Theology beacon dictionary of theology
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- Conflicting Concepts of Holiness
- The Revelation of Law in Scripture;
- Christian Ethics and Moral Philosophy
- For Further Reading: Bakers Dictionary of Practical Theology
- SIN, MISTAKES, INFIRMITIES. SINLESS PERFECTION.
- ORTHODOXY, EVANGELICAL, FUNDAMENTALISM.
- CHRISTIANITY, CHRISTIAN SOCIALISM, HUMANISM, CHRISTIAN HUMANISM, CHRISTIAN ETHICS, SALVATION, WESLEYANISM, MARXISM, WOMENS LIBERATION.
- Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation; Anderson and Stransky, eds., Mission Trends No. 4: Liberation Theologies in North America and Europe; Miguez-Benino
- LIBERTY. See
- Responsible Freedom. D elbert R. R ose LIE, LIARS.
LEGAL SIN, ETHICAL SIN. The first of these terms refers to the broad definition of sin as held by Calvinists, as consisting of any thought, deed, or omission which, whether or not one knows that it falls short, occasions his becoming legally blameworthy—simply because, in any way whatever, it falls short of an absolute standard. In other words, sin is defined solely in relation to law, without taking into account important human factors, such as intelligence and intention. LEGALISM 311
This way of viewing an act of sin is in contrast to the more precise ethical view as espoused within Wesleyanism. Here, sin as an act, in the sense of sin "properly so called" (Wesley), is an act, thought, or deed in which a person wilfully disobeys a known expectation of God. Scripture seems, in a few instances, to refer to acts as sins which were not wilfully disobedient. Thus Leviticus 4—5 refers to "sins of ignorance," for which, after a person realized he had committed them, sin offering was to be made for their cleansing. In the NT, the weight is on ethical sin, which is blameworthy in a truly moral sense (cf. John 8:11, 34; 9:41; Rom. 6:1-23; 8:1-4; 14:23; Jas. 4:17; 1 John 3:3-10; 5:18). While it is very necessary to remember that an absolute law exists, to label every unknown or unintentional infraction as sin, without making any distinction between such infractions and wilful deviations, is to violate the essential sin idea, which is a moral offense against God, an offense which must be condemned because it is culpable. Morality loses its proper moral dimension, as do sin and holiness, if the factors of personal responsibility are eliminated. This is the reason John Wesley, though he freely conceded that the holiest person was ever in need of the Atonement, refused to call unintentional or unknown errors sins. Mistake, he says, "is not sin, if love is the sole principle of action" (Plain Account, 53). They are not "in the Scripture sense, sin" (54). Again, "Such transgressions you may call sins, if you please: I do not." He explained further the danger of failing to discriminate in this, and warned: "Let those who do call them so, beware how they confound these defects with sin, properly so called" (ibid.). While it is necessary to distinguish between wilful sins and nonwilful sins or mistakes, it should be kept in mind that the nonwilful blunders are often serious in their consequences. Therefore an attitude of humility and dependence on the atoning Blood is always proper, as well as continuous effort to develop ethical awareness and sensitivity. See sin, simplicity of moral action, morality For Further Reading: Purkiser, Conflicting Concepts of Holiness, 45-62: Taylor, A Right Conception of Sin; CMS, 120-26, 268-77. J. kenneth grider LEGALISM. Whereas legality is the state or practice of being legal (conforming to law), legalism is (1) a dependence on law keeping as the means of salvation, and/or (2) an excessive bondage to the letter of the law which misses its intent and which fails to be motivated by love. In the Judaism of the postexilic period there was a fanatical observance of both the written law and an added collection of oral traditions. The result was a rigid and external legalism of slavish obedience to commandments, statutes, regulations, rites, and sacrifices. In the beginning days of the Christian Church, when believers were both Jews and Christians, many continued their former legalism. As the gospel spread to the Gentile world, advocates of legalism, called Judaizers, sought to impose their convictions on the non-Jewish pagan converts. This set the stage for the first doctrinal conflict in the fledgling Church. Although it was officially settled at the first Christian council at Jerusalem —with the rejection of legalism—the struggle was continued throughout much of the first century. With the exception of Jesus, the prime opponent of legalism was the apostle Paul, who had been dramatically delivered from its bondage (cf. Gal. 1:13 ff; Rom. 7:7 ff). He recognized that the observance of the Jewish law—as essential to salvation—was a form of works righteousness that repudiated justification by grace through faith. In his Galatian letter Paul warned that surrender to Jewish legalism was tantamount to the rejection of Christ and His saving cross (Gal. 2:21) and resulted in galling bondage and slavery (4:9; 5:1). Even more significantly, a dependence on the law would make impossible the new life of the Spirit. The threat of legalism has plagued the Church from the first century to the present. Today the appeal is not to adopt the Jewish law, but to drift into moralism, a "Christian" version of legalism. Law is viewed as the only alternative to a freedom that becomes license. Religion thus becomes primarily a matter of following a set of rules and regulations. The believer is entangled in the web of works righteousness that very easily becomes a self-righteousness. In turn, such self-righteousness often causes one to live by a "legalistic letter" that results in a cutting, critical, and condemning spirit toward other people. This expression of legalism is a tragic contradiction of the love that is the heart of the Christian faith. The corrective for legalism is not license (Gal. 5:13 ff) but that Spirit-generated love which fulfills the spirit and intent of the law from the heart, in true freedom. See law, law and grace, antinomianism, love, judaism. For Further Reading: Fairbaim, The Revelation of Law in Scripture; Howard, Newness of Life; Barclay, The Mind of St. Paul. Richard E. Howard 312 LEISURE—LIABILITY TO SIN LEISURE. Leisure is free time, time which is not necessary for existence (to survive biologically), nor for subsistence (to survive economically). Technological advances and labor-saving devices have provided man with more leisure than ever before. The way he uses his leisure is an index of his intelligence, culture, character, and religion. There are four major options in a worthwhile use of leisure time; recreation, improvement, worship, and service. Recreation. "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit," writes Paul. "Honor God with your body" (1 Cor. 6:19-20, niv). As His stewards, we are charged to take care of His property. Recreation is part of this care. "The tension of both mind and body resulting from the pace and complexity of modern industrial life emphasizes the necessity of periods of rest and relaxation as essential factors in the preservation of the body" (Cul-bertson, Introduction to Christian Theology, 352). Improvement. The determination of the committed Christian is to be "my utmost for His Highest," says Oswald Chambers. This drive for excellence affects every area of life. Leisure provides time for culture, "the development of the person intellectually, aesthetically, and socially, to the full use of his powers, in compatibility with the recognized standards of excellence of his society" (Taylor, A Return to Christian Culture, 16). Worship and Service. Worship is both adoration and communion with the Lord, and an offering of oneself in service to Him. In private devotions, the child of God is renewed spiritually. In the fellowship of the church, he draws strength from the means of grace and finds avenues of service. He uses his leisure to worship and serve. Leisure is free time only in the sense that one may choose how it is spent. Man can fritter it away or grasp the opportunities it offers "for learning and freedom, for growth and expression, for rest and restoration, for rediscovering life in its entirety" (Lee, Religion and Leisure in America, 35). The Christian is called to faithfulness in his stewardship of this valuable resource (1 Cor. 4:2; Eph. 5:15-16). See TIME, DISCIPLINE, GROW (GROWTH), STEWARDSHIP. For Further Reading: Thomas, Christian Ethics and Moral Philosophy, 210-16; Taylor, A Return to Christian Culture, 15-28, 42-51; Wiley, CT, 3:47-64; Lee, Religion and Leisure in America. maureen H, Box LENT. In the Christian year, Lent is the 40-day period beginning with Ash Wednesday devoted to preparation for the celebration of redemption on Easter Sunday. That Lent should consist of 40 days seems to have been established by the end of the fourth century and may reflect the time Moses spent on Sinai or the period of Jesus' fasting in the wilderness of temptation. The 40 days might also simply reflect the normal period of preparation for the catechumens who would be baptized at Easter. Although fasting was practiced in connection with the preparation for Easter, in the Early Church it amounted to only two or three days. From the fourth century to the ninth, fasting was emphasized and its observance rigidly enforced. From the ninth century to the present, Lenten fasting has been deemphasized by the Roman Catholic church so that since 1966 the obligation to fast is restricted to Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting has given place to emphasis upon an abstemious life-style through Lent. Celebration is reserved for Easter and is displaced during Lent by abstaining from festivities, by omitting the Alleluia from the Mass, and by devoting more than usual time to religious exercises. Lenten fasting is encouraged in the Book of Common Prayer. Lent comprises part of the Lutheran year and is observed variously in other Protestant denominations. The word lent is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word for spring (lencten) which might have referred to the "lengthen"-ing of the days. See FASTING, CHRISTIAN YEAR.
People are not liable to sin because they are sinners, but because they are human. Susceptibility to sin is a part of the human predicament; it belongs to the endowment of freedom. It is true that no human is born without the "infection" of sin, but neither is this the basis of one's liability to sin. If it were, then Adam and Eve could not have sinned because they were created pure and perfect, with no natural inclination to sin. The crux for Wesleyans is whether an entirely sanctified believer is placed beyond the power of sinning. Wesleyans do hold that entire sanctification cleanses the believer's heart from the corruption of inbred sin, whereby he is freed from
LIBERALISM—LIBERATION THEOLOGY 313
the bent to sin. However, they do not hold that he is thereby freed from the liability to sin. This susceptibility remains because it is essential to the functioning of free agents in a state of probation. In addition, an entirely sanctified believer must reckon with infirmities of body, mind, and spirit, which increases his liability to falling into sin. A distinction must be made between sin springing from deliberate purpose, and sin resulting from momentary weakness and un-watchfulness. "In an unguarded moment," Thomas Cook says, "the best Christians may be surprised into some single act of sin; but for this there is merciful provision in our High Priest above" (New Testament Holiness, 19). But liability to sin must never be interpreted as necessity, certainly not as normalcy. "Permanent sonship and continual sinning are contradictions which cannot be combined in the same character. A person can no more remain born of God and continue in sin that he can remain honest and steal, or truthful and tell lies" (Cook, 18). Wesleyans rejoice that though the liability to sin remains, the Christian need not sin. In the words of Cook: "While inability to sin does not belong to Christian experience, fo be able not to sin does" (16). Yet if one is overtaken in a fault or transgression, one has the sufficient mercy of God for forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9). He also has the resource of a caring body of spiritual persons who, according to Gal. 6:1, have the challenge to exercise the ministry of prayerful restoration. See SIN, MISTAKES, INFIRMITIES. SINLESS PERFECTION. For Further Reading: Cook, New Testament Holiness; Geiger, ed., Further Insights into Holiness, 193 ff; Cox, John Wesley's Concept of Perfection.
Liberalism denies the virgin conception of Christ, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection, and His second coming. This, in favor of a Jesus who is only human, and not divine. It therefore denies the doctrine of the Trinity. It tends to favor religious education instead of evangelism; spiritual growth instead of conversion. In the doctrine of God, it tends to emphasize His love instead of His holiness; His infinite kindness instead of His judgment. On Scripture, liberalism tends to view it as not qualitatively different from other early writings, and not as the sole basis for a belief. Instead of emphasizing God's revelation in Scripture and in the Christ of Scripture, it emphasizes God's revelation in nature. It tends to teach that everyone will be saved, instead of the view that the finally impenitent will suffer in eternal hell. See ORTHODOXY, EVANGELICAL, FUNDAMENTALISM. For Further Reading: Fletcher, The Moderns; Marty
Liberation theology is neither new nor limited to the Latin American context, and it has become a worldwide theme which includes women's liberation and black theologies. It has taken on a reactionary character against traditional theology, and strains of Bonhoeffer, Barth, Moltmann, Pannenberg, and other contemporary European and American theologians are easily recognizable. The Latin American proponents readily admit Marxist influence. Theology must be done (according to this movement) in the present historical situation, and its initial task is to "awaken the critical consciousness which produces an experience of social discontent." This task is "conscientization," the educational method needed to alert the oppressed to their condition and motivate them to hope for and work toward bringing about a change. Liberation intends to free theology from cultural and philosophical narrowness, often defined as capitalism, individualism, democracy, secularism, and pragmatism. According to liberation theology, the present historical context can only be understood by utilizing the social sciences, and the most adequate 314 LIBERTY—LICENSE method is the Marxist analysis, which explains the causes of inequality and oppression as well as the necessary steps to correct them. Theology is not an academic discipline, but rather "praxis," the action which "results from deep motivation," has the goal of bringing about changes, and can be defined as the entire mission of the church. The proper location of theology is "orthopraxis," usually a synonym for "the poor," a designation which may refer to the "weak, destitute, and oppressed," a subhuman condition created by greed and injustice. Simultaneously "the poor" is an attitude of "openness to God, willingness to be used by God, and humility before God." The ambivalent use of terminology may be further illustrated by a definition of salvation which is strangely similar to the last identification of "the poor." "Man is saved if he opens himself to God and to others ... and this is true for Christians and non-Christians alike" (Gutierrez). Liberation theology is doctrinally vague. The point of departure is the human condition and not divine revelation. Sin is primarily social and includes all that interferes with liberation. Salvation applies to the whole man and is a kind of universalism. The transcendent God is absent, and the church is not really very important except as a sacrament which symbolizes the reality of the new society. Liberation theology has developed in nominally Christian situations where true evangelism has never obtained, and where colonization, neocolonialism, and development theologies have been identified with Christendom. Persons who have been educated by Christian institutions and compose the new middle class have often rejected the poor from whose midst they have so recently risen. At least five factors of the post-1929 period which gave rise to the development of liberation theology are industrialization, the popular social movements, the development of a military class in Latin America, the conservatism and traditionalism of the church, and a theological dualism. Liberation theology has made some valid contributions to Christian thought. It has served the Church in putting a new and needed emphasis on appropriate Christian social action and recalls to memory the social concerns of John Wesley in 18th-century England and of the early American holiness movement. Salvation can no longer be assumed to be purely individualistic. Liberation theology is a reminder that Christianity meets the needs of the whole man. The Church is challenged to reevaluate its theology to be assured that it is not abstract, but rooted in concrete human experience. One of the greatest values is the initiation of serious rereading and reflection on the Scriptures as a reaction to liberation theology. But there are serious deficiencies in liberation theology. The social, political, and economic contexts have been so emphasized that the even deeper problem of personal sin is quickly passed over, if not ignored. If evangelical theology has been remiss in its neglect of earthly matters, then the liberationists have moved to the opposite extreme. There is a general lack of biblical exegesis. The most serious deficiency is the tendency toward humanism. Man is an unexplained paradox. He is enslaved and exploited, but not to the extent that he cannot free himself from bondage and create a new world with his own hands. While he is dependent and controlled, he is nevertheless able to take control of his problems. The model for the new humanity is Jesus Christ, but little is said about the power of God in Christ to deliver man from his bondage. See CHRISTIANITY, CHRISTIAN SOCIALISM, HUMANISM, CHRISTIAN HUMANISM, CHRISTIAN ETHICS, SALVATION, WESLEYANISM, MARXISM, WOMEN'S LIBERATION.
The word in NT Greek which most closely corresponds to the foregoing definition is aselgeia, most often translated "lasciviousness" in the KJV and ASV, as "licentiousness" in the RSV, and as "lewdness" or "debauchery" in the NIV. Other versions characterize such behavior as "indecency, " "sensuality," and "lustfulness." (Aselgeia LIE, LIARS—LIFE 315
appears in Mark 7:22; Rom. 13:13; 2 Cor. 12:21; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 4:19; 1 Pet. 4:3; 2 Pet. 2:2, 7, 15; and Jude 4. The NIV translates the term as "a license for immorality" in Jude 4.) Both Jesus and Paul pointed to unregenerate human nature as the basic source of society's licentiousness (Mark 7:20-23; Gal. 5:19-21). And Peter and Jude stressed the shameless conduct of those who wilfully gave themselves over to filthy living (1 Pet. 4:3; 2 Pet. 2:7, 18; Jude 4). True Christianhood eliminates "debauchery and licentiousness" (Rom. 13:13; 2 Cor. 12:21), and is characterized by loving obedience to God's holy commandments (1 John 1:5-7; 2:3-5; 5:3). From the early Gnostics to the 20th-century "situationists" the Church has had to resist those movements which have been antinomian in spirit and practice. License is a revolt against both unbiblical legalisms and the disciplined liberties of biblical Christianity. See freedom, antinomianism, law and grace, right (righteousness), ethical relativism, vice. For Further Reading: DeWolf, Responsible Freedom.
The profound seriousness with which the Bible treats falsehood is epitomized in the ninth injunction of the Decalogue: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exod. 20:16, rsv). In biblical terminology, to lie is not merely to practice intellectual dishonesty. It is rather to engage in the distortion of one's own true self, of one's relations with one's fellows, and of one's standing with God. This is expressed by John: "He who says T know him' but disobeys his commandments is a liar , and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4, rsv); again, "If any one says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (4:20, rsv). To be a liar is to build for oneself a world which has no basis in reality. The only destiny that is possible for such a world is for it to collapse into the empty void that it in fact is (Rev. 21:8, 27; 22:15). The inherent evil of lying is clear enough, as is God's condemnation of it. However, in the sphere of moral philosophy there are difficult problems to resolve. Is it lying (in God's sight) to withhold information from those who are not entitled to it? to mislead an enemy in order to save a life? Some would say that any attempt to mislead or deceive is a sin, but that the higher priority of life in the hierarchy of values may justify such a sin. Others would say that sin can never be justified, and that any verbal falsehood demanded by the claims of life cannot properly be called a sin, because its origin is love, not a deceitful heart. In the one case lying is equated with verbal inaccuracy; in the second viewpoint lying involves evil intent, generally for selfish advantage. See truth, values, integrity For Further Reading: "Lie, Hypocrite," NIDNTT, 2:467-74. hal A. cauthron Directory: sites -> default -> files -> publications publications -> Table of Content forward introduction publications -> Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies Georgia Institute of Technology publications -> Housing Counseling Research in Chicago publications -> Communicating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Audiences publications -> New Brunswick Info Sheet on First Nations Child Welfare publications -> Paap’s Electronic Newsletter 14 November 2008 Volume 11 Number 22 towards ‘smart’ subsidies in agriculture: lessons from recent experience in malawi publications -> Information support of pedagogical process for the children experiencing difficulties with acquisition of preschool educational programs publications -> Asus’ ZenFone ar has Google’s augmentted and virtual reality baked in — but not combined publications -> School Readiness and Early Grade Success Consultation Memo Atlanta, ga Download 6.66 Mb. Share with your friends:
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