An Open-Handed Gospel
Christians have not always been at their best when encountering serious believers from other religions, but Fuller Theological Seminary President Richard J. Mouw is a notable evangelical exception. In his sustained work across the Catholic-Protestant divide and in Fuller's pioneering dialogues on Jewish- and Muslim-Christian relations, Mouw has modeled charity and clarity in the face of skepticism and even some vocal criticism. Thus, he is a valuable contributor to our 2008 Christian Vision Project conversation on the question, Is our gospel too small?
Charles Hodge was a severe critic of the theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher. A champion of Calvinist orthodoxy at Princeton Seminary in the 19th century, Hodge had witnessed the influence of the German theologian during his own graduate studies in Germany, and was deeply disturbed by what he saw as Schleiermacher's rejection of the Bible as an infallible divine revelation. Schleiermacher's embrace of the rationalist critique of biblical authority, Hodge insisted, undermined the most fundamental tenets of the historic Christian faith.
But on the same pages of Systematic Theology where Hodge set forth his critique of Schleiermacher—who had by this time been dead for several decades—he included a brief personal footnote about Schleiermacher. During his studies in Germany, Hodge reported, he had frequently attended services at Schleiermacher's church and had been impressed that the hymns sung there "were always evangelical and spiritual in an eminent degree, filled with praise and gratitude to our Redeemer." He went on to note that he had been told by one of Schleiermacher's colleagues that often, in the evenings, the theologian would call his family together, saying: ...
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Gregory Strong
Thank you, Dr. Mouw, for this fine reflection, which is both theological and pastoral at once. In my own context, I have spoken and taught often of the need, in my own life and in the Church, for "passionate conviction with an equal humility." I believe this corresponds closely with what Dr. Mouw urges. It is a posture of being into which I and all of us in the Church should pray and strive to grow more and more.
Joe Chan
I find the title of the article "arrogant". As creatures, we have no right to decide whether God is generous or stingy. God is who He is. Let us not try to create God in our liking or to make it appealing to human beings. He has revealed His nature and His plan of salvation to us in the Scriptures. Let us stop criticizing one another and focus on proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Savior and Lord.
so_free_me
**And the truth is that we evangelicals often give the impression that we have decided to be a spiritually stingy people.** Sorry, this is rubbish. I refuse to waste my time trying to change others' false impressions of me. It is ONLY an impression, not the truth! No real evangelical believes that God is stingy; the problem is that of the ones doing the perceiving. I am not going to run around trying to point out how open minded I am in the false hope that it would make one bit of difference. The stereotype of the stingy evangelical actually gets reinforced when people like Mouw continue to wail and moan and tell us how bad we are. Sorry, I and all my evangelical friends give God's grace to anyone, absolutely anyone who comes our way. If someone wants to see me as a stereotype instead of for who I am, that is his problem, not mine.