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That Happy Certainty - Gospel | Culture | Planting
Theology

Another gift of the Spirit?

Was engaging in a bit of banter with a fellow theologian revising for her finals when she spouted this nugget…

“It’s amazing how the Holy Spirit is so at work that I can’t remember half the heresy I hear in lectures!”

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May 11, 2006by Robin Ham
Paul

Putting It All Together…

This morning I had my final New Testament Theology lecture of the academic year. We’ve spent last term looking at Paul’s ‘theology’, and today JB focused on bringing it all together: Is there a centre to Paul’s theology? What role does the interpreter play in deciding what Paul is going to say? Is a ‘web’ a better metaphor than ‘hubs and spokes’?

Honestly, I found it hard enought trying to remember which of Paul’s books we were ‘supposed’ to count as Paul’s, and which were apparently questionable…

Of course it is worth spending time remembering that Paul was writing letters, and all letters are situational. At the same time though, whilst Paul may not be being systematic, that does not mean he isn’t coherent. In effect he does his theology in dealing with specific churches.

One thing that didn’t crop up, yet has to be a key issue for the Christian theologian, is the fact that Paul’s letters fit into one big message, one phat story. There must be a fine art to balancing between giving each book of the Bible it’s own space to breath – so that we do listen to the message of that author at that time – yet interpreting it in light of what the rest of Scripture tells us.

I suppose one good thing I have realised studying this course is that so much of our Christian thinking, of our ‘theology’, so much of our way of seeing the world, has its roots in Paul’s personal words to a handful of churches and characters who all lived 2000 years ago.
Thank God for Paul, and thank God that his Spirit breathed out through him!

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May 11, 2006by Robin Ham

About Me

 

Hello, my name is Robin. Welcome to That Happy Certainty, where I write and collate on Christianity, culture, and ministry. I’m based in Barrow-in-Furness in South Cumbria, England, where I serve a church family called St Paul’s Barrow, recently merged together from two existing churches, St Paul’s Church and Grace Church Barrow.

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“If we could be fully persuaded that we are in the good grace of God, that our sins are forgiven, that we have the Spirit of Christ, that we are the beloved children of God, we would be ever so happy and grateful to God. But because we often fear and doubt we cannot come to that happy certainty.”
- Martin Luther

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