A Theological Alphabet - B
Baptism – water rite signifying initiation into the people of God, our “branding” as it were; Paul tells us that in baptism we share in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection to new life (Romans 6:1-4); it is “the beginning that never ends”; I liken baptism to our induction ceremony and boot camp into God’s people, his subversive counter-revolutionary movement. In baptism we receive a new parent, a new identity, a new family, new gifts and skills, a new inheritance, and a new vocation. Paired with the Eucharist, “the end that had already begun,” our rations in the midst of the struggle, we live our lives between “the font and the table.” Bible – Karl Barth talks about the Bible "becoming" the Word of God. What does he mean by this? I think it’s something like the experience of a 3-D movie. When you put on those funky glasses and start to watch the movie, suddenly one or more of the characters seems to come out the screen and confront you face-to-face! It is ...