tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83514725079774318632011-07-30T21:17:21.706-07:00The StudentThe Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-1989752017457216812010-10-11T15:36:00.000-07:002010-10-11T15:37:34.653-07:00Intro to Romans, Final Paper An interpretation of Paul’s doctrine that believers die and rise again with Christ. By Mike Ivaska, 10/11/2010The beginning of chapter six of Paul’s letter to the Romans appears to be a shift in Paul’s thinking. At this point in the letter, Paul seems to leave behind the doctrine of justification by faith and move into the doctrine of sanctification – indeed of the necessity of sanctification for true and final salvation (cf. 6:16). While it is not entirely incorrect to view this chapter this way, I The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-6460909748764103102010-07-20T22:22:00.000-07:002010-07-20T22:26:41.586-07:00The Letter to the Hebrews as a Clue to Early Christian Reading of the Hebrew ScripturesBy Mike Ivaska07-20-2010 The letter to the Hebrews gives us a valuable glimpse into the interpretation and application of the Old Testament among Christians of the first century. This is of particular interest to me. I am fascinated by the ways in which the Christian community of the New Testament era understood and applied the Old Testament. It is current among evangelicals today, The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-46981487982965117682010-02-07T23:02:00.000-08:002010-02-07T23:08:01.205-08:00The Apostle Paul (and Karl Barth) vs. Philosophy of ReligionIn his commentary on Paul’s letter to the Romans, Karl Barth repeatedly and approvingly quoted the philosopher Nietzsche. For his many faults (and there were indeed many), Barth had come to the conviction that his adherence to theological modernism had to be abandoned. Modernism, or Liberalism as it was often called, centered its study of religion around man and what man could know and believe.The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-25649670075073833862009-12-03T15:42:00.000-08:002009-12-03T15:45:44.624-08:00WE DON’T NEED AFFIRMATION, WE NEED HEALING“Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him…For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these things come from within, and theyThe Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-80718813413532959592009-11-06T14:18:00.001-08:002009-11-06T14:22:31.432-08:00Origins of Christianity 1 - Second Temple Judaism and the Conflict Between Jewish Leaders and Jesus<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-4345896147812827452009-08-08T19:48:00.001-07:002009-08-08T19:48:23.138-07:00A Good Bloghttp://merelyconfessionalpresby.blogspot.com/The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-3533209944638240592009-07-06T11:09:00.000-07:002009-07-06T11:41:49.863-07:00The Lordship of Christ and the Authority of ScriptureI have been reading from a book by a theologian named Wolfhart Pannenberg about Jesus. It's Enlglish title is Jesus - God and Man. His excursions through higher criticism have actually been very refreshing, though I can't always support his conclusions or his attitude towards the Scriptures. Higher criticism is the biblical study of texts, comparing and contrasting to determine which texts are The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-13834269276110695592009-05-13T21:02:00.000-07:002009-05-13T21:05:01.498-07:00Biblical Inerrancy - a.k.a. my third and LAST college English paperENG 102 - English CompositionJudy A Jowers, Professor5/13/09Writing Assignment #3By Mike Ivaska While recognizing the immense value of biblical and historical criticism, the culturally conditioned nature of Scripture, and the sometimes apparent conflicts between biblical faith and modern science, nevertheless, if the Christian church is going to remain a faithful and potent witness to the The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-51971477882423166732009-04-30T00:03:00.001-07:002009-04-30T00:05:04.679-07:00The Gospel and Homosexuality aka my second college English paperENG 102 - English CompositionJudy A Jowers, Professor4/13/09Writing Assignment #2By Mike Ivaska In preaching the gospel to homosexuals, the evangelical church should primarily draw the attention of its audience to Jesus Christ and not to the issue of homosexuality. I would like to present three reasons for this. First, the church represents the biblical God to the world. This means that the The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-53572641383376935452009-04-27T20:52:00.000-07:002009-04-27T21:09:09.563-07:00Freedom in ChristToday was a really odd day. I spent a couple of hours almost cripplingly depressed. All the changes going on in life, even good things like getting married, I think are catching up with me. However, the depression raised an interesting and spiritually valuable point.Are we free to be weak before God and before others? Of course the "theological" answer is Yes. But on a very practical level, The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-30655370742818654122009-04-19T23:21:00.000-07:002009-04-20T00:07:37.247-07:00Don't you care? Who are you?Nichole and I went to an evening service at our church today. The pastor of worship, Dave Rohrer, gave the message.The sermon was from Mark 4:35-41, where Jesus calms the sea. In this story, well known to most Christians, the disciples and Jesus are crossing the Sea of Galilee in a boat when a storm arises. The disciples are in a panic, but Jesus continues to sleep through the storm. The The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-70651608878315894372009-04-19T23:07:00.000-07:002009-04-19T23:42:43.486-07:00Church Dogmatics I/1, p.510 - "God the Son""In our inquiry into the NT doctrine of the divinity of Christ we ended with tautology, that for the men of the NT Jesus Christ is the Lord, because he is the Lord. We cannot set this tautology aside, but we can now describe it in this way: to them he is the Reconciler-God, by being the Creator-God. His judgment and his grace touch them because he touches their existence. Of course the reverseThe Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-29212100358649693572009-04-13T18:59:00.000-07:002009-04-14T04:08:35.556-07:00Predestination a.k.a. My first college English paper...ENG 102 - English CompositionJudy A Jowers, Professor4/13/09Writing Assignment #1By Mike Ivaska It is important that Christians find a way to be comfortable believing the doctrine of predestination. This is because predestination, more than many other Christian doctrines, brings glory to Jesus Christ. To "bring glory" to someone is to "shine a light" on that person. Predestination, if The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-76944735451452045702009-04-10T23:51:00.001-07:002009-04-10T23:51:44.937-07:00Karl Barth article. TIME magazine, April 20, 1962http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=86623057144&h=tblO8&u=6B1dZ&ref=mfThe Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-37536312524372934882009-03-23T01:36:00.000-07:002009-03-23T02:00:38.844-07:00The Gospel in a Paganized Church and WorldI had a very unusual (for me) conversation today at work. A co-worker of mine is, I guess, a Christian. She has done youth ministry before and is a proud member of the United Church of Christ. She is very proud of her denomination and also of the fact that it is Obama's denomination as well.I do not have a problem with any of that, really. I like Obama too.What was unusual to me was to run inThe Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-62160652372908355662009-03-18T14:05:00.000-07:002009-03-18T14:14:52.004-07:00“Union in Christ: A Declaration for the Church”Union In Christ:A DeclarationThe following Declaration was adopted during Gathering III of the Presbyterian Coalition (Dallas, 1998).Preamble:The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. God has called the church into being in order to carry out God's mission to the world. We believe that the Presbyterian Church (USA) must respond to that commission by reaffirming its Christ-centerednessThe Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-88074813936375422982009-03-16T23:16:00.000-07:002009-03-16T23:30:41.255-07:00In Praise of Monergism Pt. 5.....So I am continuing to slog through Barth's Romans. It is wonderful but slow (or is that "wonderfully slow"?) reading.I was struck tonight by Barth's handling of the Israel/Gentile passages, especially his handling of the image of the olive tree in Romans 11.Barth takes the Apostle Paul's context of the Gospel spreading beyond the ethnic borders of Israel and applies it to his own world of a The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-21961634673304954642009-03-12T00:07:00.000-07:002009-03-12T00:21:47.358-07:00Recommended Theologian: Kim RiddlebargerI highly recommend this professor and reformed Presbyterian minister, Kim Riddlebarger, especially if you have any interest in eschatology. Awesome Bible teacher!!http://kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com/The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-28035286431954904482009-03-10T00:46:00.000-07:002009-03-11T23:51:48.431-07:00"This unwillingness to die is the real tragedy of the Church."Excerpt from: Karl Barth, Epistle to the Romans, p.343-344 (paragraph breaks mine)'In Isaac shall thy seed be called (Gen.xxi 12).' That is, it is not the children of the flesh as such that are the children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned as the seed. The totality of those who are the 'seed of Israel,' the type - they are not more than this - of all who lift up hands to The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-14459420349299162172009-03-07T22:01:00.000-08:002009-03-11T23:25:19.081-07:00Theology is Moral WorkOne of the most important things for theologians to remember is that they are going to be judged.I have just finished watching a program about Albert Einstein. His intellect was massive. His all consuming passion to discover the solution to his theory of gravity, of bending light, can be very inspiring to an intellectually minded individual such as myself. Albert Einstein can be admired much The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-6037883219555072442009-03-06T13:41:00.001-08:002009-03-11T23:54:53.342-07:00Well, are you?http://stillsearching.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/are-you-a-christian-hipster/The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-22295490959674489002009-03-05T23:08:00.000-08:002009-03-05T23:36:12.711-08:00The OtherI have continued to be fascinated by Karl Barth's understanding of God as the wholly Other.At first the language sounded so idolatrous to me I did not know what to make of it. As I have joyously plodded through his Romans, though, I have come to love his concept. It is his way of comprehending God as something other than the close, pantheistic "god" of the Liberalism in which he was trained andThe Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-14824229510601965202009-03-04T12:39:00.001-08:002009-03-04T13:13:26.065-08:00WrathOkay. I will now attempt to write something theological while listening to System of a Down....Yesterday I was invited to attend a theological discussion group led by UPC's former pastor, Earl F. Palmer. It was a really wonderful thing...There are a couple of observations that I wanted to write about."To be a man means to be so situated in God's presence as Jesus is, that is, to be the Bearer The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-20416689363269256982009-03-02T00:16:00.000-08:002009-03-02T00:17:30.424-08:00The last sermon I preached....Whoo! It's been a while now!PSALM 238-3-08 @ VICCRead Psalm, PRAY1) "Of David" = written by David2) Scholars - a "Song of Confidence" or "Song of Trust"3) Because of Jesus' words, "I am the good shepherd," this Psalm easily draws our eyes to Jesus.4) This psalm naturally divides into three stanzas - vv. 1-3 v. 4 vv. 5-6First Stanzavv. 1-3 READ1) LORD = the covenant name When The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-89941501774682639402009-02-25T12:09:00.001-08:002009-03-11T23:57:51.380-07:00Better facts....I was linked to this essay by George Hunsinger, professor of systematic theology at Princeton Seminary. If you read my previous entry on "the Sins of Karl Barth" it is worth reading.http://libweb.ptsem.edu/collections/barth/reviews/CharlotteKirschbaum.aspx?menu=296&subText=468&disclaimer=668The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-7098717883447978392009-02-24T23:29:00.000-08:002009-03-11T23:58:56.075-07:00The sins of Karl BarthOkay. So I have had a bit of a revelation lately.The other day I was rummaging around the internet and reading things on the man who seems to have become my favorite theologian - Karl Barth. I made a disturbing discovery. It is a little embarrassing, to be honest, to have become such a fan of a man and not know such a commonly understood bit of information as this. What I learned was that The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-36553372605243913012009-02-17T00:17:00.000-08:002009-03-11T23:53:05.563-07:00In Praise of Monergism Pt 4....or "The Sign and the Thing Signified."Been continuing to read Barth's commentary on Romans....The consistency of Karl Barth's understanding of grace makes his theology a real feast for someone wanting to experience the living God. The things he writes are absolutely no replacement for the Scriptures themselves, or for prayer, or for one's own efforts to assimilate all that one has been taught by God (i.e. "theology"). However, if The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-74959335243207772792009-02-14T17:49:00.000-08:002009-03-11T23:59:39.481-07:00John the Baptist's DoubtMy brother sent me this blog link from John Piper. Very good stuff. God is bigger than our doubts...http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1636_John_the_Baptists_Doubt/The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-49261797776534688392009-02-09T12:40:00.000-08:002009-02-10T13:29:58.260-08:00ExcursusThe eschatological hopes of the New Testament writers (such as Peter in 2 Peter 3:1-13, John's vision in Revelation 21, etc.) are surprisingly Jewish.This may sound funny, since the NT authors were Jewish. However, after almost two-thousand years of Christians being told that their ultimate hope was heaven and not the restoration of God's good creation, it actually is surprising. The Old The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-59283014191494394562009-02-08T21:56:00.000-08:002009-03-11T23:53:34.493-07:00In Praise of Monergism - Barth, Romans and Reformation, pt.3"The atonement that occurred in Him [i.e. Jesus] is an invisible atonement which is contrasted with any soul and sense relationship between us and Jesus as impossibility is contrasted with possibility, death with life, non-existence with existence. Compared with all that we are and have and do, it is - satisfactio vicaria." - Karl Barth, Romans, p.160This is the passage that inspired me to writeThe Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-62245147087820424412009-02-08T20:39:00.000-08:002009-03-11T23:53:59.247-07:00In Praise of Monergism - Barth, Romans, and Reformation, Pt.2I think that Karl Barth is the Martin Luther of modern Protestantism.I have already written (in the previous entry) of how Barth, in his commentary to the Romans, handles deftly the critical Protestant understanding of faith - that faith in itself is no thing, it is a negation, it is not a hand that reaches to God but a void that is filled by God. Even a self-effacing humility brings some glory The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-81560678378392400112009-02-04T11:27:00.000-08:002009-03-11T23:54:22.471-07:00In Praise of Monergism - Barth, Romans, and ReformationI am finally digging back into Karl Barth's book, The Epistle to the Romans. It is not a commentary so much as a violent orchestra of theological explosions. If you like violent, exploding theological orchestras you might like it.Barth, as I have said on other posts, is rather misunderstood. He did not reach orthodox conclusions in orthodox ways. That was not even his approach. He rather The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-48331230422259659792009-01-27T12:09:00.000-08:002009-01-27T12:31:08.376-08:00Pedobaptism"For thus says the LORD:'Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,for I will contend with those who contend with you,and I will save your children.'" (Isaiah 49:25)If we are going to truly be reformed, and are going to confess that our salvation is only of the Lord and not of us (Psalm 3:8) - if we are truly going to be FREE in Christ Jesus - then we The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-1375519256551635092009-01-13T17:45:00.000-08:002009-01-13T17:46:05.055-08:00IN HONOR OF SHARON IVASKA, MY MOTHERAs I sat down to write what I wanted to say about mom, I floated somewhere between knowing exactly what to say and having no idea at all. These last two weeks have certainly been filled with firsts. What do you say about your own mother's passing? What do people expect? Is it a time to encourage or to mourn? A time to worship the God who made us or to sit silent before the tragedy of life?The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-40274046146728597982009-01-13T17:43:00.000-08:002009-01-13T17:44:39.342-08:00IN APPRECIATION OF FATHER RICHARD ROACH"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live…" - Jesus Christ(John 11:25) Father Richard Roach was a man who I considered a friend. He and I, as Christians, did not believe a lot of the same things. To his credit (and I hope to mine), what friendship we had been allowed to develop was not based on pretending that truth did not matter - The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-65139332720566360812009-01-10T22:10:00.000-08:002009-01-10T22:32:06.629-08:00Stand. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-65869407945277505982009-01-10T15:29:00.000-08:002009-03-11T23:57:25.225-07:00I Want to be a Universalist but Jesus Won't Let Me (part 1)One of my favorite theologians as of late is Karl Barth. He really gets a terrible wrap from conservative evangelicals, most of which is really undeserved. Barth loved the Lord Jesus, which is clear from any reading of his works. For Barth, the God-man Jesus Christ was - in Himself - the action by which the free God bound himself to man. This sounds perhaps too lofty and "theological" a The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-42043129313797700102009-01-09T13:28:00.002-08:002009-03-11T23:55:14.764-07:00Every believer should check this out...Very funny comedian, Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller, talks about being witnessed to by a Christian man after a show.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHS8adO3hMThe Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-14780526080622970592009-01-08T21:47:00.001-08:002009-03-11T23:58:33.087-07:00"Jesus Christ is the sovereign decision upon the existence of every man. A sovereign decision has been made about us men. Whether we realize it and do justice to it is another question." - Karl Barth, Dogmatics in Outline p. 88.The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-41330293858133503942009-01-08T21:25:00.001-08:002009-03-11T23:56:55.856-07:00The Word of GodIt is amazing how easily we can fall in love with our own knowledge and opinions. So often the Bible becomes subordinated to us, and not us to the Bible. Eugene Peterson is insightful when he says, "God's gracious purpose in giving us his word in written form is not to turn us into Bible students, but to provide a means by which we can hear him speak and be turned into Christians." (Reversed The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8351472507977431863.post-6581968602513096082008-12-01T00:02:00.000-08:002008-12-01T00:04:37.079-08:00The Value of TraditionMy fiancé and I have recently begun attending University Presbyterian Church, a Bible-believing PCUSA congregation in the University District of Seattle, WA. We have only been attending the church perhaps six months but already feel quite at home - though we are still, of course, learning our way around.On the first Sunday we attended, two things in particular stuck out to me. First was the The Studenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951289544297676186noreply@blogger.com0