An American L'Abri?
The good folks of Reclaiming the Mind Ministries, who already edify and educate the church with "The Theology Program" and "Converse with Scholars," have created a place for face-to-face theological training for lay people called Credo House of Theology. "Think “evangelical theological hub.” Think "seminary for lay people." This is a place to come to find a balanced, Christ-centered theological education and fellowship. It is a place to come to ask the tough questions. You know, the ones "they" say cannot be asked. The Credo House is open to any and all."
Why should lay people want to learn theology? Isn't that for the professionals?
"Theology is more than just an academic discipline reserved only for professional theologians, ... it is a fountain from which all people may daily drink."
And should drink. What we believe affects how we live. And being able to explain what you believe is an important part of evangelizing the lost.
Theology can be over done, but theology done right is a beautiful thing, and this promises to be such a thing.
Ever feel like you’re outnumbered and losing the fight?
I do. Frequently these days.
The Christian struggles against the world, the flesh, and the devil. We are surrounded by, wedded to, and outmatched by our enemies. They’re everywhere we go, no matter what we’re doing, however much we might wish it to be different.
They’re like an unholy trinity, foiling our better intentions, dragging us under, preventing us from being what we want to be.
But we’re not alone. We’re not even outnumbered.
The unholy trinity stands opposed by the holy Trinity.
We are trapped within our flesh, but the Spirit is within us. We are surrounded by the world, but it is surrounded by the one who made it. We may do battle with the devil, but we know Christ has already won the war.
We may be wedded to our flesh, but we are also wedded to the Son. We are part of the Bride and also of the Body – who also is on our side.
We are supported in our fight by the ones who have come before: those through whom the Spirit has spoken, the prophets and the apostles, and our fathers in the faith who also were given wisdom by that Spirit.
And we are supported by those who surround us – the church of today encouraging us, lifting us up, and binding our wounds.
We do not fight alone. We are part of a family. And we are part of an army. And we outnumber the enemy two to one.
In the world of Bible study software, you have products at the Macy's level, the Target level, the Wal-mart level, and the flea market level.
I want to tell you about a good flea market software.
The good folks at AGES have put a lot of "oldies but goodies" into pdf format. Real text pdfs, not single-image-per-page pdfs that aren't searchable. You can get sermons, commentaries, theology, and classics at a fraction of what you'd pay for other software.
How fractional are we talking? The Works of Charles Spurgeon, currently on sale for $700 through Logos, costs $20 from AGES and $11 if you buy it from DiscountBible.com.
You can get Calvin, Wesley, Augustine, Bunyan, the Talmud, and more in pdf from AGES.
There's even a nifty collection available from ChristianBook.com with a little bit of everything.
The fact that these files are pdf-based means that they will also work on many PDAs and smartphones, plus the Kindle. So unlike most of the offerings out there, these can go with you anywhere you have the urge to read some Spurgeon, Finney, or Tertullian.
Is there a down side? Sure. The search in Adobe Reader is certainly not as powerful as in most Bible study programs. For instance, Logos lets you search your dozens (or thousands) of resources all at once from one screen complete with hyperlinks. It's great. It's also expensive.
But if you're interested in reading the greats of years gone by, but don't want (or have) to spend a lot of money, I highly recommend the AGES products.
"To avoid carelessness, we should consider Paul's words, 'I die daily.' If we also live as though dying daily, we won't sin.
This means that, as we rise day by day, we should think that we won't live through the evening. Also, when we are about to lie down to sleep, we should think that we won't wake up. For our life is naturally uncertain, and Providence gives it to us daily.
By living our daily lives this way, we won't fall into sin, lust after anything, cherish wrath against anyone, or heap up earthly treasure. But daily expecting death, we will abandon wealth, forgive everyone for everything, and won't harbor lust for women or any other foul pleasure. But we will turn from it as past and gone, always working and looking forward to the Day of Judgment. " --Athanasius, Life of Antony
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Ending with something a little lighter: Paintings of the moon landings from someone who was there, Alan Bean. Well worth your time.
