person and work of Christ

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

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Father, Thank You for Hope

Matthew 28:5-6

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said.”

Christ the Lord is Risen Today (Charles Wesley, 1739)

Christ, the Lord, is risen today
Sons of men and angels say
Raise your joys and triumphs high
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply

Lives again our glorious King
Where, O death, is now thy sting?
Once He died our souls to save
Where thy victory, O grave?

Soar we now where Christ hath led
Following our exalted Head
Made like Him, like Him we rise
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies

Alleluia!

1 Peter 1:18-21

You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed– not by perishable things like silver or gold, but by precious blood like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb, namely Christ. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was manifested in these last times for your sake.  Through him you now trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

1 Corinthians 15

Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you– unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received– that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures…

Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed– in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

So then, dear brothers and sisters, be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Good Friday

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As a preacher once said, “It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming.”

Mark 15:16-38

So the soldiers led him into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) and called together the whole cohort. They put a purple cloak on him and after braiding a crown of thorns, they put it on him. They began to salute him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Then they knelt down and paid homage to him. When they had finished mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

The soldiers forced a passerby to carry his cross, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus). They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which is translated, “Place of the Skull”). They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, throwing dice for them, to decide what each would take. It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, “The king of the Jews.” And they crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross!” In the same way even the chief priests– together with the experts in the law– were mocking him among themselves: “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him.

Now when it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 Around three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah!” Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down!” But Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last. And the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood in front of him, saw how he died, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

Isaiah 53

Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the LORD’s power revealed through him? He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him. He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.

All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the LORD caused the sin of all of us to attack him. He was treated harshly and afflicted, but he did not even open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block, like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not even open his mouth. He was led away after an unjust trial– but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded. They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully.

Though the LORD desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the LORD’s purpose will be accomplished through him. Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. “My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins. So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”

Math in Process

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This semester I get to write a paper on the topic of my choosing. Here is the working title that I have submitted:

“Process Theology as a Departure from Orthodox Christianity and the Implications for the Philosophy of Mathematics”

I thought that was a rather awesome title.

I wanted to write a paper that brought together the two fields which most interest me: theology and mathematics. But not knowing exactly what to write on or exactly what topics might need to be addressed in these two fields, I turned to the Journal for the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences and specifically to the letter from the founding editor. In that letter James Bradley lays out the framework for mathematics to be done Christianly. He also raises 14 areas in which he, as a mathematician and a Christian, believes more work needs to be done. Here are points 1 and 11:

1. What are the implications of the person and work of Jesus Christ for mathematics? If there are none, or if they are not central, what does this tell us about mathematics?

11. Some thinkers (perhaps influenced by process theology) have asserted the idea that God’s creation is not a finished work but that he creates new mathematical objects through mathematicians. Is this idea theologically sound? Is it helpful for our understanding of mathematics?

I believe both of these points can be addressed simultaneously and it is my intention to do so in this paper. Process theology deals quite thoroughly with how God relates to His creation and any discussion that revolves around creation from a Christian perspective cannot ignore the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is true because

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

John 1:1-3

and

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:15-18

the latter verse being the influence for the subtitle of this blog.

For those of you unfamiliar with Process Theology, here it is in a nutshell: God is viewed as being dynamically involved in and with His creation. This God is bound to the present and relationally to creatures. He is seen through creative occasions through historical moments. He is always changing, hence the name of “Process.” This God is the process that carries forward the memories of the past and gives meaning to the present. This God does not condemn us or force us to do things, rather He sweetly persuades and simply hopes to convince you of the right choice. This is another way of saying that God is pure becoming (against the classical model which emphasizes being).

To read more on Process Theology and Process Thought in general from those who espouse it, you can visit the Center for Process Studies where you’ll find condensed summaries of their beliefs.

Here is what the paper boils down to: Process Theology is a very dangerous line of thought and (as the title suggests) should be viewed as a departure from the God of the Bible and what the church has historically defined as orthodoxy. Process Theology may be founded on good intentions, attempting to reconcile tough issues of faith, but to worship a God that differs from who He actually is and how He has revealed Himself is to commit idolatry.

Therefore any influence this theology has brought into the philosophy of mathematics should be heavily scrutinized, especially if we are attempting to do and think about mathematics Christianly.

I look forward to diving in to this topic and to providing you with some updates along the way.