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As We See It

‘Reformed’: It’s a Flavor of Jazz

Being theologically Reformed is tremendously important to me. I’m a convert, and it’s always the converts that you have to watch! Those of us who come to the Reformed tradition from elsewhere are often the ones who are most passionate about it, and who want to say, “Wow! You have a real gift here! Treasure it!” When I first became a Christian, I had no idea the Reformed tradition existed. When I discovered it, I realized I had come home…
February 28, 2017
As We See It

Does ‘Reformed’ Matter? It Could

Anthropologist Paul Hiebert wrote an article in 1979 titled “Sets and Structures: A Study in Church Patterns.” Catchy title, isn’t it? Fortunately, his essay is far more interesting and informative than its name. Hiebert explains two ways of forming and understanding group belonging, specifically as it pertains to being a Christian. That is, two ways that a group – in this case the church – structures itself to determine who belongs to it. He uses the phrases bounded sets and…
February 28, 2017
As We See ItSexuality

Response to Matthew Tuininga on Sexuality and Scripture

Let me begin by warmly thanking Matthew Tuininga, who has become my good friend, for the generous spirit of his response to the talk I gave on same-sex marriage at Neland Avenue Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, on October 13 last year. Would that all discussions of this intensely controversial topic breathed such a spirit of respect and friendship! It will help the reader understand my response to Tuininga if I briefly summarize what I said in my talk:…
February 28, 2017
Essays

Sexuality and the Gospel: My Response to Wolterstorff

A couple of months ago, philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff made big news when he delivered a speech at Neland Avenue Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, in favor of same-sex marriage. The speech has evoked mixed reviews: Those who desire to see the church affirm monogamous same-sex sexual relationships are ecstatic to have a scholar of Wolterstorff’s stature on their side (however cautiously he may have presented his case), while those committed to the biblical conception of marriage as being between…
February 28, 2017
Essays

You Just Don’t Get It

“You just can’t understand.” It frustrated me when my daughter would tell me, “You just don’t get it. You can’t get it.” I remember the day that she was born. My daughter was 23 hours old when she was placed in my arms by her birth mother. A literal waterfall, a sheet of tears, obscured my view. And when I could see again, I marveled at my miracle, this God-granted miracle girl. This act of love. Her birth mother had…
Debra L. Freeberg
January 4, 2017
Essays

Loving God, Each Other and the Truth

Editor’s note: The following is adapted from a chapel talk at Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa. A salesman driving through rural Iowa has car trouble. He has no cell service, so he walks to a nearby farmhouse. He enters the yard and, looking to his left, sees a pig in a pen. The pig has a wooden leg. The salesman stares for a moment then walks onto the porch and knocks on the door. After the farmer lets him use…
January 4, 2017
Essays

Reincorporating Christus Victor in the Reformed Theology of Atonement

In Christianity’s first centuries, we find vivid depictions of the cross as a fishhook or mousetrap that catches Satan in the act of destroying human life. The mousetrap image seems to come from the Latin version of Augustine’s triumphant statement in his Sermon 134 that the devil, the ruler of this world who will be driven out (John 12:31), caused his own destruction by entrapping Christ in death, bringing about the resurrection. As the Gospels indicted Sadducees, scribes and Jerusalem…
January 4, 2017
As We See It

Time for Gerard Manley Hopkins

What can I say after the U.S. election? So many people are already saying so many things, which makes me hesitant to add to the noise. I’m weary; words feel weary; the world itself feels weary. As it did to the Gatherer at the end of Ecclesiastes, the world feels full of terrors, broken things and dust. The sloganeering is as worn-out as old bumper stickers on a Nalgene water bottle, and the cup we’re forced to drink tastes like…
January 2, 2017
As We See It

More than a Feeling

My mother-in-law has a fondness for American peanut butter. It used to be hard to find in France. When she came to the United States for a visit, we made sure we had a supply ready for her. She attributed her liking of peanut butter to her school days. After World War II, she attended a boarding school run by Roman Catholic nuns. Good food was scarce, especially protein. Every day she and her classmates would line up to receive…
November 2, 2016
As We See It

Sacraments Sustain Weak Faith

Life is difficult. Faith in God helps. Keeping the faith, even faith the size of a mustard seed, also is difficult. The dimly burning wick of the candle of faith endures by using the sacraments. Deadly sins, such as greed, pride, sloth, gluttony, lust, wrath and envy, cause us to put our trust in the idols they produce. Those idols don't help; instead, they distract and consume us. Also, guilt, shame and anxiety can loosen our grip on our convictions.…
November 2, 2016