ABOUT
Me
Theology Enthusiast/Bad-ass MC
Hi. My name is Trigger. I am not sure if this provides credibility or makes me suspect, but I have a master of theology (ThM) degree in New Testament from Duke University Divinity School and a master of divinity (MDiv) from Fuller Theological Seminary. I geek out on Pauline theology, hermeneutics, Christian ethics, and music (Anyone who knows me long enough will end up hearing about Fugazi).
WHY THIS BLOG?
I started Trigger101.com to help me and anyone else interested think about God and the issues and events of everyday life theologically. I often find myself frustrated with the thoughts and arguments of Christian conservatives and Christian liberals. I would like to think that there is a “third way” that is not a moderate position between both, but rather represents a whole different approach.
My 7 Theological Assumptions
While I am not sure what a “third way” would look like in all of the particulars of life, I think it would be rooted in several assumptions, seven of which are:
1. I do believe in Truth with a capital “T.” However, because everyone seems to have an ultimate story that they believe best describes the nature of the universe (e.g. Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, atheism, science, etc.), there is no universal standard or way of measuring truth that everyone can appeal to apart from their own ultimate-story belief. This perspective is often called anti-foundationalism. (And, yes, I get the irony that this is an absolute statement. I take it on faith to be true.)
2. The Apostles’ & Nicene Creeds as agreed upon by the Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant forms of Christianity, are the best basic and fundamental keys or lenses through which to read and interpret Scripture.
3. It is most faithful for Christians to assume a priori that the God of Scripture is actually real and that all of life should then be viewed and understood according to this assumption.
4. To borrow from N.T. Wright, to say “the authority of Scripture” is merely shorthand for saying the authority of God as exercised through Scripture. Scripture is meant to point toward God, not to itself. Nonetheless, to use the shorthand, Scripture as read by the Church is authoritative for Christians.
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5. Christian Scripture is meant to be read, interpreted, and embodied by the Church and should be done so through the Church reading it together in light of what the Church universal has said and done over the last 2000 years; this is more of an art than a science.
6. Scripture should not be read or seen as a book of rules or propositions, nor as a constitution of some sort. It is God’s authorized witness of who God is, what God has done, and what God will be doing. Instead of being a rule book, it presents a picture of God and a form or shape of life to be entered into or taken on.
7. Scripture as a whole is held together narratively by the Church and all of it should be read in light of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (i.e Jesus is the key to understanding all of Scripture).
