Theology That Bites Back
“Remember the parable of Chariots of Fire. In that movie, both Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell are great athletes. They both earn their medal in the Olympics. But Harold Abrahams, the Jew, runs under the law, while Eric Liddell, the Christian, runs under the pleasure of God. The Jews still run like Harold Abrahams. Americans used to run like Eric Liddell. Let the reader understand.”
American Milk and Honey, p. 186
“Whether feeling appointed or not, I now pray
That through faith I would act as appointed by You.
Whether feeling anointed by Your Spirit or not,
I pray I would speak as one having great power.
Whether feeling authority, I pray that through faith,
I would speak as a prophet having authority.”
21 Prayers, pp. 85-86
“I ask that this service of worship this morning
Would thrown down all enclaves of resistance to You
That operate here, that exist in our town,
Among men of influence, those who hold power,
In each of our families, in circles of friends.
Disrupt them all, I ask now, I pray You.”
21 Prayers, p. 83
“Americans have been remarkably free of the fuel that causes antisemitism to burn really hot, and, as already argued, that fuel is envy. Americans have not been threatened by this ‘high performance people’ largely because Americans have historically been a high performance people themselves. We appreciate and like the competition.”
American Milk and Honey, pp. 185-186
“The logic of Christendom is that of multiple countries, multiple nations, all calling on the name of Christ, all having the option of living under the promised Deuteronomic blessings. As this goodness gradually takes shape, these Deuteronomic blessings will gradually become the Isaianic blessings, and the wolf will dwell with the lamb.”
American Milk & Honey, p. 184
“I pray the cliff edge would crumble from under us.
Put us where we can do nothing but trust You.”
21 Prayers, p. 81
“Crack open our hearts and pour Yourself into us.
And I do not ask as a point of theology,
Or as something to fit the right spot in our liturgy,
Or as a matter of speculative thinking—
There’s no doubt in my mind that it wouldn’t fit anyway.
I ask it regardless. I plead with Your Spirit.”
21 Prayers, pp. 80-81
“In principle, this meant that various Christian nations had access to the promises of Deuteronomy, and in varying degrees enjoyed them . . . But the country where it has been preeminently true has been the United States.”
American Milk and Honey, p. 184
“He was rejected by the chief priests and scribes, and in a travesty of justice, executed—just like so many other prophets before Him. But this time something went desperately wrong, at least from the perspective of the Establishment Men. This time, the executed prophet did something no one else had been able to do: come back from the dead. This made Him very difficult to deal with. Now He is ruling from the right hand of the Father, and is entirely out of their reach.”
American Milk and Honey, p. 182
“Father, I pray for grace that’s unsettling.
I pray for grace that disrupts all the things.
I pray for the creative destruction of grace . . .
Father, Your Son did not call us to follow,
To take up our cross and to follow to death
In order to line the floor with our pious corpses.”
21 Prayers, p. 77
