How does the New Testament interpret the Old?

Sep 24, 2008
Here is an interesting quiz.  See which view is closest to your own.
My understanding is shown in the box below.
You can click in the box to take the quiz yourself.
(Thanks to Darrell Pursiful for pointing this out.)
NT Use of the OT — Test Your View!
Single Meaning, Multiple Contexts and Referents view

You seem to be most closely aligned with the Single Meaning, Multiple Contexts and Referents view, a view defended by Darrell L. Bock in the book “Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament” (edited by Kenneth Berding and Jonathan Lunde, Nov. 2008). This view affirms the singular nature of the meanings intended by the OT and NT authors when OT texts are cited in the NT. In spite of this essential unity in meaning, however, the words of the OT authors frequently take on new dimensions of significance and are found to apply appropriately to new referents and new situations as God’s purposes unfold in the larger canonical context. Often, these referents were not in the minds of the OT authors when they penned their texts. For more info, see the book, or attend a special session devoted to the topic at the ETS Annual Meeting in Providence, RI (Nov. 2008); Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Darrell L. Bock, and Peter Enns will all present their views.

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by Quibblo

Comments Off | hermeneutics | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

Election Issues from an Evangelical perspective.

Sep 19, 2008

Without taking sides, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada recently posted a list of 10 key issues that Christians should consider when voting in the upcoming election.  Each topic has a background paper along with relevant questions to ask.  While this list of issues is aimed at Canadian voters, Americans would find them relevant to their election as well.

I have provided a sample below of what the EFC has provided us.  The rest of the articles can be accessed by clicking on one of the links provided below

EFC Election Kit 2008: Fact Sheet on The Environment

Protecting the Planet

God’s love and care for creation is evident throughout the Scriptures. It is also clear that God delights in His entire creation, not just the parts relevant or useful to people. All things in heaven and on earth, spiritual and physical, are His handiwork. Humans were not created separate from the physical creation. Rather, we are part of it. We were created by God along with all the other things and living creatures, and God created humankind to be stewards of His creation. Individually and collectively, we are accountable to God for what we do with and on this earth.

Questions to ask on this issue:

  • What measures do you propose to protect the environment in Canada and to ensure Canada does its part to protect the environment globally?

Here are the issues in alphabetical order.

The Environment

Family Integrity

Freedom of Religion in Canada

Global Poverty Reduction

National Unity and Reconciliation

Poverty and Homelessness

Prostitution and Human Trafficking

Refugees

Religious Freedom Internationally

Respect for Human Life

Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off | Evangelical, Politics | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

Confused about Acts 19: 1-7 – Conclusion

Sep 19, 2008

I had posted in my previous post about how I had been confused about why Paul expected to see some sort of visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit in new believers.  Thanks everyone for their comments.  Here are my own conclusions that have come from as a result of your interactions, both on this blog, as well as in private conversations.  (It also helped that my Pastor preached on a similar topic last Sunday.)

1.  Early Christians thought possession of the Holy Spirit was outwardly recognizable.

2.  This outwardly recognizability could come in a number of forms, and should not be restricted to what immediately occured in Acts 19.  (Speaking in tongues and prophesying.)

3.  We cannot put the Holy Spirit in a box.  “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8

4.  For every rule there is an exception.

5.  Many Christians today would not be easily identifiable because they lack either the manifestations or fruit of the Holy Spirit.

6.  More Christians need to be seeking what God has for them through the ministry of his Holy Spirit.  (I include myself in this list.)

7.  How much more effective our churches would be if people could point to us and say. “I know that these people are Christians, because it shows itself in their lives in these many ways.”

I am still doing lots of thinking in this area.  My points are very abbreviated here because I don’t think that I am yet able to fully flesh them out.

Comments Off | Holy Spirit | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

Confused about Acts 19: 1-7

Sep 8, 2008

This is a sincere question for those of you in cyberspace who read my blog.

I have been thinking a lot recently about Acts 19 and what it means.  More specifically, why does Paul ask the disciples he finds in Ephesus, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

The only reasonable explanation that I can come up with is that Paul’s expectation was that there was some sort of experience of the Holy Spirit that Paul expected that the disciples would be able to recognize.

Imagine if we were to ask the same question today of Christians.  What would the response be?  With the exception of the answer, “Yes, because my Pastor told me I did,”  What other indications would a new believer have that he had received the Holy Spirit when he or she believed?

Paul then baptizes the disciples, places his hands on them and they begin to speak in tongues and prophesy.

If Paul was to re-ask them if they had received the Holy Spirit.  What would there response have been?  “Yes, because we spoke in tongues and prophesied.”

Am I missing something here?  Why does this look so different from our present experience?  I admit that what I have expressed here does not look that different from a Pentecostal or even Christian and Missionary Alliance Theology.  But what does a Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian or Anglican do with these verses?

Again, this is a sincere question, as I do really want to have a better understanding of the passage.  Any feedback I get would be really appreciated.

Here is the passage below for reference.

Acts 19

Paul in Ephesus

1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[a] you believed?”
They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”
“John’s baptism,” they replied.

4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

Any feedback is appreciated.

17 Comments | Holy Spirit | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

An Evangelical Revolution?

Sep 2, 2008

E. J. Dionne Jr.  has an excellent article on The New Evangelical Politics. He writes:

Anyone who still doubts that the evangelical Christian world is going through a political revolution was not watching Pastor Rick Warren’s presidential forum this weekend. The era of reducing Christianity to a narrow set of ideological commitments is over.

Just a few years ago, who would have imagined that Barack Obama and John McCain would hold a discussion of this sort in a church? Who would have thought that the session would be moderated by an evangelical pastor who was emphatic in counting both the Democrat and the Republican as his “friends”? Who would have predicted that in such a setting, the issues of abortion and gay marriage would not dominate the pastor’s queries? …

In 2004, Warren took the view that Christians should vote on a short list of “nonnegotiable” issues, including abortion. But in 2006, on Fox News, of all places, Warren declared: “Jesus’s agenda is far bigger than just one or two issues. . . . We have to care about poverty, we have to care about disease, we have to care about illiteracy, we have to care about corruption in government, sex trafficking.” That is the new politics of evangelical Christianity.

Read the article then come back and let Eclectic Christian know what you think.

8 Comments | Evangelical, mega-church, Politics, poverty | Permalink
Posted by eclecticguest

New domain for Eclectic Christian.

Sep 2, 2008

You can now find us at http://eclecticchristian.com

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Posted by Eclectic Christian

Counting Canada’s Christians – Part 2 – Anecdotally

Sep 2, 2008

Recently I was asked by someone to comment on his statement that “Roman Catholics are not Christians.” I find that this is a blanket statement with which I do NOT agree. I wish to show evidence for my disagreement both statistically and anecdotally.

In the first part I looked at the question statistically, primarily using data from Statistics Canada, and from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

In this second part I will focus on an anecdotal analysis.

2. Andecotal Analysis

I feel I need to offer a bit of a disclaimer, largely because of some comments that I got in part 1. I am not a Catholic, I am an Evangelical Protestant. I am not a Catholic because there are a number of Catholic doctrines that I do not believe in, and what I believe is very important to me. In my mind, some of these differences are significant, others are minor. I don’t feel it is important to list the differences here as I don’t really want to get into arguments about what should or shouldn’t be in the lists.

I would also like to reiterate from part 1, that salvation is found only through faith in Jesus Christ. What I like to look for in a person, is a definite commitment to faith in Christ, adherence to the early basic creeds of Christianity (I am sorry, but if you don’t affirm the divinity of Christ then you are not a Christian), and I look for the fruit of the Spirit. (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self control) Of course, only God knows a person’s heart, and when the final judgment comes I am sure that I am going to find surprises on both sides of the ledger.

In that final judgment, one of my biggest surprises is going to be how many things I got wrong. Even in those areas where I am pretty sure I have my theology right there is likely to be a few shocks.   So when I write what I write, I do it with a certain amount of humbleness knowing that just because I disagree with someone, doesn’t mean that I am right.  The other person may be right, or we may both be wrong.

Much of my theology I find has been shaped by reaction against what I have seen in my own previous traditions.  I have found that those who have left a particular tradition tend to be its strongest critics as they are so focused on what was bad in their old tradition that they cannot see the good.  As anyone who has read my profile knows, I have appreciated much from the various traditions to which I have been exposed, but in some cases it took a long time to focus on the good that I experienced in a particular tradition, and focus less on the bad.  This tendency to focus on the negative of a previous tradition was very well described by C. Michael Patton in his post Converting from Evangelicalism a few weeks ago.  He wrote:

From what I have seen, converts are sometimes the most unable to see things with a balanced perspective. Because of their belief that their previous faith commitments betrayed them, they approach issues as “enlightened” warriors against those former allegiances. The problem is that they normally wear their bitterness on their sleeve and this further taints the glasses that they think they are not wearing.

He goes on to say that:

Misrepresentation, ironically, abounds in these circumstances. They feel as if being a convert gives them a pass to say anything they want. “Don’t tell me what they believe, I used to be one!”

So how does this relate to this post.  I have known both Evangelicals who have become Catholics and Catholics who have become Evangelicals.    I have been told by some former Roman Catholics what Roman Catholics believe.  Are they accurate in their assessments?  I really am not a good one to judge, as I have so little experience in this area, but my feeling is that generally their objectivity has been been clouded by their previous experiences.

Take the topic of Mary worship for example.  Do Catholics worship Mary?  Some former Roman Catholics say yes.   Catholic doctrine says no, she is to be venerated but not worshipped.  Maybe some do worship Mary, but my own experience has been that the Roman Catholics that I have come in contact with over the years have not done so.

Let me introduce you to two of them.

Read the rest of this entry »

4 Comments | catholic, church life, Eclectic Christian, Evangelical, faith | Permalink
Posted by Eclectic Christian

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