Theology Central
Theology Central exists as a place of conversation and information for faculty and friends of Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Posts include seminary news, information, and opinion pieces about ministry, theology, and scholarship.Why Is Christmas on December 25th?
Everyone knows it’s because synchretistic Christians swiped the Roman Saturnalia, right? Guess again. William J. Tighe deals with “Calculating Christmas” for Touchstone Magazine. You don’t have to accept everything in the article to find it interesting.
[T]he pagan feast which the Emperor Aurelian instituted on that date in the year 274 was not only an effort to use the winter solstice to make a political statement, but also almost certainly an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already of importance to Roman Christians.
Christmas Giving
I confess to some ambivalence about gift-giving at Christmas time. As an aspect of the Commercial Christmas, the giving of gifts has become something like an abomination. What once was an occasion for giving has become an obligation to give, coupled too often with the expectation of receiving. It is too often an exercise in second-guessing whether someone else intends to give; failure to reciprocate a gift ranks somewhere between a faux pas and a scandal. Conversely, to present a gift to someone who has not planned to reciprocate is to embarrass that person and, consequently, to embarrass one’s self.
The pressure to find just the right gift begins earlier with each passing year. The number of those who are willing to offer their advice in selecting that gift is legion. The venues through which the gift might be purchased have multiplied, including both brick-and-mortar stores and on-line establishments. The compulsion to acquire such a gift has usurped days that once were devoted to family, recreation, and rest—Black Friday being the darkest example.
In the face of this rampant commercialization, some Christians have simply decided to stop giving gifts. They might make exceptions in the case of children, for whom the unwrapping of presents could still be an uncorrupted aspect of the delight of Christmas. Nevertheless, they do not give anything to each other, choosing to use Christmas as a season of focus upon the incarnation.
I confess to some sympathy with this perspective. I would love to disconnect Christmas entirely from commercialism and avarice. The refusal either to expect or to give presents seems as if it might be a radical and salutary break with an acquisitive culture. And yet….
* * *
The church at Corinth had promised to participate in an offering for the needy saints at Jerusalem. Paul was preparing to travel to Corinth and to receive that offering so that he could transport it to Judea. Evidently, however, the Corinthian believers were wavering a bit in their generosity. There was a chance that their performance might not be as liberal as their promises had been.
Paul wrote 2 Corinthians 8-9 to encourage the Corinthian Christians in their giving. Through this discourse he advances several reasons that believers ought to give unstintingly. One is particularly relevant to the present discussion.
According to Paul, Christian giving is evidence of sincerity in love (2 Cor. 8:8, 24). Believers are able to give, not because they are wealthy, but because they are willing (2 Cor. 8:12). This willingness is motivated by an unmixed love.
As an example of willing giving, Paul chose the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. When believers give sincerely, they are imitating Christ who, “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). The self-giving of Jesus becomes a pattern for Christians to copy in their own giving.
Of course, what Paul was talking about is the incarnation and humiliation of Jesus Christ, supplemented by His passion. He was thinking of the Kenosis. Even though Christ subsisted in the form of God, He did not consider equality with God a thing to be selfishly grasped, but emptied Himself, receiving the form of a slave and coming to be in human likeness (Phil. 2:5-8). This Kenosis is the eternal Second Person of the Godhead adding to His divine person a complete human nature, being made temporarily lower than the angels, experiencing the full measure of human weakness, and through His incarnate death and resurrection defeating the one who held the power of death.
In other words, what Paul was talking about is Christmas. He was expounding the very truths to which Christmas directs our attention. In answer to the question, “Why should Christians give?” the apostle pointed to Christmas.
For Paul, giving was inseparable from Christmas. All Christian giving rests upon the foundation of the inestimable gift that they have been given, and that gift is Christ. He did not merely give life. He did not merely give salvation. He gave Himself. This is the giving that rightly motivates believers to give, and to give with an open hand.
The incarnation is our great motivation for giving. That being so, a season devoted to considering the incarnation should also logically be a season devoted to giving. During that season we will give without thought of receiving. We will give to those who could not possibly repay. We will give abundantly, liberally, lavishly, freely, and joyfully. We will give because Christ in His giving has opened the wellsprings of love in our hearts. Our giving will become a part of the true celebration of the incarnation. We will give and bless and rejoice and celebrate, and we will be richer for it.
Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift (2 Cor. 9:15).
This essay is by Kevin T. Bauder, Research Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Not every one of the professors, students, or alumni of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light
Johann von Rist (1607–1667), tr. John Troutbeck (1832–1899)
Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
And usher in the morning;
Ye shepherds, shrink not with affright,
But hear the angel’s warning.
This Child, now born in infancy,
Our confidence and joy shall be,
The power of Satan breaking,
Our peace eternal making.
Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
To herald our salvation;
He stoops to earth—the God of might,
Our hope and expectation.
He comes in human flesh to dwell,
Our God with us, Immanuel;
The night of darkness ending,
Our fallen race befriending.
All blessing, thanks, and praise to thee,
Lord Jesus Christ, be given:
Thou hast our brother deigned to be,
Our foes in sunder riven.
O grant us through our day of grace
With constant praise to seek thy face;
Grant us ere long in glory
With praises to adore thee.
Do Conservatives Face a Dilemma?
Howard Merken at The Imaginative Conservative thinks so. It’s a quirky article, but worth a read. Merken focuses specifically on a Bob Jones University graduate and on Jerry Falwell.
A conservative can do what he wants in a free country, and that includes supporting conservative causes. But should he think, speak, write, and act in ways that show an intense knowledge of interactions, or should he parrot the slogans of other conservatives without understanding the details and the truths which are often two-sided coins or even multifaceted gems? That is the conservative’s dilemma.
BJU professor enters glory!
It was my privilege to study under Dr. Stewart Custer in the 1970s. He died last night at 86. BJU president Steve Petit wrote about him here. He was quite the man.
Welcome back, Theology Central blog!
Our blog has been on a hiatus in recent weeks as our website has been retooled. The new site launched yesterday and with it our new blog! We are grateful for the opportunity to keep moving forward. One bit of seminary news of interest to our readers. With our adoption of synchronized classroom instruction, we are now able to service students far and wide. As the registrar, I get to “meet” new students in advice of the rest of the faculty. I am pleased to state that our student body next semester will include students from three countries on two continents, all in our regular seminary program. This will mean that good men who cannot move to Minneapolis, especially international students, can still get the same quality education as our on campus students. As of today, we have six incoming international students for next semester. We anticipate that we will be able to take theological education to the world through our Global Initiative and our online instruction. Looking for a place to study? Contact Dan Johnson at djohnson@centralseminary.edu to start a conversation.
1st Cent. Communal Reading and Textual Transmission
An interesting forthcoming look at public reading and textual reliability in the early church. This will be on my list.
I ultimately argue that communal reading events were already a prevailing practice over a wide geographic range in the first century CE, and that these events acted as a conserving force over the transmission of literary traditions.
Bertrand Russell on Math and Epistemology
Now suppose that I am looking at a bright red patch. I may say ‘this is my present percept’; I may also say my present percept exists’; but I must also say ‘this exists,’ because the word ‘exists’ is only significant when applied to a description as opposed to a name. This disposes of existence as one of the things that the mind is aware in objects.
I come now to understanding of numbers. Here there are two very different things to be considered: on the one hand, the propositions or arithmetic, and on the other hand, empirical propositions of enumeration. ‘2+2=4’ is of the former kind; ‘I have ten fingers’ is of the latter.
I should agree with Plato that arithmetic, and pure mathematics generally, is not derived from perception. Pure mathematics consists of tautologies, analogous to ‘men are men,’ but usually more complicated. To know that a mathematical proposition is correct, we do not have to study the world, but only the meanings of symbols; and the symbols, when we dispense with definitions) of which the purpose is merely abbreviation) are found to be such words as ‘or’ and ‘not,’ and ‘all’ and ‘some,’ which do not, like ‘Socrates,’ denote anything in the actual world. A mathematical equation asserts that two groups of symbols have the same meaning; and so long as we confine ourselves to pure mathematics, this meaning must be one that can be understood without knowing anything about what can be perceived. Mathematical truth, therefore, is, as Plato contends, independent of perception; but it is truth of a very peculiar sort, and is concerned with only symbols.
The History of Western Philosophy (1972 ed.), 155.
I may have to pay more taxes! Yikes!
Again a WI judge has struck down the Clergyman’s Residency deduction. It was reversed on appeal before. If it takes affect, it only impacts Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois. But who knows . . . it might change things for all clergymen in time. We’ll see what the Seventh Court of Appeals say this time. Stay tuned.
Bernard Williams on Descartes
Only in Minnesota
The Art Deco Foshay Tower is to Minneapolis what the Wrigley Building is to Chicago or the Chrysler Building is to New York.
In case you were wondering if you have to tithe
A new article in CT suggests that many church leaders say you don’t have to tithe to your local church. You can split it between them and other good work. Ok, so maybe I will just give a tithe of my tithe to my local church. Ok, so because I don’t believe in “storehouse” tithing, or tithing for that matter, doesn’t mean I accept this silliness. The first and primary place a Christian should give to is the local church. Then give extra to other ministries if you like. But do not sacrifice the church for something else.
Virtues, Vices, and the New Technologies
Christians have always needed an interconnected set of virtues in order to pray well. Virtues refer to character traits, but character traits can be good or bad; we refer to these, respectively, as virtues and vices. . . . [O]ur new technologies tend to promote certain vices that hinder our ability to worship properly. What we need to do, therefore, is strive against these influences of contemporary culture by cultivating the virtues that promote godly prayer.
VanDrunen, David. God’s Glory Alone—The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and Life: What the Reformers Taught…and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) (pp. 122-123). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Paul Helm on the Benedict Option
Helm critiques Dreher’s Benedict Option here. Worth a read.
The presence of two kingdoms is a fundamental teaching of Jesus, not a political re-positioning for tactical advantage. The Benedict Option does not recognize it as mandatory. In Christianity there is always the kingdom of God and of his Christ, and the kingdom of this world. In not recognizing this the BO was making a serious error.
Technology and the Regulative Principle
The new technologies’ emphases upon speed, efficiency, multitasking, multimedia presentation, and the like tend to make many characteristic features of Reformed worship—for example, pastoral prayers, the singing of psalms and hymns, sermons, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, and gathering to do these things in simple, unadorned rooms—seem quaint and boring in comparison. The church has always struggled with the temptation to add things to worship beyond what God has ordained in Scripture, and the seductions are stronger than ever in an Internet age.
VanDrunen, David. God’s Glory Alone—The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and Life: What the Reformers Taught…and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) (p. 115). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Barrick on God’s Self-Existence
God’s self-existence is fundamental to His being, and therefore to the gospel. Read Barrick’s discussion of divine self-existence here.
God’s self-existence makes Him the sole determiner of absolute truth — truth we can depend upon. God is someone we can trust completely. He is always there. Therefore, He will not leave us or forsake us the way others do. Since He alone is completely holy and righteous, He sets the standard for truth, for holiness, and for righteousness or justice. God is the only one who doesn’t fail, default on a promise, run out when trouble comes, lie, or die. He provides us with everything we look for in the character of someone we can rely on. And, that even extends to our great need to be completely forgiven.
Only in Minnesota
Frost flowers
Dreher on the Medieval World
Medievals experienced the divine as far more present in their daily lives. As it has been for most people, Christian and otherwise, throughout history, religion was everywhere, and— this is crucial— as a matter not merely of belief but of experience. In the mind of medieval Christendom, the spirit world and the material world penetrated each other. The division between them was thin and porous. Another way to put this is that the medievals experienced everything in the world sacramentally.
Dreher, Rod. The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation (p. 24). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The Recovery of Musical Conservatism
Robert Reilly recounts a bit of recent musical history, including the contributions of Henryk Górecki, Arvo Pärt, and John Tavener.
Blue Collar Vocations
Daniel Darling of the Ethics and Religions Liberty Commission argues that blue collar jobs need to be seen as legitimate vocations. He’s right.
Previous generations held up the trades—plumbers, electricians, line workers, factory foremen, and retail managers—as worthy vocations. Today someone who works as a bricklayer or roofer or some other blue-collar profession are often looked on as sad cases. We wonder, privately, where the wrong turn happened. How could a smart, capable person end up in such an ignoble career? Where’s the future in that?
But we forget that our society runs on the strength of those who build and maintain our infrastructure, who go to work every day and build things with their hands.
On Not Remembering Sermons
I used to fret that I could remember very few of the sermons I had heard. Now I fret that I can remember very few of the sermons I preach. Still, I remember none of the details from the Latin lessons I took in school, and yet I can still pick up a book of Latin prose or verse and read it. We may have forgotten the details of individual classes we’ve taken, but our minds are rewired by what we learned. In studying Latin I was changed from someone who saw Latin as an impenetrable code to someone who now delights in the cadences and periods of Cicero.
I believe preaching is like that. The point is not that we remember all the details and can perfectly recall them. Rather, it is the slow, incremental impact of sitting under the word week by week, year by year that makes the difference. That is how we mature as Christians. God uses this means of grace to make us into vessels of his grace. And that is why a Protestant theology of grace must place the clear, powerful, unequivocal proclamation of God’s word right at the center.
Trueman, Carl R. Grace Alone—Salvation as a Gift of God: What the Reformers Taught…and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) (p. 193). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
APPLICATION & AID