Theology 1.0: What is Theosis

 

Like father, like son?

Being from a Methodist church and possessing a Lutheran-Calvinist theology, I rarely have the chance to examine ideas from my friends of the Eastern Orthodox religion.

So today I will be presenting the idea of Theosis.

What is Theosis?
Theosis, or deification is process in which the believer is becomes purified and eventually reach union with God, and participate with his divine nature. In Eastern Orthodoxy, this is the ultimate destiny of the sincere believer and is salvation.

This teaching is based on 2 Peter 1:4, which states that:

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Theosis is led by the Holy Spirit.
In Eastern Orthodoxy, Theosis is the result of the action of the Holy Spirit. This salvation is communicated to the believers by God sharing his grace with us.

This contrasts with the Protestant understanding of grace, in which forgiveness is involved.

Theosis is a process
In Eastern Orthodoxy, there is much focus on the process of being Christ-like via the process of becoming more holy (sanctification). 

This contrasts with the Protestant understanding, in which believers become more Christ-like by accepting the Christ's righteousness (justification).

Conclusion

Although Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism may share some ideas, the main difference is this:

Eastern Orthodoxy sees salvation as a process of spiritual growth, rather Protestantism sees salavtion as an instant exchange of their sinful nature with Christ's righetousness.

For more reading
Protestant view: Gospel Coalition

Eastern Orthodox view: Orthodox Road

My Confession: Reflections on Job 6-7

 

I continue my reflections on Job.

In response to Eliphaz's comments, Job lamented.

Synopsis

Job continued, stating how great his grief felt (Job 6:2-3).

“If only my anguish could be weighed
    and all my misery be placed on the scales!
It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—
    no wonder my words have been impetuous."

He also wished for death (Job 6:8-9).

“Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant what I hope for,
 that God would be willing to crush me,
    to let loose his hand and cut off my life!"

Job lost much hope too (Job 6:11-13).

“What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
    What prospects, that I should be patient?
 Do I have the strength of stone?
    Is my flesh bronze?
Do I have any power to help myself,
    now that success has been driven from me?"

Job also rejected Eliphaz's reasons (Job 6:21; 6:24)

Now you too have proved to be of no help;
    you see something dreadful and are afraid.

Teach me, and I will be quiet;
    show me where I have been wrong

Job then directed his arguments towards God, complaining about his short and harsh life (Job 7:7)

Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;
    my eyes will never see happiness again.

Job chose to continue to complain, using the shortness of human life as a reason (Job 7:11)

Therefore I will not keep silent;
    I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
    I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

Finally Job concludes his complaint (Job 7:20)

If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
    you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?
    Have I become a burden to you?

My reflections
Job obviously was in much emotional pain, and in his honest haste he pours out his heart. In fact, this passage is hard to read for me as I cannot even imagine losing so much. 

Yet in his anguish, Job maintained his honesty. He could not see where he had gone wrong and clung to his innocence. He would rather die an honest man, than to ritually confess guilt. While lesser men like myself would give in conveniently to the advice of his friends, Job here would not play lip service. 

Although I do not wish to experience the suffering of Job, I pray I may have a closeness to God that I may be frank with Him.

What is mankind that you make so much of them,
   that you give them so much attention,
that you examine them every morning
    and test them every moment?  -- (Job 7: 17-18)

Alternative Culture: Kyle Rittenhouse, truth and lies

 

Kyle Rittenhouse preparing to testfy

Recently, Kyle Rittenhouse declared "not guilty" of all charges, after shooting three men in self-defence at Kenosha, Wisconsin, 25 Aug 2020. Two of the men died, and the third man was severely injured.

I have been following the case, and I have to admit that it was one of the clearest case of self-defence I had ever seen.

Rittenhouse had went to Kenosha (where Black Life Matters protestors) to defend property and render first-aid. He even treated the protestors (whom he disagreed with politically). After being chased by three men (one of whom reached for Rittenhouse's rifle, another hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard and another drew his gun at Rittenhouse), Rittenhouse opened fire while retreating. Rittenhouse surrendered himself to the police straight after that.

Despite that, I am disgusted by the behaviour of the prosecution and the media coverage of the trial. For instance, 

A) NBC tried to make it a racial issue, although the men Rittenhouse shot were of the same skin colour as him.

B) The Guardian (which I used to have immense respect for) tried to make it sound like Rittenhouse went to Kenosha looking for trouble. This ignores the fact that Rittenhouse worked in Kenosha, his father lives in Kenosha and that he was asked to protect properties by small business owners.

C) Ana Kasparian of the Young Turks even conceded that she did not watch the video of the incident, even though it was available since last year

D) The state prosecutors brought tempered evidence and questioned rights during the trial.

I am left wondering why such obvious lies and falsehoods are being peddled. 

Theological review

Although not quoted in the context of this trial, I am beginning to see how trading truth for lies is in action (Romans 1:25).

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen - Romans 1:25 

I continue to pray that we as a community will not be misled by ideologues and always seek truth.

Theology 1.0: Who brought Christianity to China?

 

The Nestorian Stele, the earliest evidence of Christianity in China

One of the earliest evidence of Christianity in China comes from the record of Arnobius, the 4th century Christian apologist. In his work Against the Heathens II, Arnobius claims that missionaries had been dispatched to Seres (the ancient Roman name for China). 

Despite this claim, no hard evidence showed that there were Christians in China until the 8th century -- the Nestorian Stele. Uncovered near the Chinese city of Xian, the Nestorian Stele credited "Alopen”  for bringing Nestorian Christianity to China during the Tang Dynasty.

In addition, the Nestorian Stele provides descriptions of the events of Genesis and explanations of the Incarnation. The Stele also records the leaders of the Nestorian Church, and how they were allowed by the Imperial Chinese court to propagate their faith.

Theology 1.0: How would Luther view Calvin's TULIP?

Luther vs Calvin?

Despite being two of the three spearheads of the Protestant Reformation (the third was Ulrich Zwingli), Martin Luther and John Calvin never personally met and only had one letter exchange. Furthermore, they were separated by geography (Calvin lived in France and Switzerland; Luther lived in Germany) and time (Calvin started towards the end of Luther's life).

While it is believed that some level of Calvin's views were influenced by Luther, it is debatable whether Luther would have concurred with Calvin. In this post, I would explore the TULIP of Calvin through the eyes of Luther.

Total Depravity

Both Luther and Calvin would agree on Total Depravity the most -- that human nature is corrupted and incapable of doing good unless transformed by Christ.

Luther adds on to state that while in creation humanity was not corrupt, original sin infected humanity to the extent that the humanity by nature and action is irredeemable.

Unconditional Election

This will be where Luther partially departs. While Luther would agree that God chooses to save individuals based on faith, he was not consistent whether people will be saved based on the faith given to those that believe, or foreseen faith based on faith shown by the repentant.

Limited Atonement

While Calvinists tend to believe that Christ died for the faithful, Luther believed that Christ died for all humanity. However, do note that Luther himself was not consistent on this, and his earlier works argued for that salvation was limited to the faithful.

Irresistible Grace
In the Bondage of Will, Luther denies that God forces people to convert. However, he also asserts that salvation was based on God's work alone.

In other words, God's grace was resistible, but it was based on God's work alone.

Perseverance of Saints

This is where Luther clearly departs from Calvin the most.

To Luther, God will ensure the salvation of the elect, but not everyone who is born again is among God’s elect, Apostasy is possible. This counters Calvin's narrative where true apostasy is not possible.

Conclusion

While it may be tempting to call Luther a 2.5 to 3.5 of a 5-point Calvinist, one must bear in mind that a few caveats:

A) Luther and Calvin focused on different issues. Luther's focus was on the justification based on faith, while Calvin was more primed on understanding the sovereignty  of God.

B) Their personalities were different. Luther spoke off the cuff a lot of the times. Our ideas of theology is based collection of his sayings (mainly by his follower Philip Melanchthon)

Calvin was quiet, reserved and collected. Calvin himself managed to write his thoughts down clearly in Institutes of Christian religion.

C) Luther was not explicitly asked to addressed TULIP. TULIP as a theological concept was formed in response to Jacob Arminius's views.

For reference:

Gospel Coalition

Alternative Culture: Tragedy in school

 

Students setting up an edible garden, taken April 2021

Recently, Singapore experienced a murder in school . I do not want to write exactly about what happened.

In fact, what really surprised me was that numerous people from reddit to Facebook have chimed in. And to some extent, I understand. After all, everyone wants to rationalise such senseless violence. A volatile, unpredictable world can be scary for one to accept.

Senseless violence

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” -- Luke 13: 1-5

'We cannot make sense of what happened' -- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong 

In a way, there is no sense to this violence. For the Christian, it is a recognition that this earthly realm is sinful and broken. It should wake us up from complacence and call us to repentance.

And that is the learning point I want to take from it.

My confession: Samson the great moral failure

 

Hercules from the game SMITE

Synopsis of Judges 13 - 16
It started like a classic story. The ancient Israelites did evil in God's eyes, and He allowed the Philistines to oppress them. Yet God did not abandon his people by promising them a man to deliver them from the Philistines.

Samson was that man. With God's blessing, Samson was a man of great strength. He achieved great feats like killing a lion with his bare heads, and killing a thousand men with a donkey's jawbone.

Unlike the preceding judges, Samson did not follow the laws of his people. He wanted to marry outside his tribe, ate unclean food, and never seemed to develop in character. Even till the end, he never sought to follow God, but focused his life (and death) on revenge. 

Samson was a man of great gifts, but was also a great moral failure.

Cu Chuliann from the game SMITE

Parallels to mythologies
One thing interesting in my readings is that the Samson seems to fulfil the heroic archetype in most mythological stories I know.

In Greek/Roman mythology, Hercules is blessed with strength and sought to overcome the trials laid before him. Thor fulfils this role in the Norse tales, Horus in the Egyptian religion and Sun Wukong in Chinese legends. In Celtic myths, Cu Chulainn is the hero.

Even some of the deeds are similar. Hercules slayed the Nemean lion, while Samson killed a lion. Both Hercules and Samson were betrayed by women.  Cu Chulainn was weakened (and killed) only when he broke his taboo, and Samson was weakened when he broke his.

Yet unlike most of these heroes, Samson shows no improvement in his morals. From the start he started seeking things for his self gratification, even though he was an appointed judge of Israel. In his last prayer he still sought revenge for himself, rather than to free God's people.

Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes."
(Judges 16: 28)

What can we learn from Samson?
Despite his moral failure there a few lessons we can learn from this:
1) Be careful worship people with great gifts

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
(2 Peter 2:1-3)

In our meritocratic Singapore (and maybe world), there is a tendency to follow or listen  people who are seemingly gifted or produce great results. Yet we forget that our human idols are just that -- merely human, and therefore are open to selfishness and manipulation.

For instance, the evangelist Ravi Zacharias misused his reputation to manipulate women. This came as a shock to the Christian community as Zacharias was well-know for his oratorical skills and converts. 

2) Jesus is greater and better

He [Jesus] said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
(Luke 24:44)

For my Christian readers, we must interpret our heroes and our own lives in the light of our saviour Jesus. Jesus is a way better example and hero than Samson.

He [Jesus] grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
(Isaiah 53: 2-3)

As described by Isaiah, Jesus was not attractive by contemporary standards (of that time). Jesus did not use his outward appearance (beauty or majesty) to attract us to the message, but in his personhood.