Summary: Differing perspectives on theological issues allow us to see other views and approach our views with more clarity.
I have recently started reading Richard Beck’s blog Experimental Theology. I was briefly introduced to Dr Beck 10 or 12 years ago via a mutual friend at a conference, but only recently have I started reading him.
The Slavery of Death is an attempt to explore the way that the Christus Victor model of the atonement* interacts with the way most western Christians view the relationship between Sin and Death.
The Eastern Orthodox tradition does not reject the Penal Substitution model of atonement, but they tend to emphasize the Christus Victor model as more in line with their theological positions. So much of what Beck is doing in this book is telling the story of Christianity again (for us Western Christians), but through the lens of Orthodox views.
The traditional Western story is that death was introduced to humanity (and maybe the whole world) after the sin of the garden. But…
“According to the Orthodox, the real issue at the heart of Genesis 3 “the biblical story of “the fall” is not focused on establishing a causal model regarding the sin/death relationship and how we inherit a moral stain from our ancestors, but is mostly concerned about the etiology of death and who is to blame for introducing death into the world. In other words, the Eastern Orthodox tradition understands Genesis 3 to be more about theodicy (a story about where death came from) than soteriology (a story about where sin came from).”
Takeaway: A bit repetitive, but the basic idea, that slowing down, enjoying life, and doing things well instead of fast is a good reminder.
Summary: AW Tozer is one of the great spiritual writers of the 20th century, and a prime example of God using less than perfect people.
Summary: A journalist tries to stay alive while tracking down a story about abuse of power by a rogue agent.
Takeaway: Inefficiency at work often means taking away time from home.
