I was surprised to open up NY Times.com as I do daily, and see Mark Driscoll's face on the front page. Read this interesting article if you have time, I'd love to hear your thoughts about it. I was somewhat on board with the article (rare for me with him) until I read the piece about how he handled his church elders. One of the reasons I'm grateful to be a Presbyterian is the dissemination of power, so that the group of elected leaders makes decisions, not any authoritarian figures. Also I thought it was funny that me submitting to my husband MEANS preaching, as Los prayed that into existence (rather than abstaining from it- as the article says to.)
It was interesting to read the author's portrayal of Calvinism, not that I'm surprised by it, as it's in an international newspaper that isn't exactly known for it's theological accuracy; but it was amusing nonetheless. As a "New Year's Resolution"/theological growth opportunity, I've committed with thousands of others to reading through Calvin's Institutes in this year, 500 years after his birth. Along with Martin Luther and some other contemporaries, Calvin had a huge impact on protestant Christianity being established apart from Roman Catholicism this past millennia. For better or worse, he's a major player in our faith history worth getting to know. It should be doable in small chunks, as Princeton has divided it? Maybe I'll read it to our baby? Who knows where this journey will take me? But it will be nice to hear him speak for himself, rather than zealous or misled people who've come after him. It's funny how we can come to conclusions on people (authors) without ever even reading them for ourselves- I am guilty of that for sure.
As I stumble through my reading this year and ponder, I'll be posting up quotes from time to time on the blog, for your perusal as well. And if you have any interest in reading along with me, let me know! I have a couple friends around the country doing it so far, and I'm sure I'd benefit from processing it together.
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