R and R (Reformed and Relaxed)

Romans 11:36. 

For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. 

1 Corinthians 10:31. 

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Yesterday afternoon, I was chilling in my world headquarters for Bierkergaard and my text sound chimed. It was my buddy Tom asking if I wanted to head out and catch a brew somewhere last evening. "Sure", I texted back. We selected the neighborhood dive bar below a pizza emporium with the dance party starting at 9:00. Made a mental note to vacate the establishment before that time so as to not have to witness the chaotic conflagration in the netherworld.

I grabbed a prerequisite hour nap which is pretty much needed for me to hang-out on a Friday first. And out I went to hang.

It is great that bars of low chic these days have taps with craft beers. So, I got out the door with a ten dollar bill plus a generous tip of three bucks for the bartender. A real nice lady whose heart is bigger than the large Calzone. In an irony of sorts at the bar, I met my neighbor from across the street who has lived there for a year, who I have only vaguely waved to on occassion and would not have recognized in a line-up. To be fair to me, I am easy to notice...6'8", sculpted and chiseled bod, extruding gut. I am out and about a lot riding my bike or running so it is not rare that people know me in a way. Hard to miss. I was a bit ashamed that I didn't know him though.

He was getting a bit loaded on his cup's concoction...made us concerned about his and others safety as he drove home. Pray for him....God know who he is. That he might learn moderation. Don't want to be judgmental. None are righteous, no not one.

Tom, my pal, and I, did the usual catching-up while watching both the Sixers and the NCAA March Madness on dueling big screens. The crowd was blue collar. We are of the educated professional class, somewhat cut of a different cloth. Yet, I would note, that we both are grounded in blue collar sensibility. Me, mostly through where I work and him through his upbringing in rural Pennsylvania.

We are both of the Reformed perspective yet are relaxed about it. Too often strong doctrine leads to iron brains, stiff necks, and hardened hearts. The Frozen Chosen in the parlance of evangelical terminology. Tom is the Curator of The Row House Forum, a Christian think-tank of sorts without the lecture-like vibe. More of a conversation. His forums take on topics of cultural significance from a Christian perspective. Not condemnatory and political, it is a venue for engagement with both the Church and larger culture. Tom has recently penned an Uber-generous book called Good Posture.

In other words, a strong antidote to contemporary evangelical culture where 80% of us voted for personally odious Trump and he in return pats us on the head--and we like slavish dogs wag our tails as he tosses us bones to gnaw on. I get that the election was a contest of cravenness. HRC vs DT and the corrupt political and business empires that they reign over. How we got to such a sordid choice is another story but has something to do with the Christian Right picking up the Civil Sword and swinging it like Peter did on the High Priest's slave and cut his ear off. We Christians had better be careful with that sword because it swings both ways.  Right now, it appears to moving in our direction but there is going to be backlash beyond what we can envision if we don't seriously rethink our tactics. Mere demographics are not in the Right's favor. 

Last night, Tom used term that we are both Continental Calvinists in the mold of Abraham Kuyper, the Dutch thinker of the previous century.  We are not entirely out of the stream of British Reformed thinking as expressed by the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms and the Puritan Divines, etc. Yet, if those doctrinal works are the skeleton, a Kuyperian cultural ethic is flesh to the theological bone. It is generous orthodoxy.

Kuyper's Reformed thinking and practice is characterized by the following tenets:

- Calvinistic in its theological orientation which is based on biblical truth, specifically the Book of Romans. The Apostle Paul took on the Roman Empire in his magisterial book. St. Augustine, in his classic book, City of God builds on the foundation of Romans. Romans essentially boils down to God's sovereignty, man's guilt, Christ's merit, and election (God's purposes and man's plans). Also, elucidation on Civil government, lawful use of authority and punishment. What is termed "Sphere Sovereignty" but also church governance and representative government in general, i.e. federalism. 

- Cultural engagement in its sensibility. Rather than building walls between believers and non-believers, Christians should not avoid interactions and incarnation with the world (the "in but not of " idea). No morally acceptable cultural venue is off limits: Music, Art, Literature, Science, etc. All Truth is God's Truth. That is, we are thinking God's thoughts after Him. We were all God's enemies before conversion and our task as Christians is not to condemn the world but to save the world through Him (Jesus-John 3:17).  

 Pertinent Links:

The RowHouse 

Good Posture Book  

Abraham Kuyper  

Westminster Catechism