Thursday, May 7, 2009

ST vs BT & children

In relation to both the Vipers in Diapers, and Is God Love? posts (and tangentially Ezzo pt 1&2)... I'm wondering....

Where ST is systematic theology (looking at everything the Scriptures have to say on a particular topic) and where BT is biblical theology (looking more at the over-arching themes and framework of Scripture)...

Are we so hung up on our ST of "man born as a sinner" that we miss the bigger over-arching BT of man created in God's image, children called blessings, and little ones *never* denigrated in Scriptures? Is our emphasis not wrong? When in fact God uses the pictures of a woman nursing a child to describe His love for Israel (Can a woman forget her suckling child?--By implication NO, Of course not! Don't be silly!!).

Yes, we are born with a sinful nature, but to make that the focus of our "relationship" with our infants and toddlers..... speaks more to our need for control and self-vindication than it does to our children's need of a Savior.

Hence the growing interest in Reformed theology.. or at least in a more covenantal view of family/children. Thinking... and getting more disturbed with the teaching of some popular "godly parenting" gurus out there.
*coughs* Ezzo *coughs*

1 comment:

lorojoro said...

"Are we so hung up on our ST of "man born as a sinner" that we miss the bigger over-arching BT of man created in God's image, children called blessings, and little ones *never* denigrated in Scriptures?"

^ Well said.


I think the theology you're surrounded by (and we were immersed in for 30+ years) has a very small view of God and the Gospel BECAUSE it has a correspondingly incorrect understanding of the sin nature and of creation in general.

You gotta read through Wolters' Creation Regained sometime. It's quite short.... it will give you lots of good food for thought.

the Creation--Fall--Redemption paradigm is the foundation for EVERYTHING.