Blog - Page 39 of 318 - John H Armstrong

The Seven Last Words of Christ – The Franz Joseph Haydn Symphony

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:40-05:00April 17th, 2014|Categories: Christ/Christology, Death, Music, Personal|

Millions of Christians around the world will hear the “Seven Last Words of Christ” over the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours. I heard them this week and understood them in a wholly different way.

While I have participated in a number of contexts in which these words of Christ have been read, sung and even preached, this week I experienced them in word and music in one of the most moving presentations of the seven words that I’ve ever heard. The occasion was the performance on Tuesday evening of the Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) symphony, “Opus 51– The Seven Last Words of Christ.” Haydn’s work was originally composed in 1786 and first presented on Good Friday in 1787. The original setting was the austere underground grotto of Santa Cueva (Spain) which was completely dark but for the wick of a single lamp, hung from the ceiling. Following the moving Introduction the bishop recited the first of the seven words, moved to the altar and there knelt quietly during the sonata. The bishops words served as a spoken meditation […]

Salvation and the Christian Life – Doing Theology in the Era of Global Ecumenism, Part 2

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:40-05:00April 16th, 2014|Categories: Biblical Theology, Discipleship, Faith, Missional-Ecumenism, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, The Church, The Future, Theology|

When the Holy Spirit revealed to me the truth of John 17:21 I felt I had no choice but to commit the rest of my days to humbly learning from other Christian traditions and teachers. Both my theology and practice necessitated a more humble epistemology and a deeper personal tone anchored in love. I did not jettison what I believed. I opened my mind and heart afresh to “seeing” truth in a far different way, a way that led me to listen more carefully and respectfully to the global catholic church. I realized that over the centuries the faith has been debated and understood and far too much of our history has been about pursuing truth without grace. But I am reminded that the Word was himself “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). If I was to faithfully follow Jesus my life should more nearly be one where grace and truth were both present in abundant measure.

I soon discovered that the present ecumenical era gave me a compelling opportunity to reexamine the role the Christian life […]

Salvation and the Christian Life – Doing Theology in the Era of Global Ecumenism, Part 1

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:42-05:00April 14th, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, Discipleship, Missional-Ecumenism, The Church, The Future, Theology|

We live in the era of global ecumenism. The word ecumenism is actually derived from the Greek oikoumene, which literally means “the whole inhabited world.” It was originally used with reference to the whole of the Roman Empire. In the ancient Christian Church the word was first used in contexts such as an “Ecumenical council” or the “Ecumenical patriarch.” Here the meaning pertained to the totality of the larger Church (e.g. the Catholic Church or the Orthodox Church) rather than to one of its constituent churches or dioceses. Used in this original sense, the term was expanded in the last century or more to refer to the re-uniting of the historically separated Christian denominations. I use it in both senses – for the reality of the global church and the work of reuniting historic churches, though I take it that this work will likely follow patterns yet to be seen in the Spirit’s creativity and timing.

Ecumenism has plainly become a definite movement within visible Christianity. To varying degrees Christian leaders and theologians now recognize this reality. Sadly, […]

The Climate Change Debate: Wrestling With the Creation Narrative

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:42-05:00April 11th, 2014|Categories: Current Affairs, Personal, Science, The Future|

A massive report on the impact of global warming is being completed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This report explains to the world what the representatives of approximately 100 governments concluded at their meeting in Japan in late March. AP reported: “The key message from leaked drafts and interviews with the authors and other scientists: The big risks and overall effects of global warming are far more immediate and local than scientists once thought. It’s not just about melting ice, threatened animals and plants. It’s about the human problems of hunger, disease, drought, flooding, refugees and war, worsening.”

I am always amazed at how people respond to these reports. Many are skeptical and some are fanatical. But both extremes are neither good science nor good public policy. The key, it seems to me, is to marry the two in some effective way. I hope this happens but I am not holding my breath about it. The effects of global warming, which are being accepted by a growing number of us, are still not seen as immediate […]

An Orthodox Journey – Searching for a Place to Stand

By John Armstrong|2015-01-23T16:23:59-06:00April 9th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|

What Can Be Done to Seek Unity Between Catholics and Evangelicals?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:42-05:00April 7th, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, American Evangelicalism, Current Affairs, Evangelism, Friendship, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, Reformed Christianity, Roman Catholicism, The Church, The Future, Unity of the Church|

It is no secret that I am an evangelical Protestant. (I do not think the word “evangelical” makes for a good noun thus I use it here intentionally as an adjective.) I was originally ordained in an evangelical Protestant context (Southern Baptist, a fellowship of churches that actually resisted the name “evangelical” until more recently), received three degrees from evangelical schools and then pastored in an evangelical Baptist denomination for twenty years (The Baptist General Conference). I entered the Reformed Church in America, about ten years ago, out of growing conviction that I could find a “broader way” of expressing my Reformed faith in both catholicity and ecumenism. I wanted a church home that had a meaningful catholic history and some ecclesial stability without all the stops and strictures of the rigidly conservative Reformed Church expressions that I see in the U.S. (More of my friends are still within such groups than within the RCA where I am hardly known at all. It might surprise some to know how many of these friends, who remain in these denominations, are very open to the thought process that led me […]

A Unique Opportunity for Serving Christ in Ecumenism

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:42-05:00April 4th, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, Missional-Ecumenism, Prayer, Roman Catholicism|

Next Tuesday, April 8, the Semi-Annual meeting of the Bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops takes place near O’Hare Airport in Chicago. To my pleasant surprise I have been afforded the opportunity to speak to the bishops about evangelical Christianity and our role in ecumenism and mission. I will speak, as well as share lunch, with the bishops and thus I will interact with them as a friend. To say that I was delighted to accept this invitation when it was given to me several months ago, and now to be near the date of our meeting, is a source of deep joy and a call to pursuing true humility in mission. I go to this meeting to share as well as to learn. I go to love and be loved. I go to expand the work of ecumenism in my own circles, especially among younger evangelicals, and I go as the Liaison of the Lausanne Catholic-Evangelical Conversation. In this role I have been given further joy and opportunity.

This […]

Divorce, Remarriage and the Insights of Deep Ecumenism

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:42-05:00April 2nd, 2014|Categories: Marriage & Family, Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Sacraments, The Church, The Future|

One of the enduring problems that all churches face is how to deal with the moral and ecclesial questions related to divorce and remarriage. The most obvious difficulties have ensued in the Catholic Church due to its interpretation of Matthew 19 as a prohibition against all divorce. Here Jesus very clearly speaks about divorce but the understanding of this text has presented no small problem for Christian interpretation.

Our Lord says:

When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there.

Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause? He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” They […]

The Pope’s Tears of Love

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:42-05:00March 31st, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, Current Affairs, Missional-Ecumenism, Roman Catholicism, The Church, Unity of the Church|

Several years ago I had the distinct joy of meting Dr. Hans Boersma, J. I. Packer Professor of Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia. This friendship connection came about when I invited Hans to present a paper in response to the late Fr. Edward J. Oakes, SJ, at the first Lausanne Catholic-Evangelical Conversation that I led as the Lausanne Liaison for this group. That paper, along with one given on “Christ the Center” by Fr. Oakes, can be seen on our ACT3 Network website in a wonderfully made video. These papers were also published in Books & Culture, a publication of Christianity Today.

After Dr. Boersma began to develop a relationship he invited me to participate in the Robert Wilken Colloquium at Baylor University. For the past two years, over my birthday on March 1, it has been a great joy to be included among some distinguished and first-rate Catholic and evangelical theologians in a serious conversation about our common work, and points of disagreement, as we labor for the kingdom of God. Further, Dr. Robert Wilken has […]

Stanton Lanier in Concert – April 12

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:42-05:00March 28th, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, Music, Personal|

ACT3 Network is pleased to present the musical artistry of Stanton Lanier in concert on Saturday, April 12. This event begins at 6:30 p.m. and is free to the public. (A retiring offering will be taken for the artist.) This concert will be hosted by Windsor Park Manor in Carol Stream, Illinois. If you are not a resident of Windsor Park you should register for this event even though there is no charge. Seating is limited. Go to www.act3network.com to register.

The best introduction to Stanton Lanier is to first listen to his music before you listen to his story. Stanton’s stated mission, to offer “peace and rest in a hurried world,” is accomplished through storytelling, but not in words. His stories are told through instrumental melodies on the piano, transporting a global listening audience to that unique interior place that brings peace to each person’s life and circumstances.

You can meet and hear Stanton Lanier at http://www.stantonlanier.com/about-stanton.php.

From his “2011 Best Neo-Classical Album” nomination (ZMR Music Awards) and “2011 Notable Sacred Music” selection (Christianity Today) for A […]