DOCSLIB.ORG

Choosing a Path: a Study of the Theories of Christian Conversion and Christian Nurture in the Confessions of St

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Choosing a Path: a Study of the Theories of Christian Conversion and Christian Nurture in the Confessions of St CHOOSING A PATH: A STUDY OF THE THEORIES OF CHRISTIAN CONVERSION AND CHRISTIAN NURTURE IN THE CONFESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE AND IN CHRISTIAN NURTURE BY HORACE BUSHNELL BY Copyright 2010 Clark G. Armstrong Submitted to the graduate degree program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS) and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education ___________________________ Chairperson ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ Date Defended _________________________ The Dissertation Committee for Clark G. Armstrong certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: CHOOSING A PATH: A STUDY OF THE THEORIES OF CHRISTIAN CONVERSION AND CHRISTIAN NURTURE IN THE CONFESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE AND IN CHRISTIAN NURTURE BY HORACE BUSHNELL Committee: ___________________________ Chairperson ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ Date approved: ________________________ DEDICATION PAGE I dedicate this to my mother. Ramona A. (Curtis) Armstrong January 26, 1932 – March 14, 1989 I feel about my mother just as Augustine felt about his mother, Monica, and as Bushnell felt about his mother, Dotha, and his grandmother, Molly.* * Augustine wrote this when his mother died, Little by little, I regained my former thoughts about your handmaid, about the devout life she led in you, about her sweet and holy care for us, of which I was so suddenly deprived. I took comfort in weeping in your sight over her and for her, over myself and for myself. I gave way to the tears that I had held back, so that they poured forth as much as they wished. I spread them beneath my heart, and it rested upon them, for at my heart were placed your ears, not the ears of a mere man, who would interpret with scorn my weeping. Now, Lord, I confess to you in writing. Let him read it who wants to, let him interpret it as he wants. If he finds a sin in it, that I wept for my mother for a small part of an hour, for that mother now dead to my eyes who for so many years had wept for me so that I might live in your eyes, let him not laugh me to scorn. (Confessions, Book 9:12:33). Bushnell wrote a brief two page autobiography as an introduction to his short book Women’s Suffrage; Reform Against Nature (New York, Charles Scribner and Company, 1869). In this introduction, he wrote this about his mother: My mother tutored me in life itself from start to finish, training me in correct habits, helping me with my studies, maintaining a religious atmosphere at home, and holding herself as a great example of dignity and perseverance in a harsh world. She refused to be broken by the drudgery of farmwifery, and looked at the world, even in its darkest moments, with great fondness and hope for the future. My grandmother, a converted and confirmed Methodist, was no less the optimist. It was in this environment that I learned to love God’s creation. i TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION PAGE ........................................................................................................................ I TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................... IV CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................................ 1 OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................................... 1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ......................................................................................................... 9 ROOTS AND CULTURAL MILIEU ...................................................................................................... 14 Constantine and Augustine ........................................................................................................ 17 Horace Bushnell and Revivalism ............................................................................................... 19 COMPARATIVE STUDIES .................................................................................................................. 24 EXPECTED OUTCOMES FOR THE RESEARCHER .............................................................................. 26 The Purpose for Christian Education ........................................................................................ 28 DEFINITIONS OF CONVERSION AND NURTURE ................................................................................ 31 Conversion .................................................................................................................................. 31 Nurture ........................................................................................................................................ 33 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................. 35 AUGUSTINE .................................................................................................................................. 35 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .................................................................................................................. 35 OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK CONFESSIONS ........................................................................................ 47 Unity and Integrity of the Confessions ....................................................................................... 48 Development of Thought in the Book ........................................................................................ 54 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ....................................................................................................... 58 On Time ....................................................................................................................................... 62 On Good and Evil ....................................................................................................................... 64 On Free Will and Predestination ................................................................................................ 65 On Trinity and Incarnation ........................................................................................................ 69 On Grace and Perseverance ....................................................................................................... 70 On Original Sin and Culpable Sin ............................................................................................. 73 AUGUSTINE’S VIEW ON CONVERSION ............................................................................................. 76 Robert O’Connell ........................................................................................................................ 78 Garry Wills .................................................................................................................................. 82 Colin Starnes ............................................................................................................................... 84 Carl G. Vaught ............................................................................................................................ 88 The Text of the Confessions ....................................................................................................... 91 AUGUSTINE’S VIEW ON NURTURE ..................................................................................................101 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................105 CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................................................109 HORACE BUSHNELL .................................................................................................................109 Part One: From the Cradle to the Pulpit (1802–1833) .............................................................110 Part Two: Bushnell’s Years in the Pastorate (1833–1859) .......................................................122 Part Three: Theologian and Writer (1859–1876) .....................................................................129 The Legacy (1876–1930) ............................................................................................................132 OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK CHRISTIAN NURTURE ............................................................................134 ii THEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ......................................................................................................138 On Original Sin ..........................................................................................................................139 Nature versus Nurture ...............................................................................................................143 A New Theory of Salvation ........................................................................................................148 Gender Questions .......................................................................................................................152 BUSHNELL’S VIEW ON NURTURE ...................................................................................................155
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Pat-Abendroth-Dissertation.Pdf
    A Pastoral Note About My Doctoral Project I am glad you are interested in reading my dissertation. Given that it took a fair amount of effort and my passion for the subject matter, I am happy to share it with church members and friends. Please allow me to introduce you to the project by saying just a few things. If you ask someone what Covenant Theology is and if it is a good or bad thing, you will likely hear lots of different answers. It is fairly common for evangelicals to respond by either saying they do not know what Covenant Theology is or by describing it as something unbiblical and relating to a particular view regarding millennialism, baptism, or Israel. There are three major problems with such responses. First, classic Covenant Theology is essentially concerned with matters of sin and salvation, not something else. Second, the biblical support for such things as the federal headship of Adam and Jesus is strong (federal being from the Latin foedus meaning covenant). Third, when Covenant Theology is rejected, justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is at best in serious jeopardy. My dissertation is a promotion and defense of classic Covenant Theology. I have written out of a pastoral passion to help people understand human history federally/covenantally just as the Apostle Paul did as he wrote inspired Scripture (see Romans 5:12-21). Likewise, I have written in order to demonstrate the vital connection between Covenant Theology and justification by faith alone, the doctrine that is so commonly compromised by rejecters of the federal perspective.
    [Show full text]
  • Total Depravity
    TULIP: A FREE GRACE PERSPECTIVE PART 1: TOTAL DEPRAVITY ANTHONY B. BADGER Associate Professor of Bible and Theology Grace Evangelical School of Theology Lancaster, Pennsylvania I. INTRODUCTION The evolution of doctrine due to continued hybridization has pro- duced a myriad of theological persuasions. The only way to purify our- selves from the possible defects of such “theological genetics” is, first, to recognize that we have them and then, as much as possible, to set them aside and disassociate ourselves from the systems which have come to dominate our thinking. In other words, we should simply strive for truth and an objective understanding of biblical teaching. This series of articles is intended to do just that. We will carefully consider the truth claims of both Calvinists and Arminians and arrive at some conclusions that may not suit either.1 Our purpose here is not to defend a system, but to understand the truth. The conflicting “isms” in this study (Calvinism and Arminianism) are often considered “sacred cows” and, as a result, seem to be solidified and in need of defense. They have become impediments in the search for truth and “barriers to learn- ing.” Perhaps the emphatic dogmatism and defense of the paradoxical views of Calvinism and Arminianism have impeded the theological search for truth much more than we realize. Bauman reflects, I doubt that theology, as God sees it, entails unresolvable paradox. That is another way of saying that any theology that sees it [paradox] or includes it is mistaken. If God does not see theological endeavor as innately or irremediably paradoxical, 1 For this reason the author declines to be called a Calvinist, a moderate Calvinist, an Arminian, an Augustinian, a Thomist, a Pelagian, or a Semi- Pelagian.
    [Show full text]
  • Vanguard Tradition: Design Thinking and the Birth of the Salvation Army
    Journal of Transformative Innovation Vanguard Tradition: Design Thinking and the Birth of the Salvation Army Vanguard Tradition: Design Thinking and the Birth of the Salvation Army Steven E.S. Bussey Abstract While philosophies of innovation shun the past as cumbersome and archaic, history provides a map from which to rediscover ideas and avoid inefficient reinventions. This paper illustrates the value of history by exploring how the founders of The Salvation Army applied design thinking principles to tackle the wicked problem of bringing the gospel to East London in the nineteenth century. Catherine and William Booth’s personalities combined analytical mastery and intuitive originality to craft elegant solutions for this challenge. Utilizing Roger Martin’s Knowledge Funnel, the paper explores the organizational journey of this movement from mystery to heuristic to algorithm. The lessons gleaned from small experiments in East London were vital in refining the strategies to scale the mission worldwide. The Booths designed an organization that was both efficient and agile with constant reinvention built into its structure. Journal of Transformational Innovation, Vol. 3 Iss. 2, Fall 2018, pp. 1-11 © 2018 Regent University School of Business & Leadership Journal of Transformative Innovation Vanguard Tradition: Design Thinking and the Birth of the Salvation Army The Past: Friend or Foe of Innovation? The word “innovation” is often associated with the breaking free from the shackles of tradition to embrace something new and disruptive. In Leading the Revolution, Gary Hamel suggests that “we have developed the capacity to interrupt history - to escape the linear extrapolation of what was. Our heritage is no longer our destiny.” Placing the old guard against the vanguard and incumbency against imagination, this philosophy of innovation tends to be the dominant perspective.
    [Show full text]
  • Catholic Missionaries in Africa
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2009 Catholic missionaries in Africa: the White Fathers in the Belgian Congo 1950-1955 Kathryn Rountree Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Rountree, Kathryn, "Catholic missionaries in Africa: the White Fathers in the Belgian Congo 1950-1955" (2009). LSU Master's Theses. 3278. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/3278 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES IN AFRICA: THE WHITE FATHERS AND THE BELGIAN CONGO 1950-1955 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Louisiana State University an Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The Department of History by Kathryn Rountree B.A. Louisiana State University, 2002 December 2009 Acknowledgments I would like to thank my family, especially my mom, for their support and encouragement throughout this process. Additional thanks go to Peter Van Uffelen for his invaluable role as translator and his hospitality during my stay in Belgium. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • January 18-22 Arden Presbyterian Church (PCA)
    January 18-22 Arden Presbyterian Church (PCA) 2215 Hendersonville Road Arden, NC 28704 ardenpres.org 828-684-7221 2017 Missions Conference Keynote Speaker: Rev. Dr. Lloyd Kim Guest Speakers: Rev. Esaïe Etienne Rev. Keith and Ruth Powlison Rev. Bill and Suzanne Scott Wednesday, January 18 5:00 – 6:15 PM Dinner, Multipurpose Room 6:15 – 7:30 PM Joint Youth & Adult program; Children’s Catechism Class Thursday, January 19 12:30 PM S.U.P.E.R. Saints Luncheon Featuring Keith & Ruth Powlison 2 Friday, January 20 5:30—6:30 PM Missions Dinner (need RSVPs) 6:15—8:00 PM Nursery for children up to age 4 6:30—8:00 PM Introduction of Missionaries Message: Dr. Kim Grades PreK – 5 Missions Program, Fellowship Room, led by Kathy Meeks Saturday, January 21 9:30—11:00 AM Church-Wide Breakfast (need RSVPs) Panel Discussion with Q & A Nursery provided during the panel Sunday, January 22 9:15 – 10:15 AM Joint Sunday School, Chapel 10:45– 12:00 PM Morning Worship Service, Dr. Kim preaching Flag Processional Faith Promise cards received 3 Rev. Dr. Lloyd Kim Lloyd Kim was elected coordina- tor of Mission to the World (MTW) by the 2015 General Assembly. A native of California, he gradu- ated from UC Berkeley with a degree in engineering and worked as a consultant with Ernst & Young before getting his M.Div. at Westminster Seminary in California and his doctorate in New Testament Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. He was associate pastor with New Life Mission Church (PCA) in Fullerton, Calif., before joining MTW.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Booklet
    Introductions General John Gowans lives on through his words. The Salvation Army on beyond the musicals. The 2015 edition of The Song Book of The world was deeply saddened when he was promoted to Glory in December Salvation Army includes 28 of them – and they continue to be sung 2012, but thank God for the legacy of song words that he left us. Through around the world. them he still speaks to inspire and challenge and encourage, and with this album we are invited to share in a further 23 jewels from this legacy. Commissioner Gisèle Gowans and I were grateful to The International Staff Songsters when the first volume of A Gowans Legacy was recorded It is no secret that I set most of John’s song lyrics to music – and that in 2016. It seems that our appreciation has been shared by many, for explains why all but four of the songs included on this album are with that album has become a best-seller, and we are pleased that it is now music by me. being followed by this second volume. John and I hardly knew each other when in 1966 we were asked to form For my own part, I have enjoyed creating songster arrangements a creative partnership. The National Youth Secretary, Brigadier Denis for a number of the songs on the album for which the original stage Hunter, had called a small group together to discuss the possibility of a arrangement did not lend itself for recording. Getting immersed in that musical for Youth Year 1968 and ideas had flowed.
    [Show full text]
  • Evangelical Revivals in New Zealand, and an Outline of Some Basic Principles of Revivals
    EVANGELICAL REVIVALS IN NEW ZEALAND -----//----- A History of Evangelical Revivals in New Zealand, and an Outline of Some Basic Principles of Revivals. -----//----- by Robert Evans and Roy McKenzie. -----//----- Published by the Authors, in conjunction with ColCom Press. PREFACE Many years of experience in the Lord's work, and the relative ease of retirement from parish responsibilities, have provided both of us with the time to carry out a work of love in presenting to the public this history of evangelical revivals in New Zealand. It is an aspect of the work of God which we believe is of enormous importance, both for church and for society, but which has been widely neglected for many years. The research for this book has relied, in the first instance, upon our privately-owned library resources. The main public libraries to which we are indebted are the New South Wales Uniting Church Archives Library and the Camden Library of the United Theological College, both in North Parramatta, the Hewitson Library of the Knox Theological Hall in Dunedin, the John Deane Memorial Library of the Bible College of New Zealand in Auckland (formerly The New Zealand Bible Training Institute), the Moore College Library (Anglican) in Sydney, and the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington. We also acknowledge the help of Miss Ferne Weimer, Director of the Billy Graham Center Library, in Wheaton, Illinois. We have also been indebted to many individuals. Chief amongst these have been the Rev. Dr. J. Graham Miller, now living in Wangaratta, Victoria, Dr. Brett Knowles of Dunedin, and the Rev. John Thomson, now living in Nelson.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    Ord, Leaving the Gathered Community 131 Leaving the Gathered Community: Porous Borders and Dispersed Practices Mark Ord A Baptist ecclesiology of the gathered community coupled with a characteristic concern for mission has led to a dynamic of gathering and sending within British Baptist worship. This engenders a demarcation between the church and the world, and a sense of a substantial boundary between the two. In this article I explore the metaphor of the boundary between the church and the world. In doing so, I examine recent theological proposals that present formation as taking place within the worship of the gathered community for the purpose of mission. I propose a picture of the boundary as porous and its formation necessarily occurring, both within the church and the world, through worship and witness. I argue that church–world relations are complex and cannot be described as ‘one way’ — from worship to witness. The article concludes by pointing to the need for sacramental practices for the church in dispersed mode, for example hospitality, as well as for the church gathered, for example baptism and communion. This implies recognising that there are graced practices of the church and indwelt sacramentality which find their rightful place in the context of witness in the world, by leaving the gathered community. Keywords Baptist ecclesiology; sacraments; mission; practices Baptist Ecclesiology: Local, Missional, Individualistic Baptists have long been characterised by ecclesiological concerns for both the local congregation and mission. In his book, Baptist Theology, Stephen Holmes states: ‘There are two foci around which Baptist life is lived: the individual believer and the local church’.1 These are classic concerns for the visible church, ‘gathered by covenant’,2 or as Thomas Helwys expressed it at the start of the seventeenth century, ‘A company of faithful people, separated from the world by the word and Spirit of God […] upon their own confession of faith and sins.’3 Mission does not have quite the same pedigree.
    [Show full text]
  • A Publication of the Salvation Army
    A Publication of The Salvation Army Word & Deed Mission Statement: The purpose of the journal is to encourage and disseminate the thinking of Salvationists and other Christian colleagues on matters broadly related to the theology and ministry of The Salvation Army. The journal provides a means to understand topics central to the mission of The SalvationArmy, inte­ grating the Army's theology and ministry in response to Christ's command to love God and our neighbor. Salvation Army Mission Statement: The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. Editorial Address: Manuscripts, requests for style sheets, and other correspondence should be addressed to Major Ed Forster at The Salvation Army, National Headquarters, 615 Slaters Lane, Alexandria, VA 22314. Phone: (703) 684-5500. Fax: (703) 302-8623. Email: [email protected]. Editorial Policy: Contributions related to the mission of the journal will be encouraged, and at times there will be a general call for papers related to specific subjects. The Salvation Army is not responsible for every view which may be expressed in this journal. Manuscripts should be approximately 12-15 pages, including endnotes. Please submit the following: 1) three hard copies of the manuscript with the author's name (with rank and appointment if an officer) on the cover page only. This ensures objec­ tivity during the evaluation process.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of Aggressive Christianity
    JOURNAL OF AGGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY Issue 93, October - November 2014 Copyright © 2014 Journal of Aggressive Christianity Journal of Aggressive Christianity, Issue 93, October - November 2014 2 In This Issue JOURNAL OF AGGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY Issue 93, October - November 2014 Editorial Introduction page 3 Major Stephen Court Volunteers page 4 Commissioner Wesley Harris Suffering in William Booth’s Ecclesiology page 6 Captain Andy Miller III Why Living Like Jesus Means Justice For Women page 18 Major Danielle Strickland Dear Salvation Army: 4 Sins No One is Talking About page 21 Captain Scott Strissel Blessing in Fellowship page 25 Major Robert Evans Scripture Art page 26 Captain Catherine Fitzgerald Cracked Pots: Give Us Sincere Hearts page 28 Jonathan Evans The Blight of liberal Theology page 37 Lieutenant Matt Kean Communicating the Gospel in a Post Modern World page 39 Soldier Aaron White Journal of Aggressive Christianity, Issue 93, October - November 2014 3 Editorial Introduction by Major Stephen Court, Editor Welcome to JAC93 – the 93rd issue of Journal of Aggressive Christianity. What a blessing it promises to those who read and share and apply its lessons. Savour the testimony, reflect on the teaching, respond to the exhortation. It could change eternity. We’re grateful, as always, for the contributors who come this issue from six territories and include some officers (lieutenants, captains, majors, and commissioner) and other soldiers writing on justice and theology and mission and integrity and strategy and covenant and the Bible – all great subjects for study and application. Here is JAC93: Commissioner Wesley Harris: Volunteers. The Commissioner starts at the birth of The Salvation Army and fast forwards through a century and more of blessings provided by volunteers helping The Salvation Army and provided to volunteers helping The Salvation Army.
    [Show full text]
  • PROGRESSIVE COVENANTALISTS AS REFORMED BAPTISTS Daniel Scheiderer
    WTJ 82 (2020): 137–52 PROGRESSIVE COVENANTALISTS AS REFORMED BAPTISTS Daniel Scheiderer At least three new systems of covenant theology have arisen in Calvinistic Baptist circles in recent decades: new covenant theology, progressive covenantalism, and 1689 Federalism (Reformed Baptists). Each group has its own proponents and its own circles of influence, but churches impacted by each proposal are generally familiar to one another. Because progressive covenantalists initially described themselves as a subset of new covenant theology, arguments against new covenant theology were often simply co-opted for use against progressive covenantalists. This article aims to demonstrate that progressive covenantalists have significant points of continuity with their Reformed Baptist brothers that facilitate mutual benefit between the two camps. To demonstrate this continuity, the cov- enants of works and grace and the new covenant are examined in the two systems alongside their Particular Baptist forefathers to show that all three groups operate with a basically continuous infrastructure. The benefit of such a study is that it distinguishes the progressive covenantal proposal from the proposal of new covenant theology while avoiding simplistic read- ings that deny the real differences between progressive covenantalists and Reformed Baptists. The study does not deny the real tension that exists in progressive covenantalists’ reinterpretation of the fourth commandment, but it sets aside that debate so that points of clear commonalities may be seen for what they are. Too often conversations about covenant theology have passed one another, and so this article aims to initiate a conversation between two groups that ought to be the nearest allies. “ rogressive covenantalism” broke onto the scene in 2012 with Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum’s book Kingdom through Covenant.
    [Show full text]
  • Vision Anabaino Sm
    2 0 1 1 VISION Anabaino PURSUING THE “GREATER THINGS” OF CHRIST’S ASCENDED MINISTRY TODAY! (JN 14:12) A PUBLICATION OF CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Why Mission Anabaino? by Rev. Preston Graham More Than A Strategic Plan, Mission Anabaino Is A Theological Vision In The Simplicity and Purity of Devotion to Christ Applied! In This Issue In strategic terms, “mission consistent impact of dynamic, CPC 135 4 anabaino” is “mission extensive church church planting!” As a planting.1 Church-Planting 6 practical plan, those who have studied the Again in CPC in the Hill 7 issue of church strategic terms, growth and church Keller’s On Campus 9 revitalization have conclusion is concluded with Tim based on Impact Week 10 Keller that studies supporting the Haiti 12 The vigorous, simple continual conclusion that Danbury 14 planting of new congregations new churches best reach new is the single most crucial generations, new residents, new Goatville 15 strategy for 1) the numerical socio-cultural people groups and growth of the Body of Christ the unchurched. The reasons and 2) the continual corporate often noted are understandable if A Shameless Pitch for 16 renewal and revival of existing Mission Anabaino churches. Nothing else--not not always obvious to those who crusades, outreach programs, attend existing churches. It takes para-church ministries, growing no more than five or so years before “cultural hegemony” nnn mega-churches, congregational consulting, nor church renewal begins to set in to the life of a processes--will have the church—when a particular kind of continued on page 2 Why Mission Anabaino? by Rev.
    [Show full text]