Capitalism as sin...

At a time when Wall Street bankers are amassing more and more– and they do their best to pay little or no income tax. Interestingly many of them are self-professed Christians who attribute capitalism as a system that is compatible with Calvin’s support for pursuit of economic gain to which hard work is seen as a consequence of being one of the elect.

However, the historic experience that we have with capitalism shows that only those who has private ownership of the means of production (like land as a classic example) has much higher chances of meriting profit over the ones that doesn’t which finds many who do not have private ownership working more yet earn only enough to last them until next pay day.

Contrasting theology with doctrine

To speak of theology is to promote a conversation between the ‘I’ and the ‘Thou.’ It is in that ‘divine’ conversation that we find ourselves in a situation of struggling with the nature of what we believe –the situation of faith which unfolds in the whole sweep of our existence. In saying this we struggle to find appropriate speech with which to express our faith.

Evangelical Churches and Climate Change: A Call to Action

The brokenness of earth is the brokenness of God’s home.”

It has long been held that the environment is among the most pressing concerns of this generation. In this bygone age of technology and consumerism, ministry pertaining to the natural world of creation has taken a backseat in the teaching and preaching of Evangelical Christian churches in particular. While most Christians appreciate the beauty of nature, many don’t realize there is a strong Biblical basis for creation care, in fact many ethical values, fundamental to the development of a peaceful society, are particularly relevant to the ecological question.

In the Book of Genesis, where we find God’s first self-revelation to humanity (Gen.1-3), there is a recurring refrain: “And God saw that it was good.” [2] Mankind’s first home was Eden –paradise. The Earth was paradise, teaming with life, vegetation, and the wondrous landscape of skies, the land and the sea. Creation in God’s eyes was good, but at the same time entrusted it to the care of man and woman.
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The church is the communion of men and women with one another in Christ

Last Sunday I had a very animated discussion about the Church as a picture of the Blessed Trinity, which came about from the introduction to Tertullian that I gave at the church history series on the Sunday School class that I am teaching.

The discussion led me again to reflect upon the nature of God as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures but also of its significance to me as a part of His Body – the Church, which gives us a salient picture of the divine truth of the Trinity.

T.F. Torrance on the Trinity

Although I do not know much about T.F. Torrance in terms of having a more academic look at his work and contribution theology, I've recently been interested with his work on the doctrine of God particularly on the Holy Trinity here's one good quote from him about the Trinity:

“… the truth of the Holy Trinity is more to be adored than expressed. The Holy Scriptures do not give us dogmatic propositions about the Trinity, but they do present us with definite witness to the oneness and differentiation between Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…”

- Thomas F. Torrance, The Christian Doctrine of God

Donald G. Bloesch as a 'centrist evangelical'

My theological stance could be designated as centrist evangelical in the sense of remaining in continuity with the message of Holy Scripture and the wisdom of scared tradition. Being centrist must not be confused with taking the middle road between fundamentalism and liberalism. It embraces the truth in both camps and negates the untruth in these positions as well. Being a centrist evangelical means building upon the center or core of faith--the gospel of God's reconciling act in Jesus Christ attested in Holy Scripture and clarified by the fathers and teachers of the faith through the ages. But whereas the fathers and teachers are fallible, the Word of God in Holy Scripture is infallible. Yet this Word is not in propositional formula at human disposal but the reaching out of the hand of God upon the human heart and conscience.

Donald G. Bloesch, God the Almighty: Power, Wisdom, Holiness, Love. Down Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, p 12.

G.C. Berkouwer on Election

One of the things that I am thankful for my local church is its library which has a lot of now out-of-print books on systematic theology (since the church used to have a Bible School), it was during December last year when I stumbled upon familiar names on the shelf that's labeled Systematic Theology where more prominent names like Bultman, Brunner, Barth, Berkoff would normally standout, one book there that I particularly noticed was a book entitled: Studies in Dogmatics: Divine Election by G.C. Berkouwer.

I borrowed that book and read it through the Christmas season and I was amazed especially at his insight on the Doctrine of Election which rejects both the traditional and Barthian view of the equal ultimacy of election and reprobation.

Here's his take on the subject where he relates election with Christ's work in relation to Ephesians 1:4 ¹:

“The issue here is not a metaphysical contrast between time and eternity, but the foundation of salvation in God's plan as immutable reality. 'Before' (in Eph. 1:4) indicates that this divine act of salvation, preached to us by the Gospel, is free from what we know in the world to be arbitrary and precarious. To be sure in this depth-aspect of God's salvation it becomes at the same time evident that this salvation did not originate in our flesh and blood that it is by no means of human merit or creation. But precisely this fact does not obscure the way; on the contrary it illuminates it. 'Before the foundation of the world” means to direct our attention to what can be called the opposite of chance and contingence.”²

This insight has been very much helpful for me in my understanding of the Gospel message and its relationship with God's sovereignty in the work of salvation.

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1“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love” Ephesians 1:4 (NIV)

2Berkouwer, p152, Studies in Dogmatics, Divine Election

Missions and Theology: Dignity in death

We didn’t have the chance to know his name. We only know him as Thin Yannat’s father. He was a living skeleton—with sunken eyes and protruding bones. He was suffering from AIDS. Narlin, Megan, Aye Phet, our Burmese co-woker and I had visited him in different occasion to bring food and medicine. We came to know him because we take care of his child for him and he was grateful to us for doing it. He wept when his child was kidnapped but managed a faint smile when we got her back.
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Welcome.

Hello I am Chuck Baclagon and welcome to ad maiorem Dei gloriam which is Latin for the English phrase: "for the greater glory of God".

Which is what I hope to live out as a Christian who stands confronted with the question of the Gospel's relevance in a society that seeks to eliminate the revelation of God as testified to by Sacred Scriptures and taught by the Church.

This blog serves as an online space where I would upload some of my thoughts on Christianity, theology, apologetics, some of the sermon messages that I have given exegesis for the youth ministry of Grace Bible Church. As well as some content from other blogs, sites and online resources on Christian theology.