Justin Taylor's Blog, page 183

Propaganda’s “Be Present”

You can download for free the album Excellent from Propaganda and  Humble Beast.

Or you can support the art and artist by purchasing a copy.

http://humblebeast.com/downloads/exce...

“Precious Puritans” has gotten most of the attention, with defenders and detractors weighing in. But perhaps the most convicting song, for most of us, will be “Be Present.”

You can watch a live performance from Catalyst below.

Has the Roman Catholic Church Modified the Authoritative Councils of Trent?

Chris Castaldo:

The notion that Rome doesn’t modify authoritative teaching such as the articles and canons of Trent is, with all due respect, out of step with reality. If you were looking for an example of a church that hasn’t changed for over a millennium, you’ll want to consider Eastern Orthodox Churches, not Rome. In the words of Calvin Scholar A.N.S. Lane,

The Roman Catholic Church, by contrast, has in the last generation changed more than the great majority of Protestant churches. This reality is often obscured by the Roman method of changing, which is not to disown the past but to reinterpret it. If we expect the Roman Church to disown Trent we will have a long wait; if we want to see Trent reinterpreted, we need only look around.

Before looking specifically at Trent, let us consider what might be the most vivid illustration of how Rome modifies her doctrine. Ever since Pope Boniface VIII promulgated Unam Sanctam in 1302, the Catholic Church has unequivocally asserted that there is “no salvation outside of the [Catholic] Church” (extra Ecclesiam nulla salus). Boniface pressed the idea more vigorously than his predecessors by declaring that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff. The less audacious version actually reaches back to Cyprian in the third century. It is among the most basic affirmations of the Catholic tradition and therefore it is employed with full authority; however, the meaning is now radically different from what it has been in previous centuries. You might say it’s a 180 degree difference. Read through the lens of Vatican II, it now means that sincere Buddhists and even atheists can be saved (Lumen Gentium 2:16; Gaudium et spes 22). The belief that God desires salvation to reach all people, coupled with the conviction that such redemption may occur through Jesus Christ apart from one’s conscious awareness, led Rome to develop her teaching on this point in a much different direction from what it originally seemed to say.

A tangible, if not dramatic, example of this sort of revision unfolded in Boston in 1949 (before Vatican II) when a zealous Catholic priest, Father Feeney of Boston, insisted on the traditional interpretation of extra Ecclesiam nulla salus (that only Catholics can be saved). After an extended period of warnings, Feeney was excommunicated by Rome as an obstinate rigorist. Thus, the church excommunicated a priest for holding a traditional interpretation, while it simultaneously asserted that the doctrine remains the same (semper eadem). This is how the Roman Catholic Church implements doctrinal revision: it retains the formulation while interpreting its meaning in a different light.

After the Council of Trent (1545-63), previous councils were naturally understood through the lens of Trent. The Tridentine grid became normative for Catholic teaching and remained such for four hundred years. Vatican I (1869-70) continued in the same vein. Then came Vatican II (1963-65) and a new interpretive filter was introduced. Where Trent stated that Protestants (who maintain sola fide and resist the authority of Rome) are lost, Vatican II introduced hermeneutical categories that call this conclusion into question.

How do these interpretive categories work? Catholic theologian Hans Küng provides an example when he claims of Trent that “the Church. . . never looked at these decisions as rigid and frozen formulations, but rather as living signposts for continued research. . . .” This is the sort of theologizing for which Catholic scholars are famous. “Living signposts,” what does that mean? I haven’t a clue. The point for us to grasp is that statements of Catholic doctrine are not simply defined according to the intent of the original author (as we evangelicals are accustomed to doing exegesis); they are rather understood and applied according to contemporary perspectives.

Castaldo goes on to look at the suggestion that the Catechism of the Catholic Church unambiguously reaffirms the Tredentine teaching, and answers “Yes and no.”

Castaldo thinks that “the Catholic method of re-appropriating its doctrine through a developmental hermeneutic is problematic on an ethical level.” The result is that “the Catholic Church has painted herself into a corner by investing magisterial conclusions with an immutable character such that she isn’t able to say, ‘We were wrong.’” But it also behooves us as evangelicals to point out this problem and to deal with where they are at today.

You can read the whole thing here.

Free Audiobook: “What Is the Mission of the Church?”

Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert’s excellent book, What Is the Mission of the Church? Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission, is available for free audio download this month from Christian Audio.

Old Story New: 10 Minutes Devotionals for Your Family (60% Off)

This is excellent, faithful, gospel-centered material, warmly recommended for parents, children, and families!

What Was Luther Doing When He Nailed His 95 Theses to the Wittenberg Door?

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On Saturday, October 31, 1517, a 33-year-old theology professor at Wittenberg University walked over to the Castle Church in Wittenberg and nailed a paper of 95 theses to the door, hoping to spark an academic discussion about their contents. In God’s providence and unbeknownst to anyone else that day, it would become a key event in igniting the Reformation.

Carl Trueman—who wrote his dissertation on Luther’s Legacy, teaches on Luther’s life and theology, and is writing a book on Luther on the Christian Life—answered some questions for us.

Had Luther ever done this before—nail a set of theses to the Wittenberg door? If so, did previous attempts have any impact?

I am not sure if he had ever nailed up theses before, but he had certainly proposed sets of such for academic debate, which was all he was really doing on October 31, 1517. In fact, in September of that same year, he had led a debate on scholastic theology where he said far more radical things than were in the Ninety-Five Theses. Ironically, this earlier debate, now often considered the first major public adumbration of his later theology, caused no real stir in the church at all.

What was the point of nailing something to the Wittenberg door? Was this a common practice?

It was simply a convenient public place to advertise a debate, and not an unusual or uncommon practice. In itself, it was no more radical than putting up an announcement on a public notice board.

What precisely is a “thesis” in this context?

A thesis is simply a statement being brought forward for debate.

What was an “indulgence”?

An indulgence was a piece of paper, a certificate, which guaranteed the purchaser (or the person for whom the indulgence was purchased) that a certain amount of time in purgatory would be remitted as a result of the financial transaction.

At this point did Luther have a problem with indulgences per se, or was he merely critiquing the abuse of indulgences?

This is actually quite a complicated question to answer.

First, Luther was definitely critiquing what he believes to be an abuse of indulgences. For him, an indulgence could have a positive function; the problem with those being sold by Johann Tetzel in 1517 is that remission of sin’s penalty has been radically separated from the actual repentance and humility of the individual receiving the same.

Second, it would appear that the Church herself was not clear on where the boundaries were relative to indulgences, and so Luther’s protest actually provoked the Church into having to reflect upon her practices, to establish what was and was not legitimate practice.

Was Luther trying to start a major debate by nailing these to the door?

The matter was certainly one of pressing pastoral concern for him. Tetzel was not actually allowed to sell his indulgences in Electoral Saxony (the territory where Wittenberg was located) because Frederick the Wise, Luther’s later protector, had his own trade in relics. Many of his parishioners, however, were crossing over into the neighboring territory of Ducal Saxony, where Tetzel was plying his trade.

Luther had been concerned about the matter of indulgences for some time. Thus, earlier in 1517, he had preached on the matter and consulted others for their opinions on the issue. By October, he was forced by the pastoral situation to act.

Having said all that, Luther was certainly not intending to split the church at this point or precipitate the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy into conflict and crisis. He was simply trying to address a deep pastoral concern.

Was Luther a “Protestant” at this point? Was he a “ Lutheran “ ?

No, on both counts. He himself tells us in 1545 that, in 1517, he was a committed Catholic who would have murdered—or at least been willing to see murder committed—in the name of the Pope. There is some typical Luther hyperbole there, but the theology of the Ninety-Five Theses is not particularly radical, and key Lutheran doctrines, such as justification by grace through faith alone, are not yet present. He was an angry Catholic, hoping that, when the Pope heard about Teztel, he would intervene to stop the abuse.

How did that act of nailing these theses to the door ignite the Reformation?

On one level, I am inclined to say “Goodness only knows.” As a pamphlet of popular revolution, it is, with the exception of the occasional rhetorical flourish, a remarkably dull piece of work which requires a reasonably sound knowledge of late medieval Catholic theology and practice even to understand many of its statements. Nevertheless, it seems to have struck a popular chord, being rapidly translated into German and becoming a bestseller within weeks. The easy answer is, therefore, “By the providence of God”; but, as a historian, I always like to try to tie things down to some set of secondary or more material causes.

Certainly, it was used in a way that appealed to popular anti-clericalism, resentment of the Roman curia, and a desire to stop money flowing out of German speaking territories to Rome. Yet, even so, the revolutionary power of such a technical composition is, in retrospect, still quite surprising.

For those today who want to read the 95 Theses, what would you recommend?

The place to start is probably Stephen Nichols’s edition (with an introduction and notes).

Nevertheless, if you really want to understand Luther’s theology, and why it is important, you will need to look beyond the Ninety-Five Theses. Probably the best place to start would be Robert Kolb and Charles P. Arand, The Genius of Luther’s Theology.

The illustrations above, painted by Greg Copeland, are used by permission of Concordia Publishing House and found in Paul Maier’s excellent book for older kids, Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World.

Some Free eBooks and Lectures on Reformation Day

Today only, you can download for free (in multiple electronic formats) the eBook for Greg Forster’s excellent The Joy of Calvinism: Knowing God’s Personal, Unconditional, Irresistible, Unbreakable Love (Crossway).

Today only, you can download for free the MP3s and video files for R. C. Sproul’s 10-lesson series on Luther and the Reformation, along with a Study Guide (PDF).

At any time you can download for free (in multiple formats) an eBook by John Piper on Martin Luther: Lessons from His Life and Labor. (You can also listen to the original audio version here.)

Desiring God is also making available three free eBooks on John Calvin:

With Calvin in the Theater of God , edited by John Piper and David Mathis
John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God , by John Piper
Portrait of Calvin , by T. H. L. Parker; foreword by John Piper

 

 

Reformed African American Network

I love the guys behind the Reformed African American Network and their vision for networking and reformation.

Inside Calvin’s Church in Geneva

“After Darkness, Light,” from Desiring God:

3-2-1 Gospel Presentation

This is excellent, from Glenn Scrivner of Three-Two-One:

Homosexuality and the Modern Church

A wide-ranging interview with Dr. Robert Gagnon by Tony Reinke of the Authors on the Line podcast:

The Church in a Homosexual Culture: An Interview with Robert Gagnon (32 minutes)

What are the biblical and the structural prerequisites for a sexual union that magnifies God and honors his created design?
From that, what constitutes sinful sexual practices?
Does the Bible say anything about gender reassignment surgery?
Is homosexuality a modern phenomenon? Just how pervasive was homosexuality in the Greco-Roman world of the Apostle Paul?
By voting yes to the Minnesota Marriage Amendment, are Christians oppressing the freedoms of the gay and lesbian community? Why or why not?
What advice do you have for churches seeking to preach against the sin of homosexuality, and make sure the church doors are wide open and welcoming to all those in the homosexual community?

Same-Sex Temptations in the Church: An Interview with Robert Gagnon (30 minutes)

What role does the Church play in demythologizing sexuality in modern culture?
In the life of a professing Christian, what makes homosexual practice “an act of unbelief”?
Should we be okay with a professing believer who self-identifies as “a celibate gay Christian”?
What advice do you have for Christian parents who are fearful that their children will experience same-sex attraction in the teen years?
What are churches doing well in engaging those who struggle with same-sex attraction? What are churches doing poorly?
What guiding principles will help us to love and reach out to our homosexual neighbors?