was the eternal Son. This book is not perfect, and there may be a better book out there somewhere to bring together all the best from the early church’s development of Trinity and incarnation, but I can’t find it. His work crowns the classic period of Christian thought on these issues.

6. Augustine of Hippo, The Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love. Circa 430. For general purposes, if you’re following this list as an actual reading program for yourself, you should definitely substitute his Confessions here. Our students have already read the Confessions (and selections from City of God) in a previous semester, so we went with a short work in which Augustine lays out the main things about Christianity: faith, hope, and love. The latest translation of it re-titles it The Augustine Catechism, a silly title that nevertheless hints at how comprehensive a handbook it is.

7. Anselm of Canterbury, Cur Deus Homo (Why God Became Man). Circa 1100. Most famous as a systematic account of the atonement using the categories of honor and recompense, this book is actually equally concerned with God’s character and attributes, the doctrine of the Trinity, and the doctrine of the incarnation. Anselm’s book gets so many things right that it dominated Western soteriology for some time. In addition to showing his readers the logic of what had been revealed, Anselm’s book stands as an invitation to think through these most important doctrines for yourself.

8. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae selections. Circa 1270. There’s no substitute for an encounter with the big Summa itself. Not many people can or should read the whole thing, but a few hundred pages of the best questions from it will give you mental discipline and spiritual instruction that I don’t know another source for. Focus on the nature of theology, the existence of God, the doctrine of grace, and the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. Other anthologies may also work for you, like Kreeft’s Summa of the Summa or Bauerchmidt’s Holy Teaching, but we prefer to operate with as little commentary as possible. Once you learn your way around the Summa, you can use the newadvent.org edition to find Thomas’ answer to anything.

9. Martin Luther, Selections. Circa 1530. Luther didn’t write one comprehensive statement of his theology, so you have to read selections from a variety of his occasional writings: he was a translator, Bible interpreter, controversial theologian, catechizer, pastor, and public witness in a difficult time. Read his lectures on Galatians, his Heidelberg Disputation, his sermons on Two Kinds of Righteousness and The Freedom of a Christian,plus the Small Catechism. Luther provokes and disturbs and comforts, and just generally writes with a tone of voice that can find you where you are. This anthology edited by the late Tim Lull is The Place to Start.

10. John Calvin, The Institutes. Circa 1559. The Institutes is a book with an incredible ability to train the mind in theological insight. It deserves to be read in its entirety — not because it is some tight Euclidean system with the axiom of predestination establishing parallel lines from which everything else follows– but because it takes up the main ideas of the Bible in such good order. If you can’t make time to read it all, take generous excerpts from Book I on the knowledge of God the creator, Book II on Christ and redemption, Book III on faith, the Spirit, and election, and Book IV on the church and sacraments.

11. The Heidelberg Catechism by Ursinus and Olevianus Circa 1563. Biblical, pastoral, comprehensive, nourishing, instructive, pointed, memorable, devotional, and practical. If there’s a perfect catechism, this is it.

12. John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress. Circa 1678. Bunyan’s homespun sincerity meets you on such a fundamental level that it gets into your imagination in astonishing ways. Very young children can follow most of the book, and graduate students can be stumped and stirred by some of the moves this Baptist preacher makes. Coleridge called it a Summa Theologicae Evangelicae. Try it, or if you haven’t read it as an adult, try it again. In our semester survey, we only read Part I, but Part II has some of the best stuff Bunyan ever wrote.

Tolle Lege - Take Up and Read!

We are closing in on the end of 2007. Most folks will look at the past year's events. Here's a look at the top five books (recommended by Kim Riddlebarger of White Horse Inn fame and found on The Riddleblog) :

1). Michael Horton's stellar Covenant and Salvation: Union With Christ (Westminster John Knox). Michael's response to Wright, Dunn, and Sanders is outstanding. Click here: Amazon.com: Covenant and Salvation: Union With Christ: Books: Michael Scott Horton

2). G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Baker). This is one of the most important reference books to come down the pike in years. I'm already finding it indispensible. Click here: Amazon.com: Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Books: G. K. Beale,D. A. Carson

3). Ken Samples' A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth Claims to the Worldview Test (Baker). Ken Samples is doing yeoman's work in making the critical philosophical and apologetic issues accessible to larger audiences. Ken's also a great writer. Click here: Amazon.com: A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-Claims to the Worldview Test: Books: Kenneth Richard Sa

4). Dennis Johnson's Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures (P & R). This book should be read by every preacher as well as everyone who sits in a pew! How should ministers prepare to preach and what should God's people be looking for in a sermon? Click here: Amazon.com: Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures: Books: Dennis E. Johnson

5). Bruce Waltke's An Old Testament Theology (Zondervan). A great overview of redemptive-history during the Old Covenant era. Click here: Amazon.com: An Old Testament Theology: A Canonical and Thematic Approach: Books: Bruce K. Waltke,Charles Yu

I've read #3 on the list and it's good; a basic guide to worldview thinking, examines the a handful of worldview philosophies, and makes a case for the Christian worldview. I'm going to begin reading Michael Horton's Covenant and Salvation next.

Liberty's Pioneer

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, individual freedom, either political or religious, was virtually unknown. Geneva was a good example. Before the city council had disestablished Roman Catholicism, the Church ruled the State through the Roman Catholic bishop. Afterwards, the State ruled the Church through the council. When John Calvin arrived at Geneva in August 1536, he was confronted with this unbiblical approach to government. Calvin's goal was to establish a Church governmentally independent of the council while assuring that the council would not be independent of God's law as it pertained to its civil jurisdiction. His tool in accomplishing this difficult task was the Word of God. He preached and lectured from the Bible every day. He knew that when changes came they would come from the bottom up--from the people who desired a true Reformation without revolution. Calvin drew a clear line of distinction between the civil magistrate, whose authority was confined to civil matters, and the elders of churches, whose authority was confined to ecclesiastical matters. He established in Geneva the biblical idea of the jurisdictional separation between Church and State. Contrary to popular opinion, Calvin did not set up a system of government in which the clergy dominated the city council. He was not even a citizen of Geneva until 1559, and he appeared before the council when he was called on to offer his opinions on theological issues. He never occupied a political or civil office in Geneva.

Stonewall on Prayer

Stonewall Jackson — his very name evokes the image of the solid, immovable Confederate general whose sobriquet, earned at the Battle of 1st Manassas, no longer requires quotation marks. His pious Christian character, service to the church, unwavering commitment to duty, affectionate role as husband and father, as well as his magnificent service to Virginia were carefully recorded by his close friend Robert Lewis Dabney. Labeled by some a religious fanatic, General Jackson was simply a consistent biblical Christian who lived out his faith every day, seriously and without compromise. The battle accounts in The Life and Campaigns of Stonewall Jackson resonate with the first-hand knowledge of a man who has seen the face of battle, as Major Dabney often did as General Jackson’s adjutant in the Valley Campaign. His account of military life in the field with General Jackson provides poignant insight into the character of the General as they discuss theology and military history, pray together, and gallop to the sound of the guns. Jackson’s theology was supremely orthodox, being rooted in the biblical tradition of Knox, Calvin, and Edwards.

Dabney writes of Jackson (pg. 106-107), “Devotion was the very breath of his soul. Once only was he led to make a revelation of these constant aspirations, to a Christian associate peculiarly near to him; and his description of his intercourse with God was too beautiful and characteristic to be suppressed. This friend expressed to him some embarrassment in comprehending literally the precept to “pray always,” and to “pray without ceasing,” and asked his help in construing it. He replied that obedience ought not to be impracticable for the child of God. “But how,” said the other, “can one always be praying?” He answered that if it might be permitted to him, without suspicion of religious display, he would explain by describing his own habits. He then proceeded, with several parentheses, deprecating earnestly the charge of egotism, to say that, besides the stated daily sessions of secret and social prayer, he had long cultivated the habit of connecting the most trivial and customary acts of life with silent prayer. “When we take our meals,” said he, “there is the grace. When I take a draught of water, I always pause, as my palate receives the refreshment, to lift up my heart to God in thanks and prayer for the water of life. Whenever I drop a letter into the box at the post-office, I send a petition along with it, for God’s blessing upon its mission and upon the person to whom it is sent. When I break the seal of a letter just received, I stop to pray to God that he may prepare me for its contents, and make it a messenger of good. When I go to my class-room, and await the arrangement of the cadets in their places, that is my time to intercede with God for them. And so of every other familiar act of the day.” ‘But,” said his friend, “do you not often forget these seasons, coming so frequently?” “No,” said he, “I have made the practice habitual to me; and I can no more forget it, than forget to drink when I am thirsty.” He added that the usage had become as delightful to him as it was regular.”

Stonewall's gallant deeds, virtuous conduct, and fervent prayer still move our hearts with admiration. He shows us how a Christian soldier should live and die.

The Christology of Chalcedon

Today we begin the Advent or the coming of Christ to Earth. I wanted to begin our family celebration by looking at the Chalcedonian Creed, talking about Christ's nature, and the importance of the incarnation. This creed was adopted at the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held at Chalcedon, located in what is now Turkey, in 451, as a response to certain heretical views concerning the nature of Christ. It established the orthodox view that Christ has two natures (human and divine) that are unified in one person. As the church grew, heresies also grew, and the early Christians needed to clarify the defining boundaries of the faith.

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [co-essential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.

The Incarnation lies at the heart of the gospel. Any attempt to redefine it is an attempt to replace Christianity with another religion and Jesus with another Christ. For if Jesus Christ is not truly human, then we have in Him no Mediator or Substitute. If He is not a divine Person, then His death was mere martyrdom and no help or value to us who stand in need of atonement. In either case, His salvation is inadequate. We must find another Savior, one more relevant and useful. If Jesus Christ is a man who became God, then other men can become God. Salvation becomes a matter of works, of moral effort or magical manipulation, and its goal is deification. If Christ's two natures are confused or if one is absorbed into the other, then there is no final distinction between Creator and creature. Satan was right: God is fundamentally no different from man, and we are all potentially or actually divine. "Who will play God?" becomes a legitimate question.

The Christology of Chalcedon recognizes an infinite gulf between the being of God and that of His creatures. Man cannot become God; God became a man exactly once, and even there, in the Person of Christ, there is no mixture or confusion of being. Deity remains deity; humanity remains humanity. The political and sociological implications of this doctrine are profound.

Chalcedon leaves no room for private or collective mysticism. Put simply, no man, group of men, or human institution can become God or act with divine sovereignty. None of us is God. None of us will become God. Our thoughts, actions, and feelings will never be anything more than human. Salvation is not deification, but the restoration of man to his proper role within creation. Jesus Christ alone is the Son of God; He alone has all power in heaven and earth. All human authority is, therefore, necessarily derivative, limited, and under law. Chalcedon is thus crucial to constitutional, decentralized government and to Western liberty.

Furthermore, the Incarnation means a good creation. The Son of God took to Himself a body "and was united with the Dust and made it glorious forever." He did not abhor the Virgin's womb, nor does He abhor our humanity, our creatureliness. Whereas every other religion tries to rescue man from creation and history, Biblical Christianity says that God came into His creation and united Himself with it forever.

The Formula of Chalcedon answers the mysticism and pietism that is so prevalent in the modern church. It answers statism and political liberalism. It points us to one Savior, one Lord, and bids us place all our confidence in Him.