NOTE: When it comes to the best way of how to understand Christian anthropology, I do not purport to speak for any person here except for myself, even as I am confident that what I say is harmonious with FC VI.* Following up on the heels of Trent’s fine post… (also note this relevant post from his own blog) It is my good guess that the recent discussion that occurred at the Brothers of John the Steadfast blog about Pastor... Read more
On Sunday Pr. Matt Richard posted an excerpt from Dr. David Scaer’s book Law and Gospel and the Means of Grace (Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics: Volume VIII). As I was reading, I noticed that the transitions between sentences and even paragraphs were a bit strange. I then realized that several chunks of text had been removed and marked with ellipses. No problem—we all do that. However, upon further examination, I noticed that Pr. Richard had not just removed a few extraneous subordinate clauses here... Read more
On this most twenty-second of episodes, the pseudepodcasting trio addressed that perennially sticky wicket of theology: the Law. You’ll be pleased to know that they solved all the problems. This is an episode that you’ll want to bookmark and consult, even hundreds of years from now. You will also definitely want to read Rev. Dr. Holger Sonntag’s paper (linked below) and buy his book from Lutheran Press, Only the Decalogue is Eternal: Martin Luther’s Complete Antinomian Theses & Disputations. Featured... Read more
The texts for the day: Rev. 7:2-17, I John 3:1-3, Matt. 5:1-12 Read more
This is a short selection of citations from Gerhard’s Sacred Meditations (the edition put out by Magdeburg Press, available here), on the doctrine of the unio mystica. “The Savior himself was clothed in the flesh so that, by communicating the glory of divinity to the flesh, he could purify the sinful flesh, so that, by the healing power of his perfect righteousness that was communicated to the flesh, he could purge the poisonous quality of sin inherent in our flesh,... Read more
Lutherans like to emphasize that we love and serve God by loving and serving our neighbor. In short, it is we, not He, that need our good works. This is indeed an excellent Scriptural truth to emphasize.* That said, there is no doubt that there are many congregations – Lutheran and otherwise – who might find it convenient to insist on such a truth at the expense of other truths. “Social justice” without a whisper of cross-proclamation is not an... Read more
There has been some extensive discussion surrounding my book on Brothers of John the Steadfast due to my utilization of theosis terminology. Understandably, the language of theosis is misunderstood by many to mean that man somehow becomes, in essence, God, or that this somehow downplays forensic justification. I have done several pieces of writing on this topic, such as here, here, and in my book. This is a brief attempt to clarify the meaning of Christification. I define Christification in... Read more
On today’s program I was joined by Rev. Lewis Polzin from Boars in the Vineyard to continue discussing Henry Eyster Jacobs’ book “A Summary of the Christian Faith.” We looked at chapter four on Creation. Here is the program. Read more
This post is a slightly highly modified version of a comment I made on an article by T. R. Halvorson, “My Plea: Recognize Theosis,” featured on the Brothers of John the Steadfast site. The conversation in the comments has been both civil and worthwhile. I highly recommend perusing the dialogue if you would like to learn more about this topic. What follow are my thoughts on the original post and, moreover, on the broader topic it raised: theosis, or “the divinization of man.” + ... Read more
By Rev. David Graves When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. -John 19:26-27 ESV The question that has been asked is how the above verse is to be understood. I assume the question is posited with the intent of how we understand this verse... Read more
Just and Sinner
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