This Red vs Blue clip emphasizes how sometimes we use words that carry different meanings to different people. When we discuss heavy topics, we are often doing so with some very loaded terms. What are some terms that you have frequently seen misunderstood?
In the past week, our COAS has seen a lot of discussion on the doctrine of substitutionary atonement. To fill out explanations of this, I’d like to direct you all to 2 different locations
First of all, check out our Confessional Statement (#’s 7 and 8). This is a concise and clear explanation of the doctrine.
For a very detailed and thorough explanation, I will direct you to Mars Hill Church in Seattle, for Pastor Mark Driscoll’s sermon on Good Friday, the Day of Atonement. I will warn you, as it is a dark and heavy theme. He goes into a lot of detail about the crucifixion that will make most of us uncomfortable. I recommend it because it definitely does not pull any punches, and is one of the best explanations of the Old Testament sacrificial system and allusions to the Messiah that I have ever seen. It is an excellent sermon overall.
Please extend a warm welcome to Chris Gensheer, our newest contributor! Chris is our 7th writer and provides some additional perspective to round out our content. Chris is a husband (yay, I’m not alone anymore!) and also our first father on the team. He is a “cultural connoisseur” and will definitely be writing on that topic and others. Head on over to the Contributors Page to read more about his background.
Also in the works, we’ve got a new webpage coming soon! That’s right, we’re stepping away from wordpress just a tad (we still love you guys) and thanks to Jared’s expertise, we’ll be hosting this blog on a dedicated server so we can really tweak and customize the image, feel, and versatility. Expect a totally new and revamped Confessions of a Seminarian no later than April 15th!!!
To finish up the series on heart-guarding where we have sought out the help of ninja-men like Chuck Norris and looked to novels by Jane Austen, I’d like to mention a woman who has influenced me a lot through her books and also another more contemporary writer and see what we can understand.
A school of thought that perhaps supports the sensible side of things in Austin’s novel is from Elisabeth Elliot. I have gleaned from reading her books Passion and Purity and Quest for Love that a woman should “keep her own counsel” and “aim first at loving God.” Ms. Elliot encourages gentlemen to be forthright with the women to whom they are attracted and encourages women to keep quiet with her feelings until “after the proposal.” This doesn’t seem to leave much room for exuberance, but it does kind of make room for a quiet adventure—kind of like Miss Dashwood experienced I’m sure. It seems a little extreme to some and I’m sure Miss Maryanne would find Ms. Elliot’s ideas absurd; however, I would consider Ms. Elliot’s advice to be somewhat a bit of a heart-guarding experience, although, honestly, to me, it just doesn’t sound like any fun. I like to gush, and so that is why I was attracted to the next author!
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