some theses for today

...According to Larry, that is. I was reading Vox and some other commenters said the dude has a penchant for theology, so I figured I check his site out. There's an interesting list of theses for today over there. Some are spot on, some I disagree sharply with, some are hard to understand, some are just weird and must refer to contemporary fads that I'm not aware of or something, and most are general stuff that I don't react much one way or the other to. I agree with most I think, and I like his general bent toward the separation of Christianity from politics, economics, pet ideologies, sworn enemies, etc. There are a few oddities in there, but hey, in a list of 98 there's bound to be. Since I have some time on my hands I'll grab a handful that jump out at me and repost them here.

5. Men and women can both be called to any position within the church.

Um, no. I still can't help but be a little surprised when people claim this. Ref. 1 Tim 3 for starters..."the husband of but one wife"..."men worthy of respect"...seems clear enough to me.

8. The world exists for the church, not the church for the world.

Hmmn...I'm not sure I agree with either of those, but the second is surely closer to the truth than the first. If God is redeeming and will ultimately redeem all of creation, and the Church is one of his means of doing so, then doesn't the church exist for the world? The first view seems to represent an overly large and generous view of man in light of all of creation and God's plan. God is the centerpiece here, not man.

15. The church no longer needs a hierarchy to function, modern communications and transportation provide everything we need to establish orthodoxy and cooperation.

Seems to me that the church either needs a hierarchy or doesn't need one; I fail to see where modern conveniences are relevant to the argument. I think a limited hierarchy is beneficial in that it tends to keep teaching more in line with commonly accepted doctrine, but there are certainly plenty of examples of bad hierarchies out there too. The question is up for debate, but I don't see how communication and transportation would come down against one side or the other.

20. There is no such thing as “just war”.

Nope, and it sure sounds like a pacifism argument to me. As Colson says, there can't be peace without order. And in a sinful world, conflict will necessarily precede order and will remain necessary to maintain order. Does this go to the level of war? Yes, when those opposed to peace and order are entrenched enough to escalate it to such a level, and if I'm right then war is necessary under some circumstances -- not those commonly used as an excuse for it, of course, but if we as Christians are called to stand up for the helpless and seek to make the world a better place (by bringing about peace and respect for all people, for example) for our fellow man, then there's no way around the necessity of war in doing so.

22. Revelation is the only hope we have of obtaining certain knowledge.

It's a general statement, but I like the twinge of Calvinism that's inherent in it.

24. We are called to love all of creation, including homosexuals, democrats, and Sam Harris.

Right on, humorous enough to repost here.

27. Our identity as Christians is only defined by our relationships within the body of Christ.

What!? That strikes me as so grossly wrong that I figure I must be misinterpreting it. Our identity as Christians undoubtedly entails how we view and deal with the entire world around us, not just with other Christians. But I don't see how the thesis encompasses that.

37. Abortion is not the issue, a culture that fears and worships death is the issue.

Sure, that's part of it, but I think a bigger part is the desire to not be inconvenienced by the consequences of one's actions. Like it or not, we have to live with the results of our decisions, whether good or bad. It seems to me that a huge part of most people's lives revolves around how they (we?) can somehow "beat the system" and make this law of the universe not apply to their lives. Good luck with that...

57. Christian art should be the best art, not insipid paintings of cottages and sappy music.

True, but try telling that to someone in the "Christian stuff" industry. Seems there's a gimmicky "holy" version of everything "they" have these days. That doesn't make us different or better off, it just makes us copycats. And bad ones at that.

68. If a pastor needs bodyguards to deliver a sermon, he is most likely not preaching the gospel.

Interesting statement, not sure how to take it. If he's saying that the use of bodyguards implies a lack of trust in God's protection of his servants, then I at least see where he's coming from. But if he's saying a sermon should always be well-received or at least should not antagonize anyone enough to get the preacher attacked...well, that's just bunk. Being nice and loving people aren't the same thing.

71. “Just War” doctrine is a failure, something better is needed.

Geez. See #20. I'm convinced now, this guy is definitely a pacifist.

80. Marriage is a rite of the church, it is not any of the government’s business who participates.

Amen! It's great to see this concept being advocated by more and more people.

81. Justification is not by faith alone.

Whoa...I'd expect even Arminians to disagree with that (and be inconsistent in doing so). Very strange statement, I'd guess it comes out of a belief in the faith+works tenet of Catholicism. But not being one who understands all that much about Catholicism I can't go far with that.

98. Sola Scriptura has failed, as witnessed by hundreds of denominations all claiming to be Sola Scriptura.

Wow. So let's get this straight...the failure of sinners (grouped in denominations) to agree with one another or be perfectly correct in their interpretation of all aspects of Scripture proves that the doctrine of Sola Scriptura must be wrong. Just like the misunderstanding and misuse of the Bible by various cults over the centuries proves that the Bible must be flawed, right? Uh, yeah, that argument holds water just great.

And in the "very true and should be very obvious, yet very lost on too much of the church-going population, and just look at the results around us" category, we have...

19. The church should make disciples, not converts.
36. The church affects the culture by changing the people, not changing the politics.
46. The US, particularly the US government, is not Christian.
49. Material wealth does not imply God’s blessing.
50. Poverty does not imply God’s curse.
76. Patriotism is not a Christian virtue.
85. It is through suffering that we become more like God and Christ.
92. The size of your church is not a measure of your faithfulness.
96. The gospel of Jesus is truly radical, now no less than in the first century, it in no way supports the current status quo.

There are others I could say more on in there, but it's getting late and I've already piled up a rather large mound of popcorn comments. Overall a good list, perhaps lacking on occasion but generally reliable and indicative of someone who at least has the intelligence to think through things enough to come up with 98 theses in the first place.