So what's Monergism anyway? According to my alma mater (wikipedia): "Monergism describes the position in Christian theology of those who believe that God, through the Holy Spirit, works to bring about effectually the salvation of individuals through spiritual regeneration without cooperation from the individual." This post will contend that the gracious doctor taught … [Read more...]
Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans and the Unfair Gospel of Christian Bible
"We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore that we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort" - The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Article XI) (Anglican/Church of England) "we are justified "freely" or "by grace" through … [Read more...]
Mormons, Mennonites, Roman Catholics and the IKEA Gospel of Fairness
"With repentance we can steadily improve in our capacity to live the celestial law, for we recognize that “he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory” (D&C 88:22)." (Mormon) "Salvation is variously expressed, sometimes as 'justification by faith', in which case it means that the just person has accepted the offer of a … [Read more...]
Civic v. Spiritual Righteousness and the Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661-1662
In our society when something tragic or extreme happens – like the shooting in Colorado – it is portrayed as an horrific exception to the rule of the normative goodness of human beings. By comparison, in days gone by, things worked much differently. In a society which confessed the total depravity of man, when things were going well and there was a lack of egregious crimes, … [Read more...]
The Onion, The Middle-Class, and the Suppression of the Spiritual Franciscans
"one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." - Jesus (Lk. 12:15) This post was inspired by a story I read from the Onion today that was incredibly accurate in its satire. Every time I meet someone I know in the streets or see a person at a party, the question that almost immediately arises is "where are you working?" For Anglo-Americans work is a … [Read more...]