Quick review: Retrieving Nicaea

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Retrieving Nicaea: The Development and Meaning of Trinitarian Doctrine by Khaled Anatolios

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is quite a book, even though I am certain my comprehension of it is far from complete. In other words: be ready for technical detail and argument.

My summary of the aim of Retrieving Nicaea is that Anatolios wants his readers to engage with fourth century Trinitarian theological grammar, rather than to memorise theological terminology. The why of the orthodox position (ontological unity between divine persons Father, Son, and Spirit) is his interest.

To get there, he starts with an overview before diving into three deeper specific studies: Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine. The overview itself is amazingly helpful. This overview divides the approaches to divine unity into two: unity of will (such as Arius), and unity of being (the Nicaean position). Both start with the supremacy of Christ but take different paths to express this, with major consequences. I am sure the three detailed studies also will continue to be influential amongst serious researchers, too – you know, those who understand all Anatolios says!

Read slowly, because that seems to only way to understand it. But do read it as part of developing a better understanding of the history and interpretation of Trinitiarian theology.



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Church, church, church

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In the last three weeks, we have had three completely different Sunday meetings as Albury Bible Church.

Week One was ‘normal’, as we used to describe it. In the hall at Albury High School. Sunday school in a classroom. Set up and pack down, including signage, PA and music. That was our week in Hebrews 9, the reminder that ritual does nothing for Christ is the real priest who does everything.

Week Two saw rules intended to slow the spread of corona virus, including a government ban on meetings over 100. We are not that large: no change for us! So we thought, until the education department decision to halt community use of buildings as another useful public health measure. Hastily, we arranged a Sunday gathering outside at the church office (aka, my backyard).

In a beautiful touch, we knew this would likely be our last gathering like this for some time, even as we turned to Hebrews 10 (“not neglecting to meet together …”). As the kids enjoyed more than 4m2 each inside the office, we discussed options for our church life. How will we stir one another up towards love and good deeds?

And so to Week Three – the ‘new normal’? – meeting online from home. Perhaps the most remembered verse of Hebrews 11 tells us that the experience of faith apprehends what we hope for and yet cannot see. Real things, that are beyond sight and touch, are known as real through trust (see Hebrews 11:1).

I love church and seeing my fellow church members. Here was ‘church’ when not one of us left home, and the ‘sight’ of my family in faith was via a screen. The gathering was not real, but virtual. The sight was also not real, but virtual. Yet, through faith, our gathering and mutual recognition were real.

Each of these three weeks differ significantly. And there are obvious downsides to every way we gather. Despite these, each week encouraged me to press on for Christ, and each week left me thankful for the body of Christ of which I am a part. At the most profound level, there is no difference between what happened any Sunday.

On the last three Sundays, we had church, church, and church. And it was wonderful!

Backyard church
Outdoor church

Quick reaction to re-reading ‘Christus Victor’

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Christus VictorChristus Victor by Gustaf Aulén

This is a very influential study of the atonement that I haven’t read since theological college. Aulén claims that his aim throughout was ‘an historical, not an apologetic’ one but that’s hard to believe. He’s really positive about Luther (not Lutherism, so much) and the ‘classic’ idea of the atonement, but not so positive about the so-called Latin and subjective views.

Rather than a review, here are some of my reactions to the book.
* Aulén presents the three positions as choices or alternatives, whereas more recent atonement books treat the theology of atonement as multi-faceted. Still, Aulén’s book reminds us that there are some incompatible theologies.
* The presentation of the argument feels all out of order. The final chapter presents the three views – why not the first? Even so, the book does not start with the New Testament but with the church fathers and then the NT evidence. It feels to me that the evidence does not prove his arguments, but has been assembled to make his position.
* Some distinctions that Aulén insists upon don’t really seem as sharp as he makes them, especially between aspects of classic and Latin.
* Penance. Aulén claims the idea of penance was essential to the development of the Latin view. While not convinced of that, I found it very helpful to read how human penance radically changes one’s formulation of how atonement occurs.
* Aulén is insistent on seeing atonement as a work of God not humanity. I have the feeling a more robust Trinitarian theology might mean his accusations against the Latin theory hold less weight. Overall, a worthwhile read but not as ‘the’ presentation of atonement theology. It’s a book to provoke more thought, deeper reading, and prayer.

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I believe in the church

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Picking up the creed, Karl Barth speaks of the significance of the local gathering, the congregation:

[I believe in the church] means that I believe that the congregation to which I belong, in which I have been called to faith and am responsible for my faith, in which I have my service, is the one, holy, universal Church. If I do not believe this here, I do not believe it at all. No lack of beauty, no ‘wrinkles and spots’ in this congregation may lead me astray.

Dogmatics in Outline, page 144.

God’s surprising injustice

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Shock & surprise – about God. Some detail to show the surprising thing in Romans 4.

Deuteronomy 25:1 describes judges: “they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked”.
In 1 Kings 8:32 Solomon prayed for God to judge just like that.

Isaiah 5:23 says, Woe to those who acquit the guilty for a bribe.

Back in Exodus 23:7 the Lord says “I will not acquit the wicked.”

Then there’s Proverbs 17:15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

BUT Romans 4:5 calls God “him who justifies the ungodly”.
Grace & forgiveness is such a (beautiful) jolt, surprise & shock!

Christian thinking

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There is no free thought, there are no free-thinkers.

The description “free thinking” is often used to praise those who are up-to-date, those who exalt reason as the hope for humanity. “Free thinkers” criticise others for having limits, but these critics simply do not understand their own boundaries.

Because everyone and every thinker has limits, boundaries they refuse to cross.

Here’s an example. Leonard Susskind wrote The Black Hole War about an amiable disagreement between physicists as they tried to figure out black holes. Susskind says this about Stephen Hawking:

Hawking’s logic was so clear … The reasoning was persuasive, but the conclusion was absurd. (p.212)

Susskind refused to accept the argument, even when he could not identify the precise problem. There was a limit to Susskind’s reasoning. His limit was right, and it turns out Hawking was wrong in this case. Without the limit, physics would be worse off, knowing less about black holes.

Limits to our thinking exist for everyone. So Christians should consider what our limits are – they’re much more important that black holes. Romans 3 is a great place to learn, because some opponents to the gospel argue themselves over the limit. They go too far, way too far, and into danger. They suggest God is a liar, or that he is unrighteous, or that he is not judge of the world.

What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar (Romans 3:3-4).

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? (Romans 3:5-6).

Is God a liar, or unrighteous? Will God not bother to judge? Paul says: Your conclusion is absurd. Never! Don’t go near that, do not even think it. The ‘human way’ of thinking is a sad perversion of real thought.

Christian thought will never conclude wrong or evil about God. If our thinking does conclude that God is ‘wrong’ in any way, it’s a guarantee that our thinking is way off.

Public money, private values

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There certainly is a silly ruckus about whatever legislation the Ruddock review into religious freedom will produce. Leaked recommendations, selective reporting, sensationalism beyond and evidence, and the usual subsequent social media ‘stacks on’. (You know, the, ‘Yeah, I’m sure I hate that too – and another thing  …’)

Right now, I want to pick up one line that I’ve seen again and again, but always without justification. People say it as if it’s obvious. It’s this:

If you choose a private school, you should get no government money. It’s your choice.

Superficially – very superficially – there’s an appeal to this. But really it’s baseless. I spent ten minutes wondering how many private groups receive public money, even though they hold contested positions. My quick list is below.

Just to be clear, these groups and movements gain money – sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly by tax concessions, easy access to politicians, etc. And they all have opponents within Australian society. That means the taxes of every Australian supports something they oppose.

For me, such generosity is both a compromise (I don’t want my money supporting that) and also a sign of a mature society (there’s space for us and for them).

Money goes to:

  • Political parties (Labor, Liberal, National, Greens, One Nation, …)
  • Private medical insurance companies
  • Private schools (religious or not)
  • Controversial medical procedures (abortion, vanity-style plastic surgery)
  • Solar energy & wind farms
  • Coal, gas, & mining
  • Public-private partnerships like city tollways
  • Bike paths
  • Research: animal experiments, etc
  • Owners of poker machines and other gambling businesses
  • Business and industry lobby groups
  • Trades unions

All of these groups and people have numerous opponents, including opponents of non-government schooling. To single out education as the one place to apply funding purity makes no sense.

I wish people kept away from this nuclear option (Nothing for you!), so the complex question can be asked and answered: what is a good or appropriate type of government support for education of all types?

Pointed preaching, broad theology

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When studying a Bible passage – in preaching, for example – it’s time to dig into the specifics of the verses you have. Find the purpose of that text, the ‘why’, the angularity of that part of God’s word.

Don’t be easily distracted. Listen well, with all the time it takes.

When trying to grasp the big picture of all God has spoken – ‘doing theology’, we might say – that’s a good time to go broad. Get all the information that’s relevant, chase the links and implications.

Consider these two examples from the Psalms.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me. (Psalm 51:5)

David, in confession, knows the depth of his sin. There was no time in my life, he concedes, that was ever pure. Sin is his constant. What a powerful observation of humanity’s problem before the Holy One! We need this in our preaching, Bible studies, individual reading, …

Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you. (Psalm 71:6)

This is a less famous Psalm, so the contrast might not be well-known. But look how this Psalm has trust in the Lord from before the year dot. In utero praise! There was no time, says Psalm 71, when the Lord was not the only true refuge. God is what he has always been – our only hope. How we need this message in our preaching, Bible studies, individual reading …

If I was leading a study on either of these Psalms, I would not cross-reference the other one. It would kill the power of Psalm 51 to say, ‘David knew his sin, but of course we know also that Psalm 71 says …’ Don’t do it! In preaching, stay narrow, focus on the passage, and let its razor-sharp truth do the necessary surgery.

On the other hand, you might be thinking through what God teaches us about children and infants. Are they rebels? Or faithful? Or bank slates, waiting for maturity before choosing a ‘real’ status? I am not going to answer those questions! Yet both of our two verses need to be heard (and many others, too). For theology, go broad.

Now, an exercise. See if my idea works. Staying in the Psalms, take Psalm 73 and Psalm 74. Specifically, how do these passages speak to us of the temple. It seems such a relief, joy, and instruction in Psalm 73:17. But in Psalm 74:3-5 the temple is as hopeless as a clear-felled forest.

How is the sanctuary of God a powerful image in each Psalm? (That’s the preaching.)
How do these contrasting images build up a fuller picture of the Jerusalem sanctuary? (Our theology.)

Let me know what you think, and if you get anything from the comparison of the two Psalms!

Prepared prayer

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At Albury Bible Church, we ran a workshop on praying together.

An exercise in the workshop was to write a prayer for a situation you would soon be in. I was about to go to a conference of the senior pastors’ of the FIEC churches. So I wrote a prayer that could have been used there.

Here it is.

Dear Lord of the church,
Thank you that we are all one in Christ Jesus, united by the gospel, and empowered by the Spirit.
Please be present in our discussions and decisions so that, as a group, we may be wise regarding the actions of the FIEC. And encourage us all also to press on in faithful ministry when we return to our own local churches and ministries.
In the name of our one Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.

What kind of thoughtful prayer could you prepare right now for your life?

Protecting the kids

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Australia has just received the report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, after five years of hearings. It’s been necessary but terrible. There have been awful accounts of institutional power used to cover up abuse and protect abusers – including a number of churches or ministries. The police referrals from the royal commission number in the thousands.

As a Christian minister, and also with some junior sports involvement, I have wondered what to do to improve safety. There are a number of good and widely-known protective measures: comply with your state’s Working With Children Check (NSW here); complete safety training; have nominated safety contacts; arrange groups so children are not left alone with an adult.

But here’s an idea I’d like to suggest. It’s a message for any adult-trainer-teacher to communicate to every child and family under their care. I’d like each adult to say this:

Make sure that you tell people everything you learn here. There are no secrets!

I reckon this statement has a few good things going for it.

  • Abuse loves secrecy.
    So many accounts of those hurt include things like, “It’s our special secret”, “If you tell anyone I will …” Let’s make secrecy explicitly against our ways.
  • It’s a great way to teach.
    A child who can communicate the lesson has learnt the lesson. It might be a Sunday School message about how Jesus’ death brings forgiveness of sin, or a cycling tip about how to hold the handlebars.
  • It can develop enthusiasm.
    “Guess what I learnt this week!”
  • It tells teachers and trainers that we expect kids to share all that happens.
  • It tells parents and carers to expect communication about our program.
  • It’s good promotion.
    If you’re teaching Sunday School, surely you want more families to join in and hear the good news. Similarly for a sports team, music group, art class, … Happy participants who speak up are a walking invitation.
  • It tells the whole church/club/group that we have a culture of openness.
  • Biblically, there are no secrets.
    God’s judgement is coming, and all secrets will be revealed. Christians especially should know and live by this. Jesus said, “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” (Luke 8:17)

This is only a small tip. But I think I will begin to try it out. I certainly pray for better protection of children in all sorts of institutions across Australia.