Theology - beyond the norms
It's been a while, there's so much I could write about! The Open Door's first worship gathering at the Union Project, the first Pittsburgh Missional Cohort, Teah, TSE's CD release Party. I'll save all that fun stuff for now.
I went to a very interesting lecture yesterday given by Ralph Winter. He's a well known missiologist and missionary. I think he near 80 years old too. From what I understand his lectures over the past week at PTS have been very good, but I only made it to one. The one I heard was on the churches refusal to deal with 20th and 21st century science from a theological perspective. Sure we've argued against science and against things like evolution and the origins of the universe, but we've ignored the theological and missiological ramifications of things like bacteria, viruses and parasites.
I have to admit when he first went into this stuff I was lost, not because it was over my head, but because I was bored! But then it started to sink in more. Dr. Winter said that disease is evil, and Christians are called to combat evil. He spoke with frustration about how Christians will pray when someone gets sick, but we do not do anything to combat the evil thing making people sick. There are lots of Christians in Africa caring for and praying for Aids patients, but the church does not consider it their responsibility to destroy the cause of Aids, a tiny "evil" virus.
He said that drug companies will never develop ways to kill viruses and bacterias that are killing people in third world countries. It's up to the church to do this, and we're not, we haven't really considered it. Sure we care for people, but we don't do science!
It was very interesting to me. Is God disappointed in his church because we're not on the front lines fighting disease for the sake of those who suffer and those who will suffer?
I went to a very interesting lecture yesterday given by Ralph Winter. He's a well known missiologist and missionary. I think he near 80 years old too. From what I understand his lectures over the past week at PTS have been very good, but I only made it to one. The one I heard was on the churches refusal to deal with 20th and 21st century science from a theological perspective. Sure we've argued against science and against things like evolution and the origins of the universe, but we've ignored the theological and missiological ramifications of things like bacteria, viruses and parasites.
I have to admit when he first went into this stuff I was lost, not because it was over my head, but because I was bored! But then it started to sink in more. Dr. Winter said that disease is evil, and Christians are called to combat evil. He spoke with frustration about how Christians will pray when someone gets sick, but we do not do anything to combat the evil thing making people sick. There are lots of Christians in Africa caring for and praying for Aids patients, but the church does not consider it their responsibility to destroy the cause of Aids, a tiny "evil" virus.
He said that drug companies will never develop ways to kill viruses and bacterias that are killing people in third world countries. It's up to the church to do this, and we're not, we haven't really considered it. Sure we care for people, but we don't do science!
It was very interesting to me. Is God disappointed in his church because we're not on the front lines fighting disease for the sake of those who suffer and those who will suffer?
Comments
I was intrigued by your evil comment. When my podcast of my sermon from last week goes up "Laying it on the Line" or the mss in a few days, you should read or listen to what I said about evil. I have never met Dr. Winter or heard him, but I said those same words to my congregation. I almost fell off the seat in the business center here in Nairobi when I read that!
Terry