Students Brittany Wilkins and Cassey Simmons participate in the processional for evening worship. |
At a Glance
Theme:
Christ’s Resurrection: The Miraculous and Supernatural Central Event of our Faith
Faculty Speaker:
Rev. Dr. Warren Smith, Assistant Professor of Historical Theology
Lectionary Texts:
Exodus 14: 10-14, 21-25, 15:21; Psalm 118:14-29; 1 Corinthians 15; Luke 24: 13-35
Evening Worship:
Rev. Matt Schlimm, Arts Village Coordinator, preached on the theme of Christ’s Resurrection as the lens through which baptized Christians must see the world. With our “Easter Eyes,” we see our bodies as beautiful gifts from God to be ours for eternity. We see the suffering in the world as unjust, and the table as our way of taking part in the coming Kingdom of God. Our first student-led worship service featured a processional, a pantomimed version of Scripture, and a guitar-led closing song, “Come Thou Fount.”
Reflections on the Lecture
Dr. Smith began the lecture with a definition for and differentiation between adiaphora and dogma . He defined the former as those things on which Christians can “agree to disagree” while still calling themselves Christians. Adiaphora would include celibacy of ordained ministers, and different forms of baptism (immersion or sprinkling). Dogma, on the other hand, is the set of beliefs on which Christianity is based and which must be accepted by believers. This includes the triune concept of God, the belief that Jesus was God incarnate, at once fully man and fully divine, as well as belief in resurrection.
Dr. Smith then helped us explore this theme by focusing on three different areas: resurrection of believers, Jesus' resurrection, and the implications of Christ's resurrection. We saw through reading Paul's letters to the Corinthians that resurrection was the central belief of the early church. Without resurrection, we can't make sense of the rest of the Biblical narrative.
Jesus' resurrection from the dead means that He achieved victory over sin and death, triumph of justice, and bodily resurrection. We are baptized into Jesus' death and then raised with him so that we no longer must fear death. In light of Jesus' victory, the politics of fear implored by this world's power struggles have no hold on us.
Quotable Quotes from the Plenary Lecture
Theological Jargon of the Day: adiaphora vs. dogma
“There is no way one can understand the life of the early church without realizing the centrality of the belief in bodily resurrection.”
“Take away resurrection and the whole edifice of Christianity collapses.”
“Resurrection is fundamentally a miraculous event.”
“If you believe God created out of nothing, I suggest belief in the resurrection isn't that far a leap.”
Overheard in the halls of the divinity school...
“In light of bodily resurrection, should we not donate organs?”
— Alex Molella
“In order to be resurrected, do we have to be baptized?”
— Grant Collier
What's ahead...
Tomorrow we will hear from Dr. J. Kameron Carter, Assistant Professor in Theology and Black Church Studies in the plenary lecture, “The Spirit-Born Church: Unity Amidst Human Diversity.”
Rev. Chris Brady will preach tomorrow night, and Rev. Dr. Ed Phillips will lead communion.
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