Do these Convictions feel like tough bones?
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 3:35 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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March 4, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Thank you, Dr. Dunbar, for a very clear, concise, and informative explanation of this. As a Mennonite/Anabaptist, there is always some trepidation when some of the more conservative people of my denomination find out that I’m attending a non-Mennonite seminary. I think this explanation of the “tough bones” answers a LOT of those concerns. While there will always be the “hold-outs”, I feel confident sharing this article with others.
As for tough bones… yes, I think they are. They seem to follow along with the larger tradition of the church, back even to the Jerusalem council. I think even they recognized the need for a generous orthodoxy, an evangelical mission, and a scripturally backed mission. The “bones” you’ve articulated here can easily be seen all the way back to the 1st century. Like Gimli, we are shaping them, building on them, and using them to make such a place on which the armies of The Enemy (literal or figurative) would break like water.
March 6, 2009 at 2:58 am
This is a bold articulation by Biblical’s faculty and leadership. You are honoring the best of your legacy, committed unswervingly to the future to which God has called you.
March 7, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Dear Dr. Dunbar,
Thank you for your strong and thoughtful encouragement to be missional. Amen.
I have a concern about the use of the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed as a summary statement of Christian Tradition. Although true in what they address, these creeds don’t serve as an adequate test of evangelical doctrine because they are incomplete. I’m sure you can think of sub-Biblical doctrinal systems that are alive and well today that would agree with these primative creeds, but are not be salvific. My solution to this situation is to choose a more modern, comprehensive statement of faith – one that is less than 500 years old, reflecting topics addressed during the Reformation.
Would you please comment?
March 8, 2009 at 1:47 am
Robert: Thanks for the observations. I hope we can be of greater service to the Anabaptist community.
Steve: Thanks for the endorsement!
Dave: A thoughtful comment and one that is correct. That is why it was important to the faculty to state that we are an evangelical institution–evangelical in the ways that I have framed it out in this article.