RSLC Blogs

Here's a great question coming from CyberBrethren blog.

The other day, my son asked me, “Dad, why are some people saved, and others are not.” I said, “Aha! You are taking Latin, so tell me what this means. You are asking about the crux theologorum.” He thought for a moment and said, “The cross of theologians?” “Correct you are, sir,” I said, “What you are asking is the old question that has proven the downfall of many theologians through the ages, ‘Why some, not others?’ ” And from there we proceeded into an interesting conversation about a feature of Lutheranism that makes both Calvinists “God predestines some to hell, others to heaven”, on the one hand, and Arminians “I have chosen to follow Jesus!” folks, on the other, frustrated with us. Lutheranism, as does Sacred Scripture, simply does not answer the question why some are saved, and not others. Here’s a great Q/A on this that succinctly states why this is the teaching of the Bible, and, consequently, historic Lutheranism.

Question:

I understand that God chose those for salvation before the very foundation of the world. The Bible does not say that there are those who are chosen and that there are those who are not. So, does that mean then that God chose everyone to be saved before the foundation of the world and therefore it is man’s choice whether he will accept God’s saving grace or not? However, one cannot come into God’s grace by himself, but by the Holy Spirit “leading” him unto salvation. Is that the correct interpretation? I am confused by the fact that we were chosen by God before the foundation of the world, yet the very action of choosing can mean that there were those who were not chosen. I know that God wishes everyone to be saved. Can you help me?

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25th?  Was Jesus really born on that date?  Maybe you've had some friends of yours challenge you saying that "Christmas is really a pagan holiday and has nothing to do with Christ at all!"

 Well, this is the first in a series about Christmas that deals with those questions.  The first question we're going to be tackling is "Was Jesus really born on Dec. 25th?"  The following is an article by Pastor Mark Driscoll of Church on Mars Hill.  Pastor Driscoll is not LCMS but is a highly respected theologian and has some great comments below.  You can find more about Pastor Driscoll at The Resurgence.  Please read on:

�

                After discussing the fact that any theology of the environment needs to be grounded in Creation, we can move on to the next topic: Stewardship.  We need to begin to see stewardship as something much broader than the use of money.  In fact the only references to a Steward are in the Old Testament.  There is one reference to a steward in the New Testament but that is also not about money.

                So what is a Steward?  A steward is one who cares for the things under them.  A steward protects, serves, and especially cares for the things given to them.  Typically the things in which the steward cares for are NOT their own but someone else’s possessions.

                Adam and Eve at the beginning of Creation are placed into Stewardship roles.  Genesis 2:15 “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”  That was the role of humanity; to work and care for the Garden.  Now our role as stewards of God’s Creation has not changed even with the fall.  Now, instead of our work being easy as stewards over God’s Creation, our work is hard and difficult but we are still called to work and care for God’s Creation.

                Don’t worry I haven’t gone overboard…yet.  But in discussing the theological relationship between people and the environment we need to start somewhere.  So I suggest that we begin to build our framework from the beginning:  creation.  As I have mentioned earlier that we’re going to be talking about 1^st Article issues, which means the 1^st article of the creed.  “I believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth.”

                In the beginning God created everything.  He gave all things, animals and plants even the micro-organisms their place and order (Ps. 104).  And He said that it was good.  It was perfect.  Everything functioned as God intended.  Everything had its place and worked together for the pleasure of God and the benefit of Man.  But something happened.  Sin entered the world through Man, Adam and Eve.

After hearing President Obama's inaugural speech many scientist are joyous and excited over the phrase "restore science to its rightful place".  Check out the New York Times articles on the scientist reactions and an essay on science: Scientists Welcome Obama's Words and Elevating Science, Elevating Democracy.

The latter article discusses the relationship between science, religion, and ethics.

The knock on science from its cultural and religious critics is that it is arrogant and materialistic. It tells us wondrous things about nature and how to manipulate it, but not what we should do with this knowledge and power. The Big Bang doesn’t tell us how to live, or whether God loves us, or whether there is any God at all. It provides scant counsel on same-sex marriage or eating meat. It is silent on the desirability of mutual assured destruction as a strategy for deterring nuclear war.