CHARIS kai EIRENE

About Xαρις και Eιρηνη

Xαρις και Eιρηνη is a blog written from the perspective of a Lutheran student studying for the pastoral ministry. It's title means Grace and Peace, a common greeting in St. Paul's letters and I think, a two-word summary of what Jesus Christ has won for me.

Ephesians 2:4-5

Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Romans 5:1-3

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

Colossians 4:5-6

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Art.XV, 21

The Fathers had these reasons for maintaining the rites, and for these reasons we also judge it to be right that traditions [good customs] be maintained. And we [Lutherans] are greatly surprised that our adversaries, contrary to the entire Scriptures of the Apostles, contrary to the Old and New Testaments contend for another design of traditions, namely, that they may merit the remission of sins, grace, or justification.

2.08.2008

Disappointed, Not Surprised

I remember back in high school when my Latin professor put forth his thoughts about the work of the Christian church in coming generations. He recalled how one of his seminary professors told his graduating class, with grave sincerity, that he did not envy them. Their work would be harder than his, he said, because of the progressive abandonmentment of religion in the general population. My professor verbalized the same sentiment to us. And I bet I'll be saying the same thing to a younger generation someday. As far as Biblical literacy goes, we've essentially given it up. The fact has implications in the work of pastors and teachers as well as laypeople with a desire to evangelize. If you've ever felt worried that you didn't know enough, let me reassure you. You know way more than most. Take a look at this article from National Public Radio:

Understanding the Gospel According to Huckabee
By Barbara Bradley Hagerty

If you heard Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's victory speech on Super Tuesday, you may have noticed him speaking in what is almost a separate dialect. Some listeners have even asked us what he was talking about. So NPR headed off to the National Mall in search of people who understood Huckabee's biblical allusions. It proved almost as hard as getting a camel through the eye of a needle.

. . .

"Sometimes," the former Arkansas governor told his supporters, "one small smooth stone is even more effective than a whole lot of armor."

"Maybe something to do with the war," guessed Dan Booth, who was visiting from Alabama.

"He's talking about peace, the resolution of peace?" ventured his friend Mike Allen.

Actually, Huckabee was comparing himself to the shepherd boy David, who slayed the giant Goliath with one smooth stone right in the forehead. Only one person knew that one — a disconcerting record as we moved into advanced "Huckabese."

. . .

"Half of Americans can't name any of the four Gospels, and that includes the Christians," Prothero says. "And half don't know that Genesis is the first book of the Bible. Those are much easier questions than things like, you know, 'what's the loaves and the fishes story?'"

. . .

posted by LutheranStudent @ 16:54

1 Comments:

At February 8, 2008 5:30 PM, Anonymous said…

Your title says it all. Disappointed, but not surprised.