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Sacramental Theology

The Gospel according to the Sacraments (Part 3): One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism

In the first post of this series, I proposed that the sacraments of baptism and communion are the nexus point for the evangelical and ecumenical movements. In the following post , I proposed a new orientation for ecumenism – a conciliarity of the cross – with the necessary confession of…

by Michael SpalioneJanuary 2, 2018
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Baptism

Christian Mission and Cultural Transformation

“Contextualization” is now, and has been for a long time, the buzzword for the day. 1 Missionary effort in non-Western countries is all about “contextualization” — making our communication of the Gospel, if not the Gospel itself, fit into the culture to whom we from the West speak. 2 There…

by Ralph Allan SmithDecember 28, 2017
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Sacramental Theology

The Gospel According to the Sacraments, Part 2

In my previous post , I highlighted the sacraments as the point of convergence between evangelicalism and ecumenism arguing that baptism and communion are presented in the New Testament as signs of the gospel that simultaneously enact and remember union with Christ and the unity of Christ’s body. I concluded…

by Michael SpalioneDecember 27, 2017
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Baptism

Baptism and Contextualization: Part 2

Click HERE for Part I of this series. What does baptism have to do with culture? As I said in the previous essay, the short answer is “everything!” To begin with, baptism is baptism into Jesus’ death (Romans 6:3). Paul explains this as the crucifixion of the “old man” (“old…

by Ralph Allan SmithDecember 21, 2017
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Advent

Twin Nativities

In the accounts of our Lord’s nativity and early childhood, so familiar to us from many years of Advent and Christmas services, we often fail to recognize in them the gentle intimations of a greater nativity that is yet to come. The attentive ear, however, can discover in these passages…

by Alastair RobertsDecember 19, 2017
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Advent

Daughters of Zion

Isaiah warns that Yahweh is coming to remove Judah’s leaders in every area of social, economic and political life so completely that there will be no one left to lead besides children (3:4) and women (v. 12). As Isaiah goes on, however, it becomes clear that the women of Judah…

by Peter LeithartDecember 14, 2017

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Brother strangers

In his third epistle, John commends Gaius for his hospitality to “brothers,” particularly for his hospitality to brothers who are “strangers.” This simple commendation marks a social revolution in ancient history. The revolution is not John’s commendation of hospitality per se. Many ancients commended philoxenia, hospitable love of strangers. The…

February 22, 2007
History

Language decline?

Electronic communication is supposed to be destroying our ability to use normal language, as we resort to various forms of shorthand - BTW, FWIW, LOL, ROFLOL, etc, etc. Well maybe. But if it’s a sign of linguistic decline, it’s not the first time. FF Bruce points out that certain greetings…

February 22, 2007

Sacramental piety

Some believe that an emphasis on sacraments must produce an externalized, mechanical form of the Christian life. That is no doubt partly the fault of high-church Christians who have permitted their participation to become externalized and mechanical. It’s incumbent upon high-church Christians to demonstrate that sacramental piety is indeed piety.…

February 21, 2007
History

Interim America

“Interim America” is Rosenstock-Huessy’s name for the American order during the period between 1890-1940. This is an “interim” because it is not a stable order, but a transition between the old and the new. This interim period is ordered by the suburb, the factory, the highway, and the loss of…

February 21, 2007
Theology

Who Defines “Reformed”?

In a couple of posts over the last several weeks, I’ve tried to analyze the “Federal Vision” from a variety of angles - as an “identity crisis” provoked by the FV tendency to reach outside the Reformed tradition for inspiration, and as a conflict not so much of doctrinal systems…

February 21, 2007
Theology

Who Defines “Reformed”?

In a couple of posts over the last several weeks, I’ve tried to analyze the “Federal Vision” from a variety of angles - as an “identity crisis” provoked by the FV tendency to reach outside the Reformed tradition for inspiration, and as a conflict not so much of doctrinal systems…

February 21, 2007

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