Crazy Theological Thoughts

I have been reading recently about Religious Literacy. This also brought about the topic of Biblical Literacy. Most of us know what literacy means: the ability to read and write. Cultural Literacy would mean: the ability to discuss, to read, and to write about things in a certain culture. Religious Literacy would mean: the ability to read, discuss, and write about various religions. Biblical Literacy would mean: the ability to read, discuss, and write concerning the entire Bible. These basically come down to how well do you know various Religions or the Bible. Some people have been inspired by this idea because so few people know the differences between what they believe and what others believe. What is the Difference between a Jew and a Muslim? What is the difference between a Mormon and a Christian? What is the difference between a Methodist and Catholic? What is the Difference between an LCMS Lutheran and an ELCA Lutheran? It will be difficult for us to discuss all of this...

I find it very important that people learn literacy. Some may say that it is a problem that people are biblically illiterate, but what about theologically or doctrinally illiterate. This is the point of Religious literacy. Christians not only need to know better what the bible says, but also what other people say about the bible. This would relate to cases like women's service in the church or relations between the old and New Testament. Some churches believe the bible allows for Women to be Pastors. Others do not allow women to vote or have a prominent role in their church at all. Some of these churches even show there influence from or for the Women's Movement or Women's Suffrage. I do not want to tell you at this time the complete problem with these arguments. But it is a part of Religious Literacy. Churches who struggle with reading the Old Testament in light of the New Testament also should teach there people why this is an issue. Is this an issue because Muslims view ...

These should be pretty simple for people. The Word of God is revealed to us in three different forms. The Incarnate Word of God is Jesus Christ our Lord. The Proclaimed Word of God is spoken by the Faithful. The Written Word of God is the Bible or Holy Scriptures. These are the three different forms of the Word of God. The question comes in should you rank these forms? Is one form better or greater than another form? Jesus Christ would have to be the chief form of the Word of God. This is because he is God. Jesus Christ is the chief form of the Word of God. But how do the other forms relate to one another. Can there be Christians without the Written Word of God? The answer is simply Yes because you can still have the proclaimed word of God shared. Can there be Christians without the Proclaimed Word of God? If you think of proclaimed as sharing the word of God with others and not just verbal or spoken then the answer would be: No. But if proclaimed Word of God is as define...

This is the high office of the Church. This office would reflect a connection between Apostles and Prophets with the Elder, Bishop, and Deacon of the New Testament. Therefore, you can say that when only the 10 are there in John 20 this applies to the Office of the Public Ministry. This could also support the claim that Matthew 28 extends to people outside of the 11 including the Office of the Public Ministry. God places people over his flock to feed his sheep. These people of become Anti-Christs and have become great Saints. These people have a difficult task. They are required to follow certain requirements. The overseer or Bishop is to be have the qualifications outlined in 1 Timothy. So also St Paul lists the qualifications of the deacons by saying likewise. It is very hard at times to make a distinction in the New Testament between Elders, Bishops, and Deacons. St Philip and St Stephen both preach and teach people about Jesus Christ's Death and Resurrection. These Deacons prove...

I have heard people over the years talk about becoming a Pastor. People who aspire to the Pastoral Office. But the more I look into it, there is no "Pastoral Office." The Bible gives us a list of things of which a pastor is just one small part. Pastors do not have the "Pastoral Office," but are part of the "Office of the Public Ministry." The Office of the Public Ministry is an office which includes Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers. I take this list from Ephesians 4. One could also say the Office of the Public Ministry is an office which includes Apostles, Prophets, Bishops, Elders, and Deacons. The problem with this understanding is protestant confusion over these various labels. Lutherans also have this same problem. But the problem is saying to congregations you have to call a Pastor. Congregations have to have preachers, pastors, or someone in the Pastoral office. But what if a Congregation called a Bishop? What if a congregat...

In reading through the Augsburg Confession, I have began to wonder whether the Confessional Lutheran Church could replace the term Mass and insert "the Sacrament." It almost seems like the Sacrament gives salvation rather than faith. The Sacrament is to remind us of the Sacrifice. Just as the Passover was to remind the Israelites of the event. The Kids are supposed to ask "Why Daddy?" The Confessional Lutheran Church seems to like to point to the means of Grace. They desire to place a strong emphasis on this point. I think it is great. The Means of Grace is what strengthens our faith and even establishes faith in us. But the Means of Grace is often defined as "the Word and Sacrament." I hope you caught that. We so often shorten the word "sins" into "sin." The use of a singular for the collective. I confessed my sin. Your sin condemns you. Sometimes we may use sinful. But the point is how easy it is to lose the "s." The Means o...

I have been taking some time recently to work on developing a New Lectionary. The RCL was developed as a three year Lectionary and has many flaws. Some people have taken up arms recently to use the Historic Lectionary. I have wondered for years why they developed a Three Year Lectionary. The Three Year Lectionary is has be influenced By Synoptic Reductionism. The use of the Gospel of St John in the Three year lectionary is significant (75% of John's Gospel). One would think that devoting an entire year to the Gospel of John would increase our focus on its uniqueness. This would also allow us to look at over shadowed texts in the Synoptics. The RCL advanced the Historic Lectionary even asking it to find Old Testament Lessons. This allowed Pastors to preach more on the Old Testament and see it as more than just some old books of Laws no longer relevant to our people. The Truth is that the Historic Lectionary uses a whopping 8% of the Old Testament in one Year. The RCL or more accurat...