Faith Seeking Understanding

Today I had a opportunity to talk with one of my professors, Hans Boersma, about a number of spiritual-intellectual that issues I have been wrestling with. The issues revolve primarily around the proper method of the interpretation of the Scriptures (hermeneutics), issues regarding intellectual certainty and faith in the doctrines derived from Scriptures (epistemology, particularly regarding modernist foundationalism), and the certainty of faith and how one goes about studying so as to grow one's own faith and convictions in the universal truth of the Christian message and tradition.

Some particular issues I've been recently exposed to and need to spend a lot of time studying and thinking about are: the Scripture's relationship to tradition and the role 'tradition' plays in our interpreting, the nature of doctrine and knowledge, Authority (in terms of truth) and how the Bible is authoritative - how we are to live under its authority, and the Early and Medieval church's writings on all of these issues.

We had a great talk - it was really helpful for me to be able to express my questions, doubts, and frusterations, and to hear from a very respected, humble, godly theologian a bit of his own journey of faith, some of the theoretical questions that he still wrestles with, hear his critique of the postmodern movement of deconstructionism, and get his advice on how to move forward in exploring these questions. Here are three pieces of advice that really stuck in my mind. (***These are NOT quotes but my own memory and understanding of our conversation, so please take them as such. As much as I would never seek to misrepresent someone's thoughts and advice, my memory is as flawed as the next guy...)

1. Spend lots of time in the tradition of the church catholic and not so much in contemporary authors. Read Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Gregory of Nyssa, Iraneaus, Origen, Chrysostom, and others. Get to know the tradition thoroughly, understand what they were wrestling with and what they were saying.

2. Don't get so caught up on studying 'method', hermeneutics, and postmodern awareness of our own knowledge limitations. Humbly go to the past and expose yourself to the answers that the church has been giving for 2,000 years, spend time in theology, in the answers that have been given us. In that way you will take your eyes off of your own interpreting self (in a healthy way) and will humbly but confidently fix your eyes upon the object of faith: Christ.

3. Be patient with yourself. Don't rush. God knows that you are human, and to seek to get to know the entire Christian tradition and think through these issues takes a long time. God knows that. Don't rush spending time in plumbling the depths of our foundation of faith; don't limit/conform your studies because you need to "have all the answers" as soon as you are in a position of Christian leadership. Take these three years to study, read, think, pray, ponder, etc.

What a great bit of advice! It was very particular advice to where I am at in my struggles but I still hope that it might encourage you to - with me - ask questions honestly, seek truth sincerely, and know Christ more deeply thorugh his revelation in the Word and his church.

Is 50.10-11

Here's a beautiful verse that I came across today in Isaiah, one which was of great encouragement to me a couple years ago when I was struggling with a great deal of doubt about God, truth, how to know that I know true truths about God and not just constructed doctrines of man.

"Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment." -Is 50.10-11

Obedience & Faith

Psa. 1:1
Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

“But not only faith, perfect and complete in every way, but all right knowledge of God is born of obedience.”

- John Calvin

snowing in Vancouver....

Sorry for the lack of posts....my life has been crazy busy! here's a couple pics....

I love good backgrounds for my computer...

Here are some pictures that I took.....ok, maybe not....but I did do some editing on them.

By the way, I just posted more text below these pictures so read on... Peace!

Mary, Martha, and Francis

Wow, its been a while since I've posted. I just finished about a two week sprint of homework, projects, and tests. Its been hard but good. I feel (potentially) better prepared for finals knowing how I need to study between now and then.

One of the papers I wrote was on the historica Crusades and contemporary 'Crusader' rhetoric when certain journalists or politicians refer to Western foreign policy. My thesis paragraph was the following:

While there is much evidence that might characterize the West as historically ‘colonial’ in nature, the connection between the crusades and modern politics is deeply problematic. This in and of itself might be a small issue if it were not for the fact that this connection between the Crusades and modern politics is employed repeatedly in political dialogue regarding East-West tensions, and in the position of this paper, inappropriately. In contemporary political dialogue, the popular association of the Crusades with recent Western political intervention in the Middle East is largely a re-interpretation of history to further a political end. References to the historic Crusades as found in recent critiques of Western foreign policy (primarily American) are used to interpret current events as a part of a perceived historic aggression of the Christian West against Muslim lands that began with the Crusades and has continued unabated up unto the present.

It was a great paper to do research for but I procrasinated so much my final draft that I rushed the whole end of the paper and was fairly dissapointed with the final outcome. Bummer. Fortunately, I am doing my end-of-the-term history paper on a similar topic so a lot of my research crosses over.

The last week has been a great week of being exposed to moments of history of the Church and Christian leaders that I had never previously gotten to know in any significant way. This week we spent time learning about the High Middle Ages, Francis of Assisi, the Franciscan and Dominican orders, St. Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, and more. Its been great. Learning about the life of Francis of Assisi has been 'a gong show' (that's Canadian slang for huge, overwhelming, etc.)! He was such an incredible man - humble, innocent, full of joy, corageous, simple, cared for the poor and common people, choose to live in poverty for the sake of identifying with Christ, lived for heavenly reward and not earthly. We recently watched a movie called Brother Sun, Sistern Moon. It was a movie created in the 60's and it definately shows! But it was a really inspiring movie, great to watch with a group of friends and discuss afterwards. So I recommend it to ya'll back home in REAL... or at least the Garrett club.

Prayer Request: I am still unsure about what church I want to committ to being a part of so please pray for me that the Lord would give me discernment and peace about where to put down roots and get involved in ministry.

Well, I want to be a more regular blogger which means my blogs will need to be more frequent but shorter. So I'll end this here with a short quote from one of my readings. The author's name is Hilton (1370), who wrote a letter to a layman who wanted to become a monk. He writes to him to tell him to NOT give up his secular life and profession for that would be irresponsible and misguided charity towards God. Instead he must pursue "the mixed life" - a life characterized by both Mary and Martha pursuits...

"The mixed life was thus modelled by our Lord Himself as an example for those who take up the estate and calling of a mixed life... that [they] should give themselves to their worldly businesses in reasonable measure...such as may profit the people who are under their care...[and] they should make time for giving themselves entirely to contemplation, in devotion, prayer, and meditation...." And, "for such persons it is appropriate to labor and occupy themsleves inwardly in order to obtain through the grace of our Lord cleanness of heart and peace of conscience through the rejection of sin and the nourishing of spiritual virtues."

gooood message

Here's a message from the pastor of my new church St. John's Shaunessey.


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