Topics

“FRIENDS OF GOD”: THE STARTING PLACE FOR ALL THINGS

“FRIENDS” OR “SONS”? IMPLICATIONS FOR PERSEVERANCE

“GOD-BREATHEDNESS” AS THE CHARACTER OF SCRIPTURE

Virgil Warren, PhD

            A series of words has traditionally stated from various angles the character of scripture in positive and negative terms. The list begins with the biblical expression in 2 Timothy 3:16, which translates literally as (1) “God-breathed.” The rather unhappy term in popular vogue for this passage is “inspired”; so “inspiration” becomes the corresponding noun for getting at the concept Paul expressed in the text. “Inspire,” however, does not properly picture the idea because it (a) creates the image of breathing into something the characteristic the word denotes—as when God “breathed into Adam the breath of life” and he became something more than he was. Such imagery limits the meaning of the text to what can add to something already there. The word picture in God-breathedness is that of “exhaling” the thing itself, so the scripture is regarded as issuing directly from God’s mouth. Scripture stands apart from all other writing by being viewed as God’s direct speaking.

“IN THE DAYS OF THOSE KINGS”: DANIEL 2:44

(2) JAMES: CONVICTION CONVERTED TO WORKS

Virgil Warren, PhD

In the history of Christian thought, two opposite tendencies have plagued the church with respect to human obedience in salvation. From Jewish circles especially, the early decades of the Christian era saw strong influences to conceive of human action as producing relationship to God after the fashion of obedience under the Mosaic Law. The apostle Paul strenuously opposed that effort, especially in his letters to Rome and Galatia.

(3) JAMES: SELF-DETERMINATION CONVERTED TO PRAYER

1 TIMOTHY 2:8-15: SITUATIONAL OR GENERAL?

Virgil Warren, PhD

1 TIMOTHY 2:9-15

1.  STUDY GUIDE ON LOVE

2 TIMOTHY 3:16

Virgil Warren, PhD

πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος

pāsa graphē theopneustos kai ōphelimos

Variables in the English wording of this verse

                  2.   Xenoglossia

                        Glossolalia covers a range of speaking phenomena, including ecstatic utterance and “angelic tongues.” Cases occasionally come up in which someone speaks an actual language—xenoglossia. The following possibilities may be kept in mind when evaluating these cases.

A FORMAT FOR THINKING ABOUT FEET WASHING

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Washing feet comes up in three New Testament texts. (a) Luke 7:44 refers to it in an episode about a sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with ointment, wet them with her tears, and wiped them with her hair (7:36-50). (b) Among characteristics of widows enrolled in the church’s benevolence program, Paul lists “washing the saints’ feet” together with parenting, showing hospitality to strangers, and works of Christian living (1 Timothy 5:10). (c) In the upper room the night of his betrayal, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet (John 13:1-16). The last text has prompted some Christians to consider feet washing an ordinance like communion and baptism—or as a part of the communion observance. The paragraphs below analyze this view, giving special attention to the reasoning that seems natural to the issue.

A LETTER ABOUT SEXUAL IDENTITY DISORDER

xxxxx,

Several days ago your letter came, revealing your struggles with sexual identity disorder and what you have proposed to do about the matter. You will not be surprised, I am sure, to find a concerned ear for you in the situation you are handling, but you will not find a sympathetic ear for what you are contemplating doing with it. There is a distinction between the disorder itself and what a person proposes to do with it. The disorder may be understandable; what people decide to do with it is another matter.

A MAP FOR SOUL CARE: ASPECTS AND PROCESSES

A MAP OF EPHESIANS 1:15-23

 Ephesians have         Paul responds      Ephesians receive                           God does

faith in the Lord          thanks                 wisdom/knowledge/                         resurrection

       &                                &                      enlightenment                                    &

love toward the           prays                                                                           enthronement

A POSITION STATEMENT

A PREFERRED UNDERSTANDING OF ATONEMENT THEORY:

A RATIONALE FOR THE STRUCTURE OF GENESIS 1:1-2:3

A RATIONALE FOR THE STRUCTURE OF GENESIS 1:1-2:3

A SKETCH ON BAPTISM FROM ACTS 2:38

Virgil Warren, PhD

A TEACHING METHODOLOGY COMBINING APOLOGETICS

WITH PERSONAL GROWTH AND WITNESSING

ABSTRACT OF CONCEPTS RELEVANT TO WOMEN’S STUDIES

Virgil Warren, PhD

Introduction

               Something must explain why equally committed Christians come out on different sides of the same issue from the same Bible. It is either because of (1) unconscious presuppositions, (2) faulty reasoning, (3) misunderstanding of how language works, or (4) inadequate concept inventory.

ABSTRACT OF DISTINCTIONS ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISM

Virgil Warren, PhD

ADDED NOTATIONS ON APOSTLES TODAY

Virgil Warren, PhD

ADDED NOTATIONS ON SABBATH OBSERVANCE

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Discussions with seventh-day Christians include five questions. (1) The first question asks for the scripture basis for “changing” Saturday to Sunday as the day of observance. That question miswords the issue. It “begs the question” by assuming that the issue involves a change from one day to the other. Our approach notes that Sabbath was a memorial of the exodus, a Jewish national holiday; so there is no basis for Sabbath observance outside the context of Jewish national life. There will be no “scripture basis” for “changing” from Sabbath to Sunday, because there was no “change.” The two items are not in series but in parallel. The two days have different meanings relative to different “nations” and different founding events. It is not a matter of one continuing entity changing one of its national holidays from one day to another. Since this matter relates to the change of covenants, consult the essay entitled “Old Testament Covenants and the Messianic Covenant.”

ADDENDUM: “MALE AND FEMALE”

Old Testament Occurrences

Man/               Septuagint Readings: Ralphs’ & Brenton’s Editions Combined                     MT

Animal Gender                        (ἄρσην/θῆλυς)                                                                    נְקֵבָה/זָכָר

ADDITIONAL THOUGHT ON WOMEN’S STUDIES

“Ministry Before Consensus”

ADJECTIVES

Accent

            recessive

            ultimate  [-ρός (revo"), -to" (tevo")]

Comparison of Adjectives

ADVERBS

Comparison, systems of

             -w"  -teron  -tata

             -#  -(i)wn  -isto"

            -#   ma'llon/mavla + positive     pavnu/mavlista/sfovdra/livan + positive

            B. Alternatives to be considered

                  1.   Divine

                  2.   Demonic

ANALYSIS OF AUGUSTINE’S DOCTRINE OF EVIL

ANIMAL SYMBOLISM IN BIBLICAL APOCALYPTIC

JAMES 5 AND ANOINTING WITH OIL

APOLOGETICS AS INTERPERSONAL

APPLYING NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING

ON MARRIAGE, FAMILY, AND PUBLIC DECORUM

APPROACHING THE MILLENNIAL ISSUE WITH

ARE THERE MODERN-DAY APOSTLES?

Virgil Warren, PhD

Two Word Meanings

ARTICLES

Article, the standard

Article, variants to the standard [toiv, taiv, etc.]

ASPECTS OF HUMAN RIGHTEOUSNESS

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Goodness has several aspects. In relation to a standard, goodness is humanly measurable behavior relative to the divine ideal—as to its “letter” and its “spirit.” As to the behavior, goodness is the overt behavior (which tends to correlate with what is humanly measurable) but the motive, attitude, and character—generalized pattern vs. specific act. As to the setting, goodness has a subjective and objective aspect. As to the kind of interpersonal behavior, there is morality, wisdom, and ministry. These dimensions of goodness are detailed under the headings below.

ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

Virgil Warren, PhD

            I. BASIS OF ASSURANCE

ATTITUDE TOWARD THE BODY AS INTERPERSONAL

Virgil Warren, PhD

ATTITUDES TOWARD SUFFERING

Virgil Warren, PhD

            It is not so much the suffering itself that determines whether we can handle it; it is the attitude we take toward it. Because of the great amount of persecution and suffering endured by God’s people over the centuries, the Bible gives a lot of advice on how to think about pain to deal with it effectively. Major portions of scripture that deal with suffering-pain-calamity-death are Job, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Peter. Cross references from these books lead to other shorter sections on this difficult subject.

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

Virgil Warren, PhD

BAPTISM

Baptism is for interpersonal identification with Christ. In consequence of identity with him, God gives whatever the situation calls for: forgiveness of sins, gift of the Spirit, membership in the body of Christ.

BAPTISM AS IDENTIFICATION WITH CHRIST

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Seeing baptism as identification with Christ provides a framework for working through several abnormal situations that arise and helps make sense even of normal situations that may be overlooked in the theory and practice of the ordinance.

BAPTISM AS INTERPERSONAL

 DECIDING ON “BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT”

Virgil Warren, PhD

BAPTISM: MEANING

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Baptism is for personal identification with Jesus Christ. In consequence of identity with Christ, God forgives sin, gives the Holy Spirit, and make us member in the body of Christ.

BASES FOR INTERPERSONALISM

            BASIC VALUES*

Virgil Warren, PhD

BEHAVIORAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DEPRAVITY

BENEFITS OF ADVERSITY

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

      Many of us have not had to deal much with calamity.

BIG LESSONS IN GENESIS 1-3

Virgil Warren, PhD

      I.     The God-universe distinction

BREAKING BREAD

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Since bread was a food staple in ancient near eastern societies, “bread” came to stand for food in general. As a result, in the Bible “eat bread” usually means to eat or to eat a meal. New Testament examples include Matthew 15:2; Mark 3:20; 7:2, 5; Luke 7:33; 14:1, 15; John 6:31; 13:18 (< Psalm 41:9); 2 Thessalonians 3:8, 12. By further extension, in 1 Corinthians 11:26, 27, 28, 29 “eat bread” appears alongside “drink the cup” in Paul’s description of observing the Lord’s Supper.

CANDIDATE FOR COMMUNION

Virgil Warren, PhD

I. Baptized Believers

            There is a natural correlation between observing the Lord’s Supper and being baptized.  Both ordinances imply the same basic meaning; they are both identifications with Jesus Christ and therefore commitment to his values, purposes, and lordship. Baptism involves this meaning in an initial sense while communion involves it in an ongoing sense.  Therefore, if a person is a baptized believer, there is no legitimate basis for refusing to meet with him around the Lord’s table. Note the issue later of disaffected believers as well as the relationship of communion and church discipline.

CAPITAL CRIMES IN MOSAISM

Central to Less Central: An Interpersonal Format

for Prioritizing Issues in Christian Unity

Virgil Warren, PhD

CHAPTER I

NON-DENOMINATIONAL UNITY IN PERSPECTIVE AND PREVIEW

CHAPTER III

CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERPERSONALISM

Virgil Warren, PhD

“Interpersonalism” refers to interaction between persons, mutual relations, compenetration, mutuality, transaction. Interpersonal unity is the kind of thing John expresses with his a-in-b-in-a formula (e.g., John 10:38; 14:10, 11, 15-16, 20, 23, 38; 15:4-9; 17:21-24; 1 John 2:24-28; see also Colossians 1:27-28). Paul speaks about being “members of one another” (Ephesians 4:25). Interpersonalism contrasts with law, ritual (sacramentalism), nature (materialism), idea (rationalism), and mysticism. The ordinances are performative; they are acts by which we “say something” more than “means of grace’ that we get from them. By them we say something by what we do (cp. Titus 1:16).

CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE AND CHRISTIAN UNITY

Virgil Warren, PhD

This article encourages using interpersonal principles in the quest for Christian unity.¹ We are reflecting on the role of attitude in creating an atmosphere for conflict resolution in the body of Christ today.

CHRISTIAN CONVERSATION

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

            A.  We communicate three main ways: touch

                                                                            movement (kinesics)

CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

      We are concerned about the way marriage should operate

CHRISTIAN PARENTING

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION                 

CHRISTIAN UNITY

CHRISTIAN UNITY

CHRISTIAN WORLD VIEW

The basic reality in Christianity is interpersonalism. God is personal, and everything else and everyone else derive from him by his creation. Interpersonalism is the most complex reality there is. It stands in contrast to nature, law, and ideas (metaphysics). Interpersonalism operates by love, nature by natural law, law by authority, and metaphysics by form.

                             CHRISTIANITY BY CONTRAST: SKETCHES   

Virgil Warren, PhD

CHRISTIANS AND TEMPORAL AUTHORITIES

Virgil Warren, PhD

            In non-Christian societies, people wonder whether they can continue in their jobs if they become Christians. The minister of a new congregation in Moscow asked about that issue. A policeman had asked whether he would have to quit his job if he accepted Christ.

CHURCH LEADERSHIP

Virgil Warren, PhD

 I. Introduction

COLOSSIANS 1

Jump-Starters 3

Jesus is the “fullness,” and that makes all the difference  1:19

Jesus is the image of God.  1:15

Jesus is the firstborn of all creation. 1:15

COLOSSIANS 2

Jump Starters 1

Christ is the mystery (2:2)?

Two sets of problems at Colossae

“Shortcuts” for “walking” (2:7)

Relationship of covenants (2:14)

COLOSSIANS 3:18-4:1:  MAJOR IDEAS

Virgil Warren, PhD

Marriage, parenting, and business are all interpersonal processes.

            These relationships are specialized IP processes that have additional features.

            Additional features must be added in such a way that they do not vitiate their                                 underlying interpersonal character.

COLOSSIANS JUMPSTARTERS

Companion passages:  Colossians 3:18-4:1; Ephesians 5:22-6:9

What subjects are involved here?

What is headship/submission (correlative terms)?

Theory of Christian leadership

Three primary means of impacting other people’s actions:

Comments by Virgil Warren on “Disorder and Revolt” in

Authentic Cosmopolitanism

by R. J. Snell & Steven D. Cone

COMMENTS ON CREEDS AND RELATED MATTERS

Virgil Warren, PhD

COMMENTS ON DIVORCE: MATTHEW 5:32

Virgil Warren, PhD

“Everyone that puts away his wife—except for sexual immorality—treats* her like an adulteress, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

COMMENTS ON JOHN CALVIN’S PENAL SUBSTITUTION THEORY OF THE ATONEMENT

COMMENTS ON ORDINATION

COMMON GROUND AND THE DISTINCTIVE ISSUE

IN ATONEMENT THEORY

Virgil Warren, PhD

I. Common Ground

COMMUNION AS INTERPERSONAL

COMMUNION ELEMENTS

Virgil Warren, PhD

     I. Unleavened Elements

            In regard to the nature of the elements of the Lord’s Supper, the basic fact is that Jesus instituted it during a Passover meal. Consequently, he used elements available at that feast.

COMPARING LISTINGS OF APOSTLES

CONCEPTS IN STEWARDSHIP: 1 CORINTHIANS 8-9

Virgil Warren, PhD

CONCERNING CORPORATE WORSHIP

CONDITION vs. CAUSE

A condition is an action required of one person by another. The other person act does not produce the result; it meets the condition for the first person to give the result. Jesus’ reference to the brazen serpent in the Old Testament illustrates idea (John 3:14-15). The Israelites were to look on the brazen serpent to be cured from snakebite. Looking at the brazen serpent did not cause the cure. God gave the cure if a person did the looking.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION BY INTERPERSONAL MEANS

CONJUNCTIONS

Compounds

Enclitics

Meaning

            adversative

            appositional indicator  [wJ"]

CONNECTIONS BETWEEN INTERPERSONALISM AND CHRISTOLOGY

COPING WITH TEMPTATION

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

CREATION IN INTERPERSONAL CONTEXT

CRITERIA FOR A BIBLICAL VIEW OF HUMAN ABILITY

CRITIQUE OF AUGUSTINE’S VIEW OF EVIL

            D. Applying tests to contemporary claims of speaking in languages (“tongues speaking”)

DEALING WITH DIFFERENCES

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

            A.  It is harder to relate to people who differ from us. We cannot do what is natural without offending and may being offended. People who differ from us are the very ones we may be drawn to, because we see in them the traits we wish we had.

            C. Difficulties in evaluation

                  1.   Distinguishing divine miracle from other phenomena (epistemology)

DISPENSATIONS

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Human history may be organized according to the ways God has operated with mankind. The accompanying diagram pictures that history in three periods, or “dispensations”: the patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian. The patriarchal period is so called because during that era God operated through the heads of families, or “patriarchs.”

DIVINE GUIDANCE

God’s normal operation with people is through the Word, through other people (the church), and by the sheer relationship itself. 

II. Duration of the Supernatural Charismata

                  B. Acts 8 and the duration of miraculous charismata

ENHANCING SELF-IMAGE

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

                             Guide verse: “I say . . . to every person among you not to think of yourself more highly than he ought to think” (Romans 12:3).

EPISTEMOLOGY AS INTERPERSONAL

(How We Know)

EARNEST/PLEDGE OF THE SPIRIT

Virgil Warren, PhD

 I. Passages (ἀρραβών: “earnest,” “pledge,” “guarantee,” “deposit”)

ESCHATOLOGY AS INTERPERSONAL

(Last Things)

Virgil Warren, PhD

ETERNAL OPPORTUNITY FOR SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST?

Virgil Warren, PhD

 I. An Unnecessary Concept

            On the assumption, for the moment, that eternal opportunity for salvation through Christ could not be disproved, we should consider several matters.

ETHICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE IMAGE AS

ETHICS AND THE GOLDEN RULE

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Treating other people the way we want to be treated implies the fundamental continuity of humankind. Variations between people do exist, but they do not normally deal with matters that impinge on ethical considerations. Supposing the continuity of human nature as the background for the Golden Rule is preferable to supposing that the Golden Rule describes a non-content procedure, the approach of R. M. McIver, “The Deep Beauty of the Golden Rule” in Philosophy and Contemporary Issues, pp. 233-39.

ETHICS AS INTERPERSONAL

ETHICS STANDARDS

Virgil Warren, PhD

What is the standard and the basis for it?

EVALUATING CURRENT MANIFESTATION

            D. Application of tests to contemporary claims of tongue speaking

EVANGELICAL PERSPECTIVES ON MEN-WOMEN RELATIONSHIP

Virgil Warren, PhD

Introductory Observations

In general, women’s studies relate to the genetic nature of men and women and cultural expectancy regarding their interaction. Discussing evangelical perspectives on men and women in relationship adds biblical interpretation to the inquiry.

EVANGELISM AS INTERPERSONAL

EVENTS AND STATEMENTS RE INTERPERSONAL PRIORITIES

Virgil Warren, PhD

EVERYDAY LESSONS FROM JONAH

Virgil Warren, PhD

The Book of Jonah is anything but “everyday.” It features extraordinary events we would seldom, if ever, see. God talks to Jonah like a next-door neighbor. He tells the prophet to travel to the capital of the Assyrian empire that controls the prophet’s nation. His mission is to warn those enemies that God is going to destroy them in forty days.

EVOLUTION

You can’t put in sequence the origin of reciprocating parts that are necessary for the viability of the whole organism and of the parts themselves. Additionally, the biosphere involves two sexes that both must be present from the beginning in a combinable fashion because entropy means the organisms will die; so they have to be replaced by reproduction. Living organisms involve systems of systems that must all be present from the beginning or the organism is not viable, so there cannot be step-by-step change from one set of systems to another set of systems, all the while with ongoing viability.

EXEGESIS AND THE GOSPELS

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Change of covenants deals only with what people do. That is why (a) there is no change regarding the nature of things (ontological matters) or matters of history (events, including prophecy). (b) Civil and ceremonial observances fall out because national Israel (Moses) and the Old Testament priesthood (Aaron) have been replaced by the interpersonal church with its ministry and message. (c) There are few new ceremonial matters—baptism and the Lord’s Supper—that have come in with Christ. (d) Some modifications in the moral code come in with progressive revelation. Marriage expectancy shifts from polygamy and divorce-remarriage possibilities to permanent monogamy standard. (See the broad arrow diagram in “Old Testament Backgrounds and the Messianic Covenant.”)

EXERCISING FAITH

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

      Faith is an important word in Christianity.

      Faith has meaning for ongoing Christian experience.

EXERCISING LEADERSHIP IN THE CHURCH

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

            A.  A study on exercising leadership applies to everybody.

EXPRESSING AND DEVELOPING LOVE

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

      The mark of a Christian is love.

      “They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love.”

EXTREMELY SINFUL: Psalm 51

Virgil Warren, PhD

FAITH AS INTERPERSONAL

FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT: THREE-IN-ONE

Virgil Warren, PhD

The sense in which Father, Son, and Spirit are three

and the senses in which they are one

FEMALE METAPHORS FOR GOD

BEING FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

Virgil Warren, PhD

FIVE MODELS FOR COMPLETELY RELIABLE SCRIPTURE

Virgil Warren, PhD

FOLLOWING GOD’S GUIDANCE

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

      If relationship to God is interpersonal, then it is not all us (he would be a zero factor) or all him (we would be a thing used). Choice and thinking and other personal acts are occurring on both sides of the relationship.

FOREIGN TERMS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

Virgil Warren, PhD

FOREKNOWLEDGE AND SIN

Virgil Warren, PhD

            God’s reasons for creating us are summarized under divine self-fulfillment (delight), goodness (grace), glory and betterment. Of these four reasons the first and last are personal while the other two are interpersonal. The first two are the reasons for people; the third is the purpose of people beyond themselves. If we speak strictly about the purpose of people, we focus attention on God’s goodness and on what grow out of it, particularly dominion and commission. Self-fulfillment highlights the unnecessitated satisfaction that moves persons to express themselves. Goodness roughly corresponds with God-to-man action; glory corresponds with man-to-God re-action. We say “roughly” because we cannot draw a sharp line between these aspects, which is exactly what we expect in the highly complex, reciprocating, transacting activity that interpersonal process involves.

FREEDOM AND DETERMINISM

The situation is like a broad arrow. Neither freedom nor determinism is absolute. Freedom is within a framework determined by several factors. Nature is the outermost limit, revelation is inside of that, and then there are other factors like circumstance and providence. Our individual freedom will never allow us to move outside the limit that nature imposes, but to a certain extent we may move outside the margin that revelation or circumstance presents.

FREEDOM AS INTERPERSONAL

FREQUENCY OF OBSERVING THE LORD’S SUPPER

Virgil Warren, PhD

GALATIANS 3:28: A TEST CASE FOR SOUND HERMENEUTICS

GENERAL VOCABULARY FEATURES

Introduction

                        Brackets [] indicate examples or explanatory information that is useful or necessary for categorizing the subheadings.  Parenthesis () and/or entries after colons indicate subsets within the heading.

            B.  Guidance: what to do (in Christian living and ministry)

GIFT(S) OF THE SPIRIT

Virgil Warren, PhD

 I. Greek Terminology for Giving

                  A.  δίδωμι:        Acts 2:4, 19; 8:18; 14:3; 15:8; Romans 5:5, etc.

  GLOSSARY OF COMMUNICATION-RELATED TERMS

GOD AND INTERPERSONALISM

GOD KNOWN AS “HE”

GOD’S WILL FOR MY LIFE

Virgil Warren, PhD

GREEK ELEMENTS IN THE INTERPRETATION

GREEK VOCABULARY WITH DIERSES

GREEK WORD FORMATION

Virgil Warren, PhD

SUFFIXES

morpheme                   part of speech         meaning               formed from                example

GROWTH PROCESSES

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

            A.  Description of the general Basic Christianity material

GUIDANCE AS INTERPERSONAL

Virgil Warren, PhD

HEALING AND FORGIVENESS: SICKNESS AND SIN

Virgil Warren, PhD

HERMENEUTICS AND NATURAL DEPRAVITY

HERMENEUTICS AS INTERPERSONAL

HOLY SPIRIT AS INTERPERSONAL

HUMAN DEPRAVITY

Virgil Warren, PhD

Overview of Natural Depravity

             In the late fourth century Augustine, bishop of Hippo in North Africa, gave classical expression to natural depravity as part of his understanding of the nature of evil. In his thought, evil is a lack (privation) in the form of substance relative to its original form. That relatively deformed condition produces evil action. The nature of evil is lack, the cause of evil is lack in form, and the criterion of evil is lack in form compared to pristine form

HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Paul gives “husband of one wife” as a characteristic of elders and deacons in 1 Timothy 3:2, 12 and Titus 1:6. The following diagram traces the pattern of thought for determining what he meant by this phrase.

       I.  The Article

               article-noun . . . noun in same case [Sharp’s rule]  Do not specify same gender and number because we want to see also whether there is any case where the parallel nouns are not the same gender and number.

IMAGE AND LIKENESS

IMPERATIVAL INTENT

 Virgil Warren, PhD

 I. Description of Imperatival Intent

THE “INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”:

A NON-LOCATIONAL UNDERSTANDING

Virgil Warren, PhD

INDWELLING SIN: ROMANS 7

Virgil Warren, PhD

            When Paul speaks of sin resident within him (or indwelling sin), perhaps he means it phenomenologically; that is, the experience of sin feels like something inside him. His point is that sin is not just something outside us (environment, influence) trying to tempt us into misaction; it is something inside us as well. There is a subjective as well as objective component in the sin phenomenon. The implication is personal responsibility for subjective response to objective influence and stimulus.

         INERRANCY

The inerrancy of scripture has to do with the intended content of scripture as such.

INFLUENCING FOR CHRIST

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

            A.  Deliberate choice of term: influencing

INTERJECTIONS

ἄγε, James 4:13

ἴδε, John 1:29

δεῦρο, Mark 10:21

            B.  Interpretation

                  The gift of interpretation corresponds with the gift of language speaking; the understanding of the one corresponds with the understanding of the other, particularly when (δι)ερμηνεύω means “translate” rather than “explain.”

INTERPERSONALISM AND ORDINANCES

Virgil Warren, PhD

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are performative acts, acts by which the performer “says something.” Their meaning comes from what we mean into them; otherwise, they have no meaning. That indicates that they are not rituals done to us by which grace comes to us automatically by virtue of the ritual itself somehow or by virtue of the legitimized authority of the administrator. There is value that comes on us, but it comes on us from God on the prior condition of our commitment to him as communicated by the performative act.

INTERPERSONALISM AND THE MYSTERY OF GOD

Virgil Warren, PhD

Interpersonalism integrates with the “mystery of God” because (a) the mystery factor is highest in the interpersonal categories. That is so because the other categories—nature, law, and logic—are deterministic; but persons, especially persons in relationship, are not fully predictable since they have rationality, creativity, and free will on both sides of the relationship.

INTERPERSONALISM AS A CRITERION FOR

FELLOWSHIP, ORTHODOXY, AND RELATIVE CENTRALITY

Virgil Warren, PhD

Interpersonalism serves as a general criterion for deciding what is part of the faith. It is the touchstone for distinguishing “gospel from culture” and truth from preference.

INTERPERSONALISM: THE INTEGRATING REALITY

FOR CHRISTIAN TRUTH

INTERPRETING THE CREATION NARRATIVE

INTRODUCTION

IRREGULAR LINGUISTIC FEATURES IN REVELATION:

ISRAEL’S CORE COMMANDMENTS

         ISSUES IN WOMEN’S STUDIES

A Guided Study

Virgil Warren, PhD

                 Below are six items for thought and research on women’s studies. Some points may be referred to in Hermeneutics: Getting the Point; check the scripture index for locations. As much as possible, consciously integrate into your write-up the principles studied in the course.

ITEMS AFFECTED BY THE DOCTRINE

  IV.  Verbs

         A.  Tenses

James B. Torrance. Worship, Community & the Triune God of Grace. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1997. 130pp. Reviewed by Virgil Warren, Manhattan, Kansas.

In November 1994, James Torrance, professor emeritus of systematic theology at the University of Aberdeen, presented the Didsbury Lectures in the Nazarene Theological College, Manchester. InterVarsity Press offers these lectures in written form with a preface and appendix added by the author.

(1)  JAMES: COMPETITION CONVERTED TO LOVE

JUST A THOUGHT

“Where Is God?”

Not only is God someone we don’t see; he is someone we can’t see (1 Timothy 3:16). We may wonder, though, why he doesn’t show himself someway at least once in a while. He could speak to us audibly or give us a vision of himself from time to time. The short answer to the question is, “We don’t know.”

“KINGDOM OF HEAVEN”/“KINGDOM OF GOD”/“CHURCH”

KNOWLEDGE IN INTERPERSONAL CONTEXT

Virgil Warren, PhD

LANGUAGE IN INTERPERSONAL CONTEXT

Virgil Warren, PhD

LAW AND GOSPEL IN CONTRAST (IP)

Virgil Warren, PhD

LAW AND INTERPERSONALISM IN CONTRAST

               LAYOUT OF THOUGHTS ON DEUTERONOMY 6:4

Virgil Warren, PhD

LEADERSHIP AS INTERPERSONAL

LEADING CONGREGATIONAL SINGING:

LIVING FREED

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION 

      Freedom men prize as a natural desire of their spirit

      Freedom in regard to God’s will

LIVING FREELY

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

            A.  We feel held down by inhibitions.

LOVE

Love is self-giving for the joy of others. It’s an outward-directed pattern of behavior with other people’s welfare in mind.

LOVE AS INTERPERSONAL

LOVE SPIRALS

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

            A.  Dimensions of personal life

                  2.   Horizontal: social relations, weaker brother relationships, church, home

Man & Woman in Christian Perspective, by Werner Neuer

Reviewed by Virgil Warren, PhD

Werner Neuer. Man & Woman in Christian Perspective. Trans. from the 2nd German edition by Gordon J. Wenham. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991 [1981]. 224 pp. pr

MAN AND WOMAN IN ADAM AND IN CHRIST

Virgil Warren, PhD

MANAGING EMOTIONS

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

MANAGING EMOTIONS (IP)

Virgil Warren, PhD

MANAGING THE CREATION

Virgil Warren, PhD

            God maintains contact with his creation and control over it. Especially in contrast to deism, God did not create the universe and leave it to operate entirely according to built-in laws for self-perpetuation. God is actively involved with what he made. There is built-in NATURAL LAW such as gravity that apparently operates “on its own” now that God has set it up to work in a particular way. But in addition, there is SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION, where God enters the natural process and brings about results that would not have occurred had he not intervened.

MANKIND

Virgil Warren, PhD

   I.    The Purpose of Mankind

MANKIND AS INTERPERSONAL

MARRIAGE AS INTERPERSONAL

MATTERS OF FORM IN COMMUNION

Virgil Warren, PhD

            An appropriate principle would apparently be not to change the form of a ritual command. The form of a performative commandment is not subject to cultural alteration.   This is true because the form of the ordinance does not rest in the nature of things but in the authority of the One who establishes it by positive commandment. Maintaining the form of the ritual command is especially sensible if the New Testament makes a point of some aspect of the form that the ordinance has.

MEANING AS INTERPERSONAL

MEANINGFUL LIFE

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

            Can we give any reason for considering ourselves significant?

MINISTRY BEFORE CONSENSUS ON WOMEN’S ROLES

THE INTERACTION OF FAITH AND MIRACLE

Virgil Warren, PhD

TESTING MIRACLE BY DOCTRINE AND DOCTRINE BY MIRACLE

Virgil Warren, PhD

                        A problem has been suggested in connection with testing miracle by doctrine. On the one hand, we say miracle confirms revelation (Mark 2:1-12; note 3:2; 20:30-31). On the other hand, we apply the doctrinal test to prophets to judge the divine origin of their message (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). In fact, Moses subjected signs to doctrinal evaluation in this statement. Prophets who gave a sign that came to pass (miracle or coincidence) were nevertheless to be executed if they urged the people on that basis to serve other gods (doctrine; Deuteronomy 13:1-5). Miracle proves doctrine and doctrine tests miracle.

MISAPPLYING THE CHRISTIAN SYSTEM (IP)

MIXED MARRIAGE

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Scripture says so much about marriage because it is a universal experience. Besides, it is an intense experience. Married life calls for more skill and understanding than other relationships. It is harder than living alone because it is more complicated, especially when children enter the picture. It is harder than being a good neighbor, getting along with people at work, or even living together in the community of faith. Marriage affects the full range of life rather than just some aspects of it (total). The actions of one partner likely affect the other, and marriage involves a degree of intimacy. We find it possible—and even fulfilling—to relate to many people in varying degrees of “distance” or “closeness,” but in marriage there is no “distance,” and nothing is hidden. Besides, marriage is all the time whereas work is only part of the waking hours and not every day. Marriage is exclusive of all other relationships; its distinctives are not experienced with anyone else. Finally, marriage is permanent while other relationships are not necessarily for life. In a universal, total, permanent, exclusive relationship, it is imperative that the partners share at least the basic values by which marriage operates.

MORALITY/ETHICS

Good and bad are figured relative to purpose.

Out of the nature of God comes the purpose of God.  Out of the purpose of God comes the creation by God, of which we are a part, including people in relationship. There is a fairly close fit between our nature and human morality, but the decisive issue is God’s originating purpose.

NATURAL DEPRAVITY

There is no clear biblical evidence that Adam’s ability in spiritual matters was any different after the fall than it was before the fall in a biologically inheritable sense.

NATURAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE IMAGE

PART II:  THE NATURE OF MAN

Virgil Warren, PhD

PART I: THE NATURE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Virgil Warren, PhD

 III. A Person in the Divine Trinity

NEW TESTAMENT CANON

The canonical books of the New Testament consist of those that were written by close acquaintances of Christ who witnessed his resurrection (apostolicity), those that were accepted across the whole church (catholicity), and those that represent a consistent viewpoint on teaching and practice (doctrinal harmony). They contrast with books written later, books of unknown origin, books accepted in small areas of the Roman empire, and those with doctrines of faith and practice that diverge widely from the canonical books.

NOTABLE POINTS ABOUT SABBATH

Virgil Warren, PhD

Mosaic Legislation on Sabbath

NOTATIONS ON 1 TIMOTHY 2:11-12

Virgil Warren, PhD

NOTATIONS ON GENERAL REVELATION

Virgil Warren, PhD

 I. Terminology

            General revelation refers to natural experiences in the natural universe. Special revelation refers to what comes through visible divine intervention into the natural. The former deals with nature, natural processes, natural events, and can include social processes, human history, subjective experience. The latter deals with supernatural intervention that a person can recognize as supernatural because it does not occur naturally. Intervention labels what God causes beyond what natural process produces. It refers to supernatural occurrences and their meaning given through special revelation. For us, special revelation centers on the revelation preserved in scripture. General revelation comes through the aspects of reality that science studies. Special revelation comes through scripture and involves inspiration. General revelation serves as the basis of philosophy, which uses reason to “discover” truth from experience. Special revelation is the basis for theology, which uses reason to “understand” truth in light of experience.

OBSERVING THE LORD’S SUPPER

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

               The Lord’s Supper is among the acts of worship (1 Corinthians 11: 23-29;

OBTAINING CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

            A.  Leadership is not obtained by

OLD TESTAMENT BACKGROUNDS AND THE

MESSIANIC COVENANT

Virgil Warren, PhD

Introduction

            God is the Great Teacher. Readiness is an educational principle he observed in working to achieve his purpose of a new united mankind (Ephesians 2:15). Over the centuries he has increased people’s readiness for spiritual growth by (1) giving progressive revelation, (2) instituting present forms for later realities, and even (3) adopting human forms to serve as shadows of later substances. Establishing covenants illustrates this third use of readiness.

ORDINATION: WHO AND WHOM

ORIENTATION TO ORDINATION

Virgil Warren, PhD

OVERVIEW OF CREATION AND EVOLUTION

OVERVIEW OF CREATION AND EVOLUTION

PARAMETERS IN WOMEN’S STUDIES

Virgil Warren, PhD

 I. Biblical Passages Relevant to Women’s Studies

PARENTING AS INTERPERSONAL

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Parenting takes place first by interpersonal means. It is on top of interpersonal process that any authority comes, and that authority is bounded in its application by the distinctive purposes at work in this special setting for interpersonal process. The interpersonal circumstance sets the attitude parents take toward their children. Children are smaller but not less. If love is the medium of interpersonal relationships, love becomes the medium for parenting. The means and manner of parenting are primarily interpersonal influence instead of physical force, intimidation, authoritative control, manipulation, and the like. One of the main means of interpersonal influence is modeling what we want to teach, commend, command, and so on.

PARTICLES

("Particles" is a loose category that is not uniformly defined among Greek scholars.  Some include in particles everything but nouns, pronouns, and verbs (A. T. Robertson); other include only the intensifying short words; many include prepositions, conjunctions, negatives, and modal adverbs.)

PASSAGES RELEVANT TO INERRANCY*

Virgil Warren, PhD

PAUL AS PRIMARY APOSTLE

Virgil Warren, PhD

PAUL VS. THE LAW OR THE TRADITION OF THE ELDERS?

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Some authors have suggested that Paul in his writings for the Gentile mission was opposing the tradition of the elders rather than the Mosaic Law itself. But the following factors look away from such a reading of Paul’s concern.

PERSEVERANCE AS INTERPERSONAL

Virgil Warren, PhD

POSSESSING THE BODY

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

            The body is what we notice first about people.

            C.  Power: means of doing it 

                  The work of Christ (theory) provides the basis for salvation. The work of the Spirit picks up the process at that point and contributes to the functional aspects: conversion, guidance, and Christian growth (sanctification).

PRAYER AS INTERPERSONAL

PREACHING AS INTERPERSONAL

Virgil Warren, PhD

PREDESTINATION IN SHORT

Virgil Warren, PhD

Choice, act, consequence (free vs. fixed)

1.     The choice itself is free, but the act is not necessarily free.

PREPOSITIONS

Appositional indicator  [wJ"]

Case Governance

            governing 1 case

                    G

PRESENTING THE GOSPEL TO “THE GOOD MORAL MAN”

PREVENIENT GRACE AND NATURAL DEPRAVITY

PRIMARY EVIDENCE FOR THE IMAGE

PRIMARY FACTORS IN ETHICAL THEORY

PRIME FACTS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

Virgil Warren, PhD

    PROCEDURES CONSISTENT

PRODUCTS OF LOVE

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

      Bible Study Method: ask a question and read scripture with an eye for answers.

PROJECTING INTO THE FUTURE

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

Scripture directs itself to the reader in three dimensions that correspond to the three tenses of our existence. For each time dimension there is a type of biblical literary material:

PROLEGOMENA FOR MEN AND WOMEN IN CHRIST

Virgil Warren, PhD

Précis   Neglected or misunderstood factors complicate any endeavor, including the interaction between men and women in the home, the church, and society. An unnecessary “edge” gets into discussions on this matter because of unconscious preconceptions about (a) the bases for self-esteem, (b) the nature of leaders and led and their interaction, and (c) the impact that love has on all interpersonal processes formal or natural.

PRONOUNS

Compounds, types of (not inclusive of morpheme-root combinations)

      PROPOSED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENESIS 1:1 AND 1:2-2:3

PROVIDENCE

Virgil Warren, PhD

         God controls his universe and directs its functioning by the operations diagramed below. (1) Reality combines freedom and determinism with freedom occurring inside the determinism. 

PSYCHOLOGICAL DEPRAVITY

PSYCHOLOGICAL STRENGTH

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

                  We adopt the principle that the gospel has applications for most every aspect of us and our associations.

PSYCHOLOGICAL STRENGTH FROM INTERPERSONALISM

QUESTIONED TEXTS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

Virgil Warren, PhD

QUESTIONS ABOUT CHRISTIAN BAPTISM

Virgil Warren, PhD

Doctrinal Questions

QUESTIONS ABOUT PRAYER

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON ANGER

REASONS FOR THE INCARNATION

REBAPTISM

Virgil Warren, PhD

            The wise policy is to let candidates make their own decision about rebaptism; after all, baptism is their obedience to God, not ours. Nevertheless, people usually take their cue from those they have come to trust on religious matters. For these reasons we will not always be able to leave the issue in the hands of candidates.

ACTS 19 AND RECEIVING THE SPIRIT

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE TIME OF RECEIVING THE SPIRIT

Virgil Warren, PhD

REGARDING THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN

EVANGELIST AND ELDER IN THE LOCAL CHURCH

Virgil Warren, PhD

RELATING TO GOD THROUGH

RELATING TO WEAKER BROTHERS

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

PART III: THE PRODUCTIVE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THE SPIRIT

Virgil Warren, PhD

RESOLVING CONFLICT

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

            A.  The author’s experience with divided churches

                  Success at resolving church conflict has not been the most consistent experience. What often happens is a resolution through a power struggle in which the congregation loses those with the minority opinion. There is an erosion of membership on one or both sides of the discussion. People are hard to change once they have made up their minds and have committed themselves openly to a viewpoint.

RESPONDING TO ETHICAL RELATIVITY

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Relativity in ethics seems sensible because (a) incompatible moral beliefs and practices exist, and (b) no one seems able to establish a universal basis for ethical theory. 

RESURRECTION

Virgil Warren, PhD

RETHINKING THE DESCRIPTION OF BAPTISM

REVELATION AS INTERPERSONAL

REVELATION:  GOOD AND EVIL IN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

Virgil Warren, PhD

Good triumphs over evil.

            Good and evil are not equal opposites in power or legitimacy.

RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH IN ACTS 2:38

SACRIFICE AND SALVATION: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN

SALVATION AS INTERPERSONAL

SANCTIFICATION AS INTERPERSONAL

SCIENCE

Science deals with recurrent natural processes in the present.  Consequently, science (hard science) does not, strictly speaking, deal with history, the supernatural, or the metaphysical.

SELF-IMAGE AS INTERPERSONAL

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Christians sometimes object to good self-image and feeling good about ourselves as somehow bad. The problem comes from an overreaction. To get people to see their need for salvation, Christians sometimes overdo how evil unsaved people are. Furthermore, they seem to think that feeling good about themselves makes God’s salvation unnecessary or it makes them feel them can save themselves. Interpersonalism keeps the balance between responsibility and dependence. We are responsible for responding on our side of the relationship, but our responses on our side of the relationship do not establish the relationship. We depend on the other Person to establish it from the other side—to accept us—because he is the offended party.

SHORTENING UP THE STUDY OF SALVATION FROM

What the Bible Says About Salvation

SIX NOTATIONS ON IDENTIFICATION ATONEMENT THEORY

Virgil Warren, PhD

SOME EFFECTS OF CENTRALIZING THE INTERPERSONAL

SOME INTERPERSONAL IMPLICATIONS

SOME VALUES OF LOVE AS AN ETHICAL PRINCIPLE

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Love gets us past legal minimums of do’s and don’t’s. It provides a basis for going beyond the call of duty, takes into consideration other people’s differing preferences, watches out for negative effects on weaker brothers’ behavior, and concerns itself with good and better, not just with good and bad. Love fosters a concern for enhancing the quality of other people’s lives, not just with the rightness or wrongness of specific behaviors relative to some standard.

SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

SPIRITUAL FRUIT

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

SPIRITUAL FRUIT AND INTERPERSONALISM

Virgil Warren, PhD

STATES OF MAN AND IMPLICATIONS FOR DEPRAVITY

STEWARDSHIP AS INTERPERSONAL

STEWARDSHIP OF LIFE

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

The stewardship of life sees the whole of life as having a primarily vertical direction. It envisions, not a consumer mentality, but a producer mentality. A person must start at the right place in order to think, feel, and act properly in this stewardship.

STRAY NOTATIONS ON THE COMPLEXITY

OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOR

Virgil Warren, PhD

STRENGTHENING THE WILL

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

                           A.  Terminology: will, choice, motivation, volition, willingness, self-discipline,

STRENGTHENING THE WILL AND INTERPERSONALISM

STRICTURES ON CALVIN’S PENAL SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT  THEORY:

STRUCTURING THE HERMENEUTICAL TASK IN WOMEN’S STUDIES: WISDOM OR LAW?

Virgil Warren, PhD

Introduction

            We are inclined to think that some reasonable explanation lies behind the variant understandings of gender roles by equally sincere and capable Christian interpreters. Something must be happening in the minds of some that is not happening in others who likewise take a proper view of scripture. We suspect that part of the difficulty lies at (a) the linguistic level. People do not remember that the imperative mood can have more than one quality, hence, our essay elsewhere on “Imperatival Intent,” which assembles the different values that imperatives and their equivalents may have. Another part of the difficulty lies at (b) the corpus level. People make different assumptions about the nature of the New Testament as a body of normative literature, hence, this essay on “wisdom” vs. “law” and the accompanying excerpt on “Confusing Advice and Commandment.” What we have to say here comes in association with the accompanying diagram.

STUDY GUIDE FOR DIVINE GUIDANCE

Virgil Warren, PhD

               Passages on divine calling and direction that are helpful in understanding the manner of God’s specially leading people are (1) Genesis 6:13ff.; (2) Genesis 12:1ff.; 13:14ff.; (3) Exodus 3; (4) Judges 6:11-25ff.; (5) Judges 13:2ff.; (6) 1 Samuel 3;           (7)  Amos 7:14ff.; (8) Jonah 1:1-2; 3:1-2; (9) Isaiah 6; (10) Jeremiah 1:1-2:1; (11) Ezekiel 2:1-7; 3:16ff., 22ff.; 6:1ff.; etc.; (12) Haggai 2:10ff.; 20; (13) Zechariah 1:1-3ff.; (14) Luke 1:5-25, 39-80; 3:1-20 (Matthew 3; Mark 1:11); John 1:6-36; (15) Matthew 10:1-4ff.; (Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16); Acts 1:1-11; (16) Acts 8:26-40; (17) Acts 9:10-19; (18) Acts 9:1-18; 22:3-21; 26:2-23; Galatians 1:11-2:10; Acts 16:9-10; 22:17-21 (cp. 9:26-30).

           STUDY GUIDE ON ASSURANCE

Virgil Warren, PhD

I. A study of assurance requires an understanding of the relationship between four sets of variables:

STUDY GUIDE ON CHRISTIAN FREEDOM

Virgil Warren, PhD

        Elements essential to an understanding of Christian freedom are diagrammed here in three sets of logical relationships: (1) subjective refers to our feelings about the matter; objective refers to what is there regardless of our feelings about it. (2) Plus (+) and minus (-) mean the presence or absence of the category at the left for those who are in Christ. (3) Jurisdiction of law is divine regulation of human behavior. Penalty of broken law is the guilt consequence we have for breaking God’s law. Reality means the barriers, boundaries, limitations—personal and external—in the reality where we live and what we are a part of.

STUDY GUIDE ON DEACONS

STUDY GUIDE ON ELDERSHIP

STUDY GUIDE ON PRAYER

Virgil Warren, PhD

               Prayer raises three issues. Think about them; study the surrounding verses and other scripture portions by cross reference or a concordance.  Write down answers to the accompanying questions, giving scriptural support wherever possible.

STUDY GUIDE ON PSYCHOLOGICAL STRENGTH

Virgil Warren, PhD

        Christianity is not a philosophy we believe, but a religion we live. It should have something to say, then, to the whole person and be able to help us psychologically cope with life. The following clusters of texts contain implications for psychological strength. Decide what the implication is and why it is true.

STUDY GUIDE ON SUFFERING

Virgil Warren, PhD

STUDY GUIDE ON THE SANCTIFICATION PROCESS

Virgil Warren, PhD

            The following analysis of a Christian’s growth process produces a schematic based on the inner-outer differential. By inner we mean the understanding, emotions, and motives we have; outer means the actions we do. Each group of scriptures given below affirms something about the inner, the outer, or their relationship. Determine what that fact is and why it is important. Then synthesize all the parts into a working model of the growth process with observations on its implications for witnessing and applications to Christian education and defense of the faith.

STUDY GUIDE ON WEAKER BROTHER

Virgil Warren, PhD

        Relating to our brothers and sisters in Christ would be easier if we were all at the same stage of growth in understanding and virtue and if we all viewed things the same way. As a matter of fact, we are not all equally strong and do not see things alike. We must learn to make allowance for differences i to keep the unity of the faith in the bond of peace and to avoid stumbling and discouragement.

SUBMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER:

SUFFERING AND INTERPERSONALISM

Virgil Warren, PhD

SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS ON BIBLICAL MIRACLES

Virgil Warren, PhD

SUMMARY OF CONVICTIONS

Virgil Warren, PhD

SUMMARY OF OFFICES IN THE CHURCH

Virgil Warren, PhD

                                                  general              supernatural           authoritative

                                                      vs.                            vs.                               vs.

Office                                         local                     natural               non-authoritative

Lord =                                       general               super                       author

     Christ

     Messiah

SUMMARY STATEMENT AGAINST NATURAL DEPRAVITY

Virgil Warren, PhD

            The proposition counter to natural depravity is as follows:

SUMMARY STATEMENT ON NATURAL DEPRAVITY

Virgil Warren, PhD

SUMMARY STATEMENT REGARDING NATURAL DEPRAVITY

SUNDAY WORSHIP

Virgil Warren, PhD

1. Worship on Saturday after sundown

 II. Supernatural Products of the Relationship Between the Spirit and a Person

SUPPORT OF THE MINISTRY

Ministry personnel are not paid for their work; they are supported so they can do the work.

Virgil Warren     christir.org

SURVEY OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

Virgil Warren, PhD

BIBLE

TALKING TO GOD

Virgil Warren, PhD

TEMPTATION AND INTERPERSONALISM

Virgil Warren, PhD

TESTING CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE

THE “IMAGE OF GOD”

THE BIG PICTURE

Virgil Warren, PhD

                  One of the biggest plagues in Bible study is failing to see the “big picture.” We tend to read a verse and discuss it. As a result, that statement gets lifted from its setting and put in the context of people’s interests or problems even when it may not belong there. Foreign ideas come into the picture because context is not kept in mind. Bible study needs to cover large portions to keep in sight the general flow of thought. In addition, the total purpose and character of Christian understanding must provide the framework for individual doctrines.

THE CHRIST

THE CHRISTIAN MIND

Virgil Warren, PhD

INTRODUCTION

THE CHURCH AS INTERPERSONAL

THE DENIAL OF NATURAL DEPRAVITY:

            THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN COVENANTS AND SOME

THE DIVINE TRINITY

Virgil Warren, PhD

 I. Methodology

            A.  Investigate the activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (as well as statements about them) in passages where they are mentioned together, thus observing interaction in real circumstances.

THE DOCTRINE OF “SOUL-SLEEPING”

THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE GENERAL PICTURE OF

PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN  LIVING

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE IMAGE AND ETHICS

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE IMAGE AND THE BODY

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE IMAGE OF GOD AS THE INTERPERSONAL CAPACITY

THE IMAGE OF GOD AS THE INTERPERSONAL CAPACITY

THE IMAGO DEI AS THE INTERPERSONAL CAPACITY:

BASES AND INTEGRATIONS

THE INTERPERSONAL CHARACTER OF CHRISTIANITY

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE INTERPERSONAL FRAMEWORK OF LIFE

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE LORD’S SUPPER/

EUCHARIST/COMMUNION

Observing the Lord’s Supper is an act of worship that means identifying with Jesus Christ crucified and committing ourselves to his values and purposes. 

THE LYING MIRROR

THE MEANING OF “IDENTIFICATION WITH CHRIST”

THE MEANING OF “SUBMISSION”

Virgil Warren, PhD

            As with other controversial matters, the biblical view of marriage and the family gets lost in the throes of pendulum thinking. Truth tends to lie between extremes, but on this issue unnecessary rigidness creates an extreme opposite and equal reaction. After a while,

THE MOSES-TIME VIEWPOINT OF GENESIS-DEUTERONOMY

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE MOSES-TIME VIEWPOINT OF GENESIS-DEUTERONOMY

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE NATURE OF MANKIND

THE NATURE OF SALVATION

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Salvation as reconciliation is the most distinctive feature of Christianity. Herein lies the primary difference between the gospel, on the one hand, and the Law, wisdom literature, and the prophets, on the other. In this respect, Christianity differs from the purposes of previous divine economies and from the goals of other religions and human agendas. In Christ, God is concerned with more than letting people know that he exists, what he is like, what his moral standards are, and what his expectancies are within his purposes. Salvation is not simply from ignorance, as by revelation; it is not deliverance from physical existence as in Gnosticism and Eastern dualism; it is not a deliverance from individuality as in Hinduism. Salvation is reconciliation from alienation and from all the negatives that come from separation from God and other people.

THE NATURE OF THEOLOGY

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE NECESSITY OF “TONGUE SPEAKING”: A CRITIQUE

THE NEW TESTAMENT STRUCTURE

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE NEW TESTAMENT’S WITNESS TO THE

OLD TESTAMENT’S INSPIRATION*

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE OLIVET DISCOURSE

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

Whatever the explanation for the existence of evil, especially innocent suffering, it must be important enough that God himself in the person of the Son was willing to endure it in the extreme.

THE PROBLEM-SOLVING POWER OF INTERPERSONALISM

THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM: A SYNOPSIS*

Virgil Warren, PhD

                               CHRISTIANITY AS AN INTERPERSONAL “SYSTEM”        

THE PURPOSE OF MANKIND:

THE RATIONALE FOR ATONEMENT THROUGH CHRIST

THE RELATIONSHIP OF GENERAL REVELATION

THE RELATIONSHIP OF INTERPERSONALISM

THE RELATIONSHIP OF INTERPERSONALISM AND DOCTRINE

THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL

THE SABBATH AS A MEMORIAL OF THE EXODUS

THE SABBATH, THE LORD’S DAY, AND THE CHRISTIAN

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE SEVENTY-WEEK PROPHECY OF DANIEL 9

THE TRUTHFULNESS OF CHRISTIANITY

The resurrection of Christ and the existence of the church stand or fall together. If he did not resurrect, the church would never have come into existence, because “Messiah abides forever.” The church exists, so Christ must have arisen. Something so obviously supernatural as his resurrection verifies the claims of Christ. The church is a person-centered system, centered on the person of Christ. If he is taken out of the way, the system collapses.

THE UNEVANGELIZED AND INTERPERSONALISM

Virgil Warren, PhD

THE UNEVANGELIZED ELECT?

Virgil Warren, PhD

The Notion in a Nutshell: An Opinion

THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT

The ordinary work of the Spirit has three aspects: guidance, empowerment, and intercession. He operates indirectly through the message,  circumstance and other Christians, and by his sheer interpersonal presence with us. That leaves special and supernatural operations as potential but not uniform with all Christians.

THEOLOGY AND LIBERAL ARTS

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Theology establishes the context for liberal arts. It is the discipline of the whole, the discipline of the ultimate. It addresses what is original, eternal, central, basic, ultimate, and all-inclusive. As such, theology affirms first that reality is cohesive rather than chaotic—that the parts have a whole to be part of. Theology calls for “centeredness” and centers reality in the Creator rather than the creation and in the Teacher rather than the student. By implication, theology contextualizes all other disciplines as sub-disciplines, integrates them into one whole, relates them to each another, limits their province, and critiques their methods and findings in at least a restrictive sense.

THEOLOGY FROM BELOW

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Isaiah declares that a wayfaring fool need not err in the way of the Lord (35:8). We, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children (Matthew 7:11 = Luke 11:13). Jesus’ comment is a cue and clue that the way of the Lord is not that hard. At least the basics of revelation we ought to catch onto from personal experience as we “feel after God to find him” because “he is not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27).

THINKING ABOUT GOD’S WILL

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Asking whether something that happened was God’s will, depends on what the question means. There are two possibilities:

THOUGHTS ON FASTING

Virgil Warren, PhD

            The originating idea behind fasting may have come from the observation that when we are consumed with something important we may forget to eat (hunger). A similar thing can happen when we are working on some project and forget how late at night it has gotten (sleep). We tend to push ourselves beyond usual stamina when we are caught up in something important or interesting (energy use). Paul observes a similar thing about marital relations in 1 Corinthians 1. 

THREE THOUGHTS ON ABORTION

Virgil Warren, PhD

TIME AND DISTANCE TERMS

TRADITIONAL REASONS FOR GOD’S CREATING US

TRIMMING BACK THEOLOGY

TRINITY

The threeness in oneness of God is comparable to the twoness in oneness of ideal marriage—minus the physical distinctives. The Father, Son, and Spirit are sufficiently distinct that the Son can pray to the Father and the Father can send another comforter (John 14:16).

TRINITY THOUGHTS

Letter to a friend

I took the opportunity presented by your question Sunday to assemble some thoughts that can also be part of the internet ministry effort I am working on. There is probably enough here to founder a good-sized horse, but that is the risk you take when you raise a good question that is at the same time complex and controversial. The first attachment I wrote up new as a second-level treatment of the trinity issue as I have come to see it. The other two attachments are more elaborate because they are lifted from my notes on Christian Doctrine, a course I taught at Manhattan Christian College for many years.

TRUTH

Truth is reality in contrast to perception of reality, conception about reality, words about reality, and the interpretation of words about reality. It is the objective (the way it is) in contrast to the subjective (the way it seems to a beholder).

Try this: https://www.billmounce.com/freegreekfont/unicode-windows

I didn't find the files I had before, but this is pretty good.

TWO BASIC POINTS ABOUT BAPTISM

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Two points should be highlighted in presentations about baptism. First, baptism should not be too closely identified with outer response. That lends itself to distinguishing inner and outer, identifying faith with inner and baptism with outer, and then affirming that it is the inner dimension that justifies rather than the outer expressive act as well, thus trying to avoid baptism as a work and bringing it into conformity with the Pauline formula “salvation by faith” vs. works. But “faith” in Romans/Galatians does not mean inner action; that is the usage in James. Paul means action in the context of personal relationship (faith) vs. action in the context of legal process (works). We do well to unite inner and outer response in salvation and to consider baptism itself as comprised of both dimensions inseparably. That unity of aspects applies to all acts of obedience.  

TWO RESPONSES TO SIN

Virgil Warren, PhD

            Sin involves two issues that correspond to the two sides of a sin situation. There is the doing of a moral wrong and the reacting to a moral wrong. Because sin takes place between people, there is the person who does evil and the one who suffers evil. In resolving that circumstance, repentance happens on one side and forgiveness happens on the other.

TWO SYSTEMS FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS

Virgil Warren, PhD

                                    LAW [Moses]                                                 GRACE [Messiah] (IP)

TYPES OF SYSTEMS

Virgil Warren, PhD

UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES

UNITY AND DIVERSITY IN THE UNIVERSAL BODY OF CHRIST

Virgil Warren, PhD

            By creation, all human persons have the image of God, which means they have the interpersonal capacity and equal inherent worth. Since the image exists at the individual level, we must view the created variants as “modes of the image.” Sex, race, size, intelligence, athletic ability, physique, age, and the like do not affect inherent worth and can therefore have no place in our attitude toward ourselves or other people. We do not have to be married to participate in the image, we do not have to become Jews to be a favored people, we do not have to speak English to be part of the kingdom, etc.

      V.       Verbs

               A.  Tenses

                     μέλλω + infinitive

VERBS

Compounds, types of (not including morpheme-root combinations)

            non-prepositional compounds

                    root + ______

 VI.  Adverbs

VII.  Prepositions

VIEWS OF DEITY

Virgil Warren, PhD

WEAKER CHRISTIANS AND INTERPERSONALISM

Virgil Warren, PhD

WHAT CHRISTIANS IDEALLY BELIEVE AND PRACTICE:

WHAT THE VERY EXISTENCE OF BAPTISM SHOWS

Virgil Warren, PhD

WHAT WE TEACH

Virgil Warren, PhD

WHENCE DENOMINATIONS?

Dear ____,

Several days ago you asked why there are so many denominations, sects, and cults in “Christendom.” Since then, I have had the issue on my mind a lot; here are some points that describe the situation as I see it.

WHY EVERYONE SINS

People sin because of evil influence that appeals to pervertible drives (all of which can be appropriately fulfilled) and each person’s viewpoint of consciousness (pervertible into self-centeredness).

Virgil Warren     christir.org

WOMEN MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE

WOMEN’S ROLES AND 1 CORINTHIANS 14:34

WOMEN’S STUDIES AND “STANDARD SITUATION”

Virgil Warren, PhD

WOMEN’S STUDIES IN 1 TIMOTHY 2: 

WOMEN’S STUDIES NOTATIONS

Virgil Warren, PhD

Introduction

            In women’s studies, something is causing equally committed, intelligent, educated, hard-working, well-known Christians to come to incompatible conclusions, which leads to disagreement and division. Since this topic has behavioral correlates, we cannot treat it as we do the millennial question and go on about our work; this topic affects how we go on with our work. Since it is a broad-to-narrow issue, people with different persuasions find it hard to be equally tolerant; it is usually easier for a broader view to be accepting of a more restricted one than vice versa.

WORSHIP

Virgil Warren, PhD

      Worship is a conscious, spontaneous self-expression by a person to God as a present, superior, second person. It is first an interpersonal activity toward God, then a deliberate affirmation of allegiance to him, acknowledging not only his existence and nature (goodness and greatness), but his superiority and supremacy over us in life’s purpose.

WORSHIP AS DEFINED FROM  ΠΡΟΣΚΥΝΕΩ

WORSHIP AS INTERPERSONAL

x x x x,

Your presentation follows the pattern used by Roman Catholic missionaries and many others, where general revelation (through nature) and theistic proofs bring someone to belief in God, his eternality, omnipotence, and other natural attributes. Special revelation adds a saving knowledge of God through Christ as holy, good, and loving (through history regarding God’s moral attributes). The first format has its precursor in Paul’s Areopagus speech; the second step follows Gamaliel’s argument in Acts 5, a resurrectiono-centric format in which the existence of the church and the fact of Jesus’ resurrection stand or fall together: the church exists; therefore, the resurrection occurred, Christ’s claim are true because resurrection is supernatural, and miracle confirms the claims of the miracle worker, etc. In the modern day, that two-step process has been enhanced by increased awareness of the complexity of nature with its accompanying tendency away from the likelihood that gradual change could explain chemistry-to-man by “endogenous complexification,” upward increase in complexity only by factors inside the natural order. Natural evolution replaces the need—not the fact/disproof—of supernatural deity; so it has become the apparent option for replacing the creationist model. A relevant observation, I might add, is that it is not possible to put in sequence the origin of reciprocating parts (especially for the level of observable complexity culminating in human social relationships).

                        2.   Xenoglossia

                              Glossolalia covers a range of speaking phenomena, including ecstatic utterance and “angelic tongues.” Cases occasionally come up in which someone speaks an actual language—xenoglossia. The following possibilities may help evaluate those cases.

XENOGLOSSIA IN CORINTH

ΑΥΘΕΝΤΗΣ  (AUTHENTĒS)

Virgil Warren, PhD

            An important item in 1 Timothy 2 is a case of αὐθεντέω (authenteō) that Al Wolters pointed out at the November meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Lisle, Illinois.  It appears in Origen’s Commentary on 1 Corinthians, which, I believe, is one of Origen’s as-yet untranslated works. The full Greek text of the commentary is in Journal of Theological Studies, X (1909), 29-51. The reference appears in 74:20 of Origen’s Commentary. The text is as follows: