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Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Sanctification
The concept of "sanctification" is taken from the Latin word
sanctificare, which is a combination of sanctus "holy" and facere "to
make." Sanctification, then, refers to the process of becoming more
holy/righteous/good/etc, of growing or maturing in faith. While not
unique to Christianity, the topic of sanctification has a long history
within our tradition, particularly the question of how it relates to
the concept of Justification. In other words, how does "being made
right with God" (justification) relate to "being made holy"
(sanctification)? Theologian Gerhard Forde, a key Mockingbird
influence, saw the two as one and the same, describing sanctification
as "coming to grips with your justification." Imagine a person who has
been given an absurdly expensive gift by someone who not only refuses
to be repaid, but considers any attempt at repayment to tarnish the
gift itself. The only course of action is to deal with the free gift,
to dwell on its lavishness, to internalize its beauty, to live out of
a profound sense of gratitude. This can be an uncomfortable position,
much less popular than the "corporate ladder" that has masqueraded as
Christian teaching throughout much of its history, mainly because it
takes the whole process out of human hands. A plant does not will
itself to produce fruit, after all.
(from mockingbird)
Bennie Mac
sanctificare, which is a combination of sanctus "holy" and facere "to
make." Sanctification, then, refers to the process of becoming more
holy/righteous/good/etc, of growing or maturing in faith. While not
unique to Christianity, the topic of sanctification has a long history
within our tradition, particularly the question of how it relates to
the concept of Justification. In other words, how does "being made
right with God" (justification) relate to "being made holy"
(sanctification)? Theologian Gerhard Forde, a key Mockingbird
influence, saw the two as one and the same, describing sanctification
as "coming to grips with your justification." Imagine a person who has
been given an absurdly expensive gift by someone who not only refuses
to be repaid, but considers any attempt at repayment to tarnish the
gift itself. The only course of action is to deal with the free gift,
to dwell on its lavishness, to internalize its beauty, to live out of
a profound sense of gratitude. This can be an uncomfortable position,
much less popular than the "corporate ladder" that has masqueraded as
Christian teaching throughout much of its history, mainly because it
takes the whole process out of human hands. A plant does not will
itself to produce fruit, after all.
(from mockingbird)
Bennie Mac
Monday, September 03, 2012
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