Territorial Bloggings

I’m sure it won’t surprise you to hear (read?) me state that I prefer to keep a Lutheran focus when I post about things theological; however, that statement shouldn’t be interpreted to mean that I only read Lutheran/Lutheran-related info. Rather, I try to read things that are of reasonable utility from the larger arena of contemporary theology, if for no other reason than to be able to identify trends that will eventually have to be dealt with in Lutheran circles.

Every so often, then, a nugget of theological truth emerges from the vast sea of American Evangelicalism, such that I’m hopeful that all is not as bleak as I often fear. Today’s BreakPoint Commentary from Chuck Colson is one of those nuggets! Colson’s commentaries are generally “ok” — albeit a little too political for my taste. He tends to fall prey to the error of mixing the Kingdoms of the Right and Left, which is not surprising, I guess, given his American Evangelical/”neo-con” bent.

Today’s commentary, though, is chock full of good, meaningful, stuff. I’ll whet your appetite with a few select quotes, so that you’ll be willing to go and read the whole thing…

It’s difficult to celebrate Communion together when the participants don’t share a common understanding of words like salvation, resurrection, marriage, or even God.

The first is Akinola’s insistence that “unity of doctrine [precedes] unity of worship.” Or, Allison put it, “stronger stuff” than “appeals to human emotions” are what holds a church together.

If we’re honest with ourselves, a lot of evangelical churches also avoid the “stronger stuff.” In this day of seeker-driven churches, what would people answer if you asked them to define resurrection, salvation, marriage, or God? Do we really want to know?

This is very insightful commentary. While the commentary is, as I’m sure you can tell, about the Anglicans, I agree with Colson that it is instructive for any/all of us. It’s well worth the little bit of time it’ll take to check it out.

-ghp