Sep/Oct 2009 Theology Matters

Click here to read the Advent booklet in the Sep/Oct issue of Theology Matters, “Preparing for the Coming of Jesus Christ: Advent Daily Scripture Readings and Reflections from the Writings of John Calvin.”  

Rev. Ed Hurley compiled this booklet with excerpts from The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin and from some of Calvin’s sermons on Christmas.  The message of the booklet  exalts Jesus Christ as it offers outstanding explanations of many of the doctrines of Christian faith. 

For some churches “doctrine” is not only ignored, it is considered an embarrassment.  Many people today, even some who identify themselves as “born-again,” reject doctrine and creeds as the products of a by-gone era.  Dr. David Wells in his new book, The Courage to Be Protestant comments  that  “a majority of 52 percent of born-againers in fact reject the idea of original sin outright.”   Without a doctrine of original sin, human beings strive to make themselves good through their works and Christ’s work becomes irrelevant.  Against this, it is only because we understand that we are born in sin, unable to save ourselves, that we rejoice in the truth that “God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son…” 

Alistar McGrath, in his book Understanding Doctrine: What It is and Why It Matters, observes "[Christian doctrine] provides a sort of route map by which the various scriptural landmarks may be located and identified, and related to each other.  Doctrine, to use a phrase due to Calvin, is like a pair of spectacles through which Scripture may be properly read. …Doctrine is thus a summary of Scripture."   Doctrine is not a cumbersome burden to our faith, it is essential to our faith.

Christianity is not just a personal experience or warm feeling about the divine.  Christianity expresses the truth about God, ourselves and the world.  To begin your study of what is true, use the Advent Devotional in Theology Matters this Advent season and share it with your family and friends.  

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