Category Archives: Christianity

WHEATON, GOD, AND ISLAM

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If you are following the news, you are well aware of the Wheaton professor who has been put on leave pending a review of her theological position.  I won’t comment on the controversy directly as some details are still forthcoming.  What I will offer are quotes (both made long before the present controversy) by two theologians followed by my own reflections.

Miroslav Volf: “…all Christians don’t worship the same God, and all Muslims don’t worship the same God. But I think that Muslims and Christians who embrace the normative traditions of their faith refer to the same object, to the same Being, when they pray, when they worship, when they talk about God. The referent is the same. The description of God is partly different.”

Timothy George: “Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad? The answer is surely Yes and No. Yes, in the sense that the Father of Jesus is the only God there is. … Christians and Muslims can together affirm many important truths about this great God—his oneness, eternity, power, majesty. … But the answer is also No, for Muslim theology rejects the divinity of Christ and the personhood of the Holy Spirit—both essential components of the Christian understanding of God. … Apart from the Incarnation and the Trinity, it is possible to know that God is, but not who God is.”

My thoughts: Trinitarianism doesn’t make God “partly different” contra Miroslav Volf. Timothy George’s statement is irenic and clarifies the seminal issue.  Yes, we are called to love. Jesus made that eminently clear. But a call to love is not a call to blur crucial theological realities. Volf likes to use the description of “sufficiently similar” when it comes to Christian and Muslim’s view of God.  This strikes me as special pleading.

 

 

AYN RAND

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From Ayn Rand: “Listen to what is being preached today. Look at everyone around us. You’ve wondered why they suffer, why they seek happiness and never find it. If any man stopped and asked himself whether he’s ever held a truly personal desire, he’d find the answer. He’d see that all his wishes, his efforts, his dreams, his ambitions are motivated by other men. He’s not really struggling even for material wealth, but for the second-hander’s delusion—prestige.”
It is interesting to see this in light of my present study of Jeremiah.  Jeremiah makes it clear that there are really only two options: follow God or follow idols.  If you do the latter, then shame will be your forever bedfellow. 

So Rand is correct that there are two options: caring what other folks think or not.  Her “how not to care about other people’s view of you” is very different than the Bible’s, but she gets that there is a true dichotomy.

PREPARATION

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As heirs of the Protestant Reformation, we revel in God’s grace.  This is a good thing.  However, any good thing can become a bad thing if we forget other important truths.  We don’t have to work for our salvation, but we are to work it out (Phil 2:12,13).  It was the grace of God which motivated Paul to work hard (II Tim. 2:1-7).

Whenever I see someone going to great lengths to be the best they can be, I am humbled by Paul’s statement that many do it for a perishable wreath while we run for an imperishable one (I Cor. 9:24-27).  When I see someone giving intense effort and focus to something other than building up God’s kingdom I am humbled by my apathy.  Here is a good example of what intense focus looks like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy8Noy0qt3k