Monday, April 2, 2012

Going Hammer-Time On That Last Post

One of my friends requested that I rewrite "Theology Is A Deliverance Ministry" twice so that he can be sure of what I am saying. He is a lit professor so I will obey. I will rewrite in different formats and possibly even genres if only to work my skills.


In this first rewrite I will break it down:

God did not complete the creation.
The creation is yet to a significant degree subject to chaos and futility (formless and void).
God intends that creation be completed.
God created humans to complete the creation.
God truly loves the humans.
God put his life into humans so that they would be able to complete the creation.
Humans disobeyed God.
God forgives the humans for their disobedience.
The humans' disobedience broke them from the life of God.
 Without this life the humans are unable to complete the creation.

God intends that creation be completed.
The world exists as concrete time and space.
The forgiveness of God must come concretely into time and space to take effect in this world.
Jesus is the concrete expression of God's forgiveness in time and space.
As God takes on humanity in Jesus humanity is taken into God.
In the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus God effects his forgiveness on humanity.
The proof of this forgiveness is the return of the life of God into the humans.
Redemption is the action of this forgiveness taking full root in humanity.
Though the forgiveness has been made concrete the redemption is yet to be fulfilled in space and time.

Humans are complex entities.
The overtaking of this complexity by redemption involves the totality of this complexity.
As the redemption overtakes us we progressively become more aware and active in our participation in the reason for which we were created.
Our thoughts and beliefs are part of this complexity.
When our thoughts and beliefs are inconsistent with reality they require energy to maintain.
The greater our thoughts and beliefs diverge from reality the more energy they take to maintain.
Theology and evangelism are means by which our thoughts and beliefs come more into line with reality.
Theology and evangelism deliver us from ideas and beliefs that take up energy to maintain.
As these tools of redemption have their effect our energies are released to be focused on the completion of creation once again in obedience to God by the life of God in us.

We proclaim the good news because Jesus tells us to proclaim the good news.
We proclaim the good news because doing so moves redemption forward in the concrete time and space of this world.
We proclaim the good news so that the whole of humanity that has been taken up into God by the incarnation may become fully self aware as the body of Christ.
We proclaim the good news because the workers are few and the harvest is great, as great as the whole of creation.

Stop, hammer-time.

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