I guess that I should take a brief moment to explain the name that is attached to this blog. For those who know me and have not figured this out yet, this blog is written by Cory Schibler. I have chosen to use the name William Allen Nelson as my pen name, because I truly intend to one day in some form be a published author. I have chosen this pen name out of respect and tribute for my grandparents who I have lost in the past 2 years, who not only did I love as family, but who more than anyone shaped my religious views and inspired me to be who I am and where I am. This pen name is my final goodbye to them, until I see them on the otherside.
See you when I get home...
William Allen Schibler April 30, 2008
Onedia Nelson Schibler Novermber 24, 2008
Grace and Peace
William Allen Nelson
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Story of God is like Pro Wrestling
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge pro wrestling fan. What people in the know would call a "mark." Being as such, I look for ways to connect the other things that I love to pro wrestling and vice versa. This morning as I was sitting chapel listening to Dr. Ralph West speak, this connection sprung out at me. He was preaching on the passage in Genesis where Jacob wrestles with the Lord and Dr West said specifically that "this wasn't no WWF, or WWE... this wasn't a Wrestlemania." But as I sat there and really thought about it, the story that is laid out in the bible truly is laid out like one big pro wrestling match. I will try and explain this the best way that I can, but it will be readily apparent to any of you who have actually watched pro wrestling in the past. For the rest of you, I'll try my best to explain it.
It's the oldest form in the world, but on an emotional level it still works today as well as it did in the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Pro Wrestling Pychology 101 is simply this. In the beginning, the babyface(good guy) shines. For whatever reason, he is proved to be superior to the heel(bad guy). Maybe he is faster, stronger, or smarter, but for whatever reason he outshines the bad guy in the beginning of the match. Then, the heel takes the advantage away from the babyface, usually by cheating in order to gain the advantage away from the babyface. The heel then unmercilessly beats down on the babyface , with occasional spots of hope where it appears that the babyface will overtake the heel once again, before he is once again cut down by the heel. Then when all seems to be lost, the babyface makes the triumphant comeback and in the end is the prevailing victor.
So it is in the story of the bible. The babyface, in this case the Lord, shines in the beginning. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." This can be considered the shine because there is only God at this point and therefore he is by default "shining." Then, the heel cheats to take the advantage from the babyface. In the case of the scripture, Satan tempts the Lord's creation into disobeying the command that He gave them. Thus, God is forced to banish His creation from the garden of Eden and the sin of Adam delivers all future peoples into Satan's hand. The occasional spots of hope in the scripture come in the form of the different leaders that God raises up from His chosen people who in spite of how much hope they inspire in their people, they all have their faults and all end up failing to be the deliverer that they seem to be and Satan retains the advantage. Finally we must have the comeback and the victory. This comeback begins in the form of a baby born in a manger in a stable, and ends when Jesus is crucified and resurrected in order that Satan may be vanquished forever. This is the ultimate comeback in the ultimate wrestling match, one that has been going since the beginning of time, and continues to this day.
Grace and Peace
William Allen Nelson
It's the oldest form in the world, but on an emotional level it still works today as well as it did in the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Pro Wrestling Pychology 101 is simply this. In the beginning, the babyface(good guy) shines. For whatever reason, he is proved to be superior to the heel(bad guy). Maybe he is faster, stronger, or smarter, but for whatever reason he outshines the bad guy in the beginning of the match. Then, the heel takes the advantage away from the babyface, usually by cheating in order to gain the advantage away from the babyface. The heel then unmercilessly beats down on the babyface , with occasional spots of hope where it appears that the babyface will overtake the heel once again, before he is once again cut down by the heel. Then when all seems to be lost, the babyface makes the triumphant comeback and in the end is the prevailing victor.
So it is in the story of the bible. The babyface, in this case the Lord, shines in the beginning. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." This can be considered the shine because there is only God at this point and therefore he is by default "shining." Then, the heel cheats to take the advantage from the babyface. In the case of the scripture, Satan tempts the Lord's creation into disobeying the command that He gave them. Thus, God is forced to banish His creation from the garden of Eden and the sin of Adam delivers all future peoples into Satan's hand. The occasional spots of hope in the scripture come in the form of the different leaders that God raises up from His chosen people who in spite of how much hope they inspire in their people, they all have their faults and all end up failing to be the deliverer that they seem to be and Satan retains the advantage. Finally we must have the comeback and the victory. This comeback begins in the form of a baby born in a manger in a stable, and ends when Jesus is crucified and resurrected in order that Satan may be vanquished forever. This is the ultimate comeback in the ultimate wrestling match, one that has been going since the beginning of time, and continues to this day.
Grace and Peace
William Allen Nelson
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sorting out Salvation
As I sit in my home pondering the things I've just read, I can't help but feel conflicted. I've just read a set of articles debating Calvinism and Arminianism. I am conflicted because even though I consider myself an Arminian, there are parts of both sides that I both disagree with and agree with. I will start with Calvinism because it is first int he articles that I've just finished reading. For those that do not know, Calvinism is usually defined using the T.U.L.I.P. pneumonic. These components are total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints.
As far as total depravity is concerned, I absolutely agree. Unconditional election in the Calvinist sense I do not agree with, as it says that God has only chosen certain people to be saved. I do believe however that election does exist, but refers to election to ministry at the least, and at the most to election of a chosen group of people. Limited atonement I absolutely disagree with because this says that Jesus sacrifice was only for the people God elected to be saved and not for the entire world as scripture repeatedly states. Irresistible grace is a gray area for me because I truly believe that God desires all to be saved and my own personal experiences have shown me that there can be no other explanation than a God who loves us. However, there are those that resist God's love no matter what happens in their life and therefore I cannot in good conscience endorse the view of irresistible grace. I will save perseverance of the saints for a little bit later.
As far as Arminianism goes, I wholeheartedly believe that we are given free will by our creator. I believe that God loves all people and that He empowers people to accept or reject His gift of grace through His son. However, I do not believe in the final component of Arminianism (which I didn't know was a component until this very night) which is conditional security. This is why I decided to save perseverance of the saints for a little (very little it seems) later in this writing. I believe that scripture teaches us about a security that is eternal, and not about a salvation that we must continually work at to keep from losing. Grace is a gift! What kind of gift can this truly be, if it is plucked from our hands if we do not fulfill certain requirements? The gospel of John plainly lays out eternal security in chapter 10 where we are told by Jesus that "[he] give[s] eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of my hand."
It is for this reason that I am once again conflicted on this issue, because I believe that Arminianism is closer to correct view of salvation, and yet as I read scripture I cannot accept that salvation is a conditional thing that can be taken from us. Perhaps one day this will become more clear to me (I very seriously doubt that, but we are called to have faith). Until then I will continue to read about these difficult issues and despite everyone's efforts to tell me that you have to choose a side of these arguments, I will most likely continue to try and put at least one foot in the very little middle ground there is in between the issues, if only just to aggravate those other scholars around me...
Grace and Peace
William Allen Nelson
As far as total depravity is concerned, I absolutely agree. Unconditional election in the Calvinist sense I do not agree with, as it says that God has only chosen certain people to be saved. I do believe however that election does exist, but refers to election to ministry at the least, and at the most to election of a chosen group of people. Limited atonement I absolutely disagree with because this says that Jesus sacrifice was only for the people God elected to be saved and not for the entire world as scripture repeatedly states. Irresistible grace is a gray area for me because I truly believe that God desires all to be saved and my own personal experiences have shown me that there can be no other explanation than a God who loves us. However, there are those that resist God's love no matter what happens in their life and therefore I cannot in good conscience endorse the view of irresistible grace. I will save perseverance of the saints for a little bit later.
As far as Arminianism goes, I wholeheartedly believe that we are given free will by our creator. I believe that God loves all people and that He empowers people to accept or reject His gift of grace through His son. However, I do not believe in the final component of Arminianism (which I didn't know was a component until this very night) which is conditional security. This is why I decided to save perseverance of the saints for a little (very little it seems) later in this writing. I believe that scripture teaches us about a security that is eternal, and not about a salvation that we must continually work at to keep from losing. Grace is a gift! What kind of gift can this truly be, if it is plucked from our hands if we do not fulfill certain requirements? The gospel of John plainly lays out eternal security in chapter 10 where we are told by Jesus that "[he] give[s] eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of my hand."
It is for this reason that I am once again conflicted on this issue, because I believe that Arminianism is closer to correct view of salvation, and yet as I read scripture I cannot accept that salvation is a conditional thing that can be taken from us. Perhaps one day this will become more clear to me (I very seriously doubt that, but we are called to have faith). Until then I will continue to read about these difficult issues and despite everyone's efforts to tell me that you have to choose a side of these arguments, I will most likely continue to try and put at least one foot in the very little middle ground there is in between the issues, if only just to aggravate those other scholars around me...
Grace and Peace
William Allen Nelson
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