Thank you for writing this Nick! As a pastor serving in the CRC this is a wonderful reminder of how honesty and transparency is Christ-like and God honoring. I'm reminded of Carl Trueman's work "The Creedal Imperative" as I read through this piece. I'm thankful that in God's huge kingdom a commitment to truth is tied to a commitment to loving one another well. May God bless us with accountability and loyalty to the Word and open sharing our commitments together as believers.
Thank you for this, Nick. It is a beautiful piece. Some commentators on another channel were struggling with the use of the word, “absolute”. I offered this as my perspective.
I think ‘absolute’ is a perfect approach in Nick’s article.
What does absolute mean in Christianity?
In Christian theology, the Absolute is conceived as being synonymous with or an essential attribute of God, and it characterizes other natures of God such as His love, truth, wisdom, existence (omnipresence), knowledge (omniscience), power (omnipotence), and others.
Etymology
English word, absolute, came from Middle French "absolut," which was originated from Latin "absolutus," a past participle of "absolvo," a verb, meaning "to set free, end, and complete," and "detached, pure."
The confessions, approached from the perspective of God’s attributes (the Absolute), do indeed set us free. Approached otherwise, perhaps, the confessions will confound, imprison and frustrate.
This is exactly the problem I have experienced at my current CRC church. I was contemplating becoming a member and asked the elders to confirm and clarify the things that the church believed and supported, and they have refused to do that and have acted like I am divisive for seeking clarity. It has been incredibly frustrating, and it is, frankly, one of the rudest and most unkind things I have ever experienced at the hands of church leaders. I would have appreciated open honesty from the beginning so that I could have clearly decided whether or not this was the church for me, rather than to have them passive aggressively not answer but pretend that they were going to answer.
Thank you for writing this Nick! As a pastor serving in the CRC this is a wonderful reminder of how honesty and transparency is Christ-like and God honoring. I'm reminded of Carl Trueman's work "The Creedal Imperative" as I read through this piece. I'm thankful that in God's huge kingdom a commitment to truth is tied to a commitment to loving one another well. May God bless us with accountability and loyalty to the Word and open sharing our commitments together as believers.
Thank you for this, Nick. It is a beautiful piece. Some commentators on another channel were struggling with the use of the word, “absolute”. I offered this as my perspective.
I think ‘absolute’ is a perfect approach in Nick’s article.
What does absolute mean in Christianity?
In Christian theology, the Absolute is conceived as being synonymous with or an essential attribute of God, and it characterizes other natures of God such as His love, truth, wisdom, existence (omnipresence), knowledge (omniscience), power (omnipotence), and others.
Etymology
English word, absolute, came from Middle French "absolut," which was originated from Latin "absolutus," a past participle of "absolvo," a verb, meaning "to set free, end, and complete," and "detached, pure."
The confessions, approached from the perspective of God’s attributes (the Absolute), do indeed set us free. Approached otherwise, perhaps, the confessions will confound, imprison and frustrate.
This is exactly the problem I have experienced at my current CRC church. I was contemplating becoming a member and asked the elders to confirm and clarify the things that the church believed and supported, and they have refused to do that and have acted like I am divisive for seeking clarity. It has been incredibly frustrating, and it is, frankly, one of the rudest and most unkind things I have ever experienced at the hands of church leaders. I would have appreciated open honesty from the beginning so that I could have clearly decided whether or not this was the church for me, rather than to have them passive aggressively not answer but pretend that they were going to answer.