Blog - Page 53 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Ancient-Future Faith: What Has It to Do with the Atonement?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:13-05:00September 10th, 2013|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Biblical Theology, Christ/Christology, Forgiveness, God's Character, Jesus, Patristics, Reformed Christianity, The Church, The Future, Theology|

The Holy Spirit seems to be working new convictions –based on ancient ideas about God, Christ and the Holy Spirit – into the younger evangelical generation. My generation was attracted to the details of mastering a theological system and often thought in either/or terms about what was true and false. I was trained by evangelicals who were drawn to the details of theological debate while they were (often) passive about social concerns like peace, war and justice. My generation of evangelicals gave us the Moral Majority and a host of culture warrior Christian spokesmen. (They were mostly “males” so I use the word “men” here intentionally!) My formal training was shaped by science, philosophy, and communication theories. We built churches that were attractional and shaped by programs that fed (not always intentionally) our consumerism. The new generation is geared toward change and dynamic ways of expression. (These are generalizations, I admit, but they are helpful when understood correctly.)

Well over a decade now my late friend Robert E. Webber wrote, “The kind of Christianity that attracts the new […]

How Shall We Understand the Atonement?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:13-05:00September 9th, 2013|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Biblical Theology, Church History, Church Tradition, Jesus, Patristics, Reformed Christianity, The Church, Theology|

It must be stated, before we even consider several of the ways Christians have traditionally understood the atonement (the meaning of Christ’s death) and its relationship to our sin(s), that all Christians believe this great central truth – Christ’s death reconciles us to God. Whatever else you read, or think you hear me saying in the next few days, please return to this statement and believe me when I say I stake my entire salvation on the death of Christ for my sins.

The word atonement is itself an English translation, as several noted in their comments on my posts last week. But the word atonement is not a bad word because it is an English translation, even though it is a word far too easily misunderstood. That Christ gave his life as a ransom for mankind’s sin is crystal clear in the teaching of Jesus (cf. Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). What is not nearly so clear is what this ransom (sacrifice) means. This is especially true in terms of the payment that was made and the person […]

The Atonement Debate: “Why Did Christ Die?” Part 5

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:14-05:00September 6th, 2013|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Biblical Theology, Christ/Christology, Creeds, Current Affairs, Death, God's Character, Love, Missional Church, Protestantism, Scripture, The Church, The Future|

Make no mistake about this a serious debate about the nature of God’s wrath, and the doctrine of penal satisfaction, is extremely important for many conservative Protestants. Some of this heat, so I believe, is a carry-over from the earlier battles of fundamentalism with theological liberals who wanted to have a God who loved all and accepted all into his redeemed family.

The recent attempt by the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song to change the words of a popular modern hymn (“the wrath of God was satisfied” was to be changed to “the love of God was magnified”) touched off a new debate about defining the atonement in terms of God’s wrath and Jesus’ death as the sacrifice that appeases his wrath. (Some Catholic theologians agree but their position is more encompassing of other ideas and distinctly more nuanced. The Orthodox, as I’ve briefly indicated, take a different view.)

Al Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, provided USA Today some context to his concerns when he said this […]

World Evangelical Alliance Secretary Urges Religious Liberty for Arab Christians and Non-Intervention Militarily in the Region

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:14-05:00September 5th, 2013|Categories: America and Americanism, Current Affairs, Politics|

WEA Secretary General Urges Religious Liberty for Arab Christians at Conference in Jordan

New York, NY – September 5, 2013

On September 3rd and 4th, 2013, Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), spoke at a conference in Amman, Jordan, convened by King Abdullah II ibn al-Hussein to address ‘the challenges facing Arab Christians,’ in particular the situation in Syria and Egypt. Representatives of various churches in the region were invited to ‘unite and give voice to the leadership of Arab Christian Churches (…) and, together, to discuss and find possible solutions.’ In his speech, Dr. Tunnicliffe addressed the increasing suffering and persecution of Arab Christians in recent years, stating that “this is despite the fact that Arab Christians have been loyal citizens in all the countries of the Arab world for two thousand years.”He emphasized the importance of religious freedom for a prospering society and that “Christians in the Arab world deserve to be treated respectfully and with honor.” He said: “All they ask is to be allowed to live in peace […]

The Atonement Debate: “Why Did Christ Die?” Part 4

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:14-05:00September 5th, 2013|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Biblical Theology, Creeds, Current Affairs, Death, God's Character, Protestantism, The Church|

The contentious issue in the current atonement debate among conservative evangelical Christians centers around various doctrinal distinctions that have been important for several centuries. Most conservative preaching has spoken of Christ’s death as meeting God’s just requirement for the punishment of sin, a death that satisfies God’s wrath against mankind’s rebellion. A central text employed by this argument can be seen in Paul’s argument about the ministry of reconciliation in Second Corinthians.

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, […]

The Atonement Debate: “Why Did Christ Die?” Part 3

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:14-05:00September 4th, 2013|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Biblical Theology, Church Tradition, Death, God's Character, Jesus, The Church|

The centrality of Christ’s death on the cross has influenced everything we believe as Christians. Make no mistake about this simple fact. Even our language is influenced, giving us words like “crucial,” which literally means “pertaining to the cross.” When we say something is crucial we are making the point that this is central to our belief, argument or practice. Evangelicals have rightly argued that the cross is central. The debate is not here but rather about a point of interpretation.

One of the most famous proponents of evangelical theology about the atonement was the late Australian scholar Leon Morris. (I had the privilege of taking a class under Dr. Morris at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in the 1970s.) In an article on the atonement Morris said, “The atonement is critical; it is the most central doctrine of Christianity” (New Dictionary of Theology. InterVarsity Press, 1988, 54). He goes on to say this does not mean “other doctrines may be neglected” (54). My question is simple – “Is the […]

The Atonement Debate: “Why Did Christ Die?” Part 2

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:14-05:00September 3rd, 2013|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Biblical Theology, Church Tradition, Death, God's Character, Jesus, The Church|

When I read the USA Today story about conservative Christians debating the use, or non-use, of the phrase “the wrath of God was satisfied” (in a popular modern song) I decided to go back and read views of the atonement that I could find in the early church fathers.

One of the earliest quotations I discovered comes from Clement of Rome (c. 96): “Because of his love for us, Jesus Christ our Lord gave his blood for us by the will of God. He gave his flesh for our flesh, and his soul for our souls.”

The martyr Polycarp (c. 135) said Jesus Christ “bore our sins in his own body on the tree.”

Justin Martyr wrote: “The whole human race will be found to be under a curse. . . . The Father of all wished his Christ, for the whole human family, to take upon him the curses of all, knowing that, after he has been crucified and was dead, he would raise him up . . . . His Father wished him to suffer this, in order that […]

The Atonement Debate: “Why Did Christ Die?” Part 1

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:14-05:00September 2nd, 2013|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Biblical Theology, Church History, Church Tradition, Creeds, Death, God's Character, Gospel/Good News, Jesus, Orthodoxy|

A recent dispute over the meaning of the atonement has sparked an outbreak of charges, and countercharges, among Protestant leaders. This particular dispute, not unlike so many in Christian history, arose from a line in a popular song. At issue are various theories of the atonement, not the simple confession made by all Christians from the earliest Christian era. We hear this simple faith confessed in the Apostle’s Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried.

That’s it – pretty simple and straightforward: Jesus Christ suffered under Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. It would be some time later, indeed centuries later in many cases, before major debates arose about the meaning of these simple words.

Today the atonement is often a matter for intense debate, especially among conservative Protestants. More than fifteen centuries of time have allowed Christian thinkers to offer various doctrinal interpretations of what “Christ’s death” […]

Creating Out of a Deep Sense of the Transcendent

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:14-05:00August 30th, 2013|Categories: ACT 3, Books, Culture, Current Affairs, Leadership, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, The Church, The Future|

Author Robert Fritz, in his book The Path of Least Resistance, offers what the publisher calls “a revolutionary program for creating anything, from a functional kitchen to a computer program, to a work of art.” Fritz demonstrates that all of us have the innate power to create. Until I read his book I would have seriously doubted this particular claim since I thought creativity was almost always limited to rare individual with unique skills and insights.

Fritz believes that we can discover functional steps of creating. (I shared these several days ago.) The important thing is that we see the importance of creating what you truly love and then learn to focus on the creative process. This is what can move us from where we are to where we want to be. This process is not mystical or magical.

Using as an analogy the scientific principle that energy follows the path of least resistance, Fritz writes an easily assimilated self-help book which argues that just as wind moves around natural obstructions, seeking the path of least resistance, so we […]

Why Should We Create? The Musings of a Missional-Ecumenist Filled with Hope

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:15-05:00August 29th, 2013|Categories: ACT 3, Books, Culture, Current Affairs, Leadership, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, The Church, The Future|

I’ve been attempting, over the last few days, to show how important it is to develop the ability to create as a pattern of life rather than simply living as a problem solver. This is particularly true with regard to my big, audacious, imaginative, and Spirit-driven, vision of missional-ecumenism. How can the church in general, and church leaders in particular, imagine a new future that is very different from the past? Simply put, “Why would you create anything?”

What actually motivates the creator is “the desire for the creation to exist” (58) says Robert Fritz in The Place of Least Resistance. Emotions will change, rising and falling, but this desire to create remains steady when you have grasped the end for which you wish to create. “A creator creates in order to bring the creation into being.” You create not for a return on investment, or to please everyone (or anyone) else, but rather because you see the need, or the end purpose, for its own sake. Poet Robert Frost, a highly creative person himself, wrote, “All the […]