Apologetics and the Natural Order of Things

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? (Romans 2:1-3 ESV)

Breaking news... I survived the 2-hour Greek final this morning that capped 10 weeks of instruction at near warp speed. I don't know my grade yet, but I was confident about 80% of my responses (however, my stupidity factor can't be truly measured until I see the final outcome...). We'll find out tomorrow (the last day of the class-- woo-hoo!!). Κύριε ελέησον.

Any confessional, credal Lutheran worth his (or her) salt will tell you that one of the mainstays of effective Christian witness is apologetics; "defense of one's faith" is more than martyrdom-- it means being able to provide a theologically sound explanation or exposition of the truth in the face of non-truth. Lutherans are often misunderstood as a bunch of medieval rebels who somehow repackaged (and rebranded) Roman Catholic worship culture and tradition into a Pope-less free-for-all behind a disgruntled and temperamental Martin Luther. Yet one of the most idiosyncratic Lutheran traits to come out of the Reformation is the diligence by which church doctrine-- as well as social mores, historical events, and questions about the natural world (including gender issues)-- is vetted by Scripture. Lutheran doctrine is "taken from the Word of God and solidly and well grounded therein" (FC SD Summary, 5), "supported with clear and irrefutable testimonies from the Holy Scriptures" (ibid., 6), and based "godly confession, built upon solid testimonies of the truth, which cannot be shaken, and is expressed in the Word of God" (Preface to The Book of Concord).

And while it is meet and right to stand on the truth in word and deed, no Christian is called upon to judge another (Romans 2:1-3, as a reminder). Professing one's faith is not proclaiming "I'm right, you're wrong!", but "God's right and we're all wrong!" Listening to another's point of view or faith tenets is part and parcel to creating the dialogue necessary through which a look at God's Word can, hopefully, begin to clear up any misconceptions or misunderstandings (and even help with some of the tougher questions facing humanity, like, "If there really is a God out there somewhere, why doesn't He do something about all the suffering in the world?!"), especially those that occur as a result of using human reason to make sense of the world around us...

I happened across an interesting article posted today to The Campaign for Core Christianity Discover website: 5 Reasons Why Science and Faith Are Compatible. It deals with science and the question of God. Actually, the entire site is very interesting; if you have a few minutes, take a look around. (Check out the short video: Aren’t all religions the same?)

The Bible reveals a loving God who created an ordered world for His most beloved of creations. Sin has pockmarked every facet of human existence and we find ourselves in an increasingly disordered world where even the relatively simple biological concept of male and female (as well as the biblical concept of headship) has been perverted (here's a very well-written post on the sexes as God intended). From gender confusion to the threat of rampant radical religious zealots to the destruction of the very planet we live on, the need for clarity of God's Word (Luther called it "the perspicuity of Scripture") is great! People live in a frenzy, confused and afraid-- and need not be!

If it weren't for human reason, there wouldn't be the hundreds (thousands?) of church bodies out there staking a proprietary claim on the truth. Luther is said to have remarked, "In philosophy an error that is small at the beginning becomes very great in the end. So a small error in theology overturns the whole body of doctrine." So true.

So here I am, a seminary student, with a God-planted desire to...

...become a pastor (and a confessional, credal Lutheran one, at that) and help offset the confusion, mistrust, and hate, not with fire-and-brimstone threats, but secure in God's promises, that there is still hope in the world through faith in Christ Jesus...

...remain cordial and inquire (rather challenge and judge) in a world that needs to get a grip...

...be living proof that an existence with God is more fulfilling than an existence without God...

...simply proclaim the Grace, Mercy, and Love of a God who is not at all distant, but who comes to us (not the other way around)...

...listen, then apologize.

Let the launch sequence begin. :)

(Assuming that I passed my Greek final exam, that is!)