Re: [asa] Advice for a Pastor

1) I was more concerned with the would-be teacher than with the pastor in this situation.

2) Yes, there is the civil use of the law in addition to the theological. (I don't think there's a distinctively 3d Christian use, a long-standing Lutheran-Reformed difference.) What's questionable about the "Jesus Creed" though is that it consists of nothing but law. There's no gospel there. & if that's a person's "creed" then it will ultimately function theologically to accuse. If you take seriously the command to love God with all your heart & mind & strength then you'll realize that you just can't do it. & there's nothing else in your creed to look to.

Besides, there's nothing uniquely "Jesus" in that creed. You could just as well call it the creed of Moses or Jeremiah.

& whether McKnight intends it or not, with his creed he has succumbed to a classic error of liberal protestantism, presenting Jesus primarily as a teacher.

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: David Opderbeck
  To: George Murphy
  Cc: ASA
  Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 2:14 PM
  Subject: Re: [asa] Advice for a Pastor

  Re: the person's pastoral call -- I'm not sure we're in a position to comment, knowing next to nothing about him.

  Re: the blog itself and it's title -- oh, harumph. I think Glen Stassen is on the right track in "Living on the Sermon on the Mount," and Stassen and David Gushee are further along the right track in "Kingdom Ethics" -- Jesus' ethical teaching isn't just an impossible standard designed to show us our need for grace. It's also a practical teaching designed to bring healing and justice into the world. And check out Frank Thielman's "Paul and the Law" for a mediate position on the "new perspective."

  On Tue, Mar 18, 2008 at 1:56 PM, George Murphy <gmurphy@raex.com> wrote:

    A lot could be said about this but I'll just point out that it shows (once again) the dangers inherent in the notion that people can be pastors or teachers in the church just because they think they've been called to do so. While the "inner call" is important, it is (except in emergency situations) the "outer call" that's crucial.

    I'll also note that calling Jesus' summary of the law (which in fact was pretty standard) "The Jesus Creed" is unfortunate. Lex semper accusat.

    Shalom
    George
    http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
      ----- Original Message -----
      From: David Opderbeck
      To: ASA
      Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 9:28 AM
      Subject: [asa] Advice for a Pastor

      Of possible interest for possible response: A pastor of a small house church asks for advice on Scot McKnight's blog about how to handle a militant YEC member. Perhaps some folks here with similar experiences could offer some advice: http://www.jesuscreed.org/?p=3553

      This may seem a little silly, but lots of different kinds of people in lots of different roles read that site. This sort of thing could be a useful role for ASA members with a pastoral heart.

      --
      David W. Opderbeck
      Associate Professor of Law
      Seton Hall University Law School
      Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology

  --
  David W. Opderbeck
  Associate Professor of Law
  Seton Hall University Law School
  Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology

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Received on Tue Mar 18 16:11:16 2008