What does Jesus mean by the “keys of the kingdom,” and to whom does he give them? Jonathan Leeman joins me on What in the Word? to discuss the Matthew 16:19.
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Theology
Rethinking “Anxiety” in Bible Translations
With Crossway announcing their new updates to the ESV, I wonder if translations have considered more careful use of language like “anxiety” (instead of “worry,” “concern,” “anguish,” or “distress”), especially given its associations with more precise medical meanings today.
Verses that use the word “anxiety” have not infrequently been illegitimately used to condemn people, as if experiencing distress and anguish is sinful, or as if conditions like PTSD (an anxiety disorder) are moral failings (i.e., a failure to “trust God”).
And before anyone @’s me: Yes, the work of translation requires dealing accurately with the original languages. 🙂 But to convey accurately the meaning of that original also requires careful attention to the associations and meaning of words and phrases in the receptor language (in this case English). Simplistic approaches to translation (the stereotypical first year seminary student) exclusively attend to the former, neglecting the latter (simply taking it for granted).
Consider, the Jesus who told us “do not be anxious” (Mt 6:25), clearly experienced anxiety in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mt 26:36–46). Likewise, the same Paul who said he knew the key to contentment (Phil 4:11-4) spoke of his daily “anxiety” for the churches (2 Cor 11:28), which I don’t think was him confessing his sin! The same Bible that says to cast our “anxieties” on God (1 Pet 5:7) models to us godly laments (see a good third of the Psalter) in which that “casting” clearly does not mean the absence or disappearance of such anxieties.
Yes, failing to trust God is sin. But experiencing distress, anguish, or stress is not sin, nor is it necessarily brought on due to personally moral failing; and we error—and often times do much damage—when we assume so. For instance, if you’re walking through the woods and encounter a grizzly bear, experiencing some anxiety (stress) is not sinful; it’s a healthy (God-given!) survival mechanism.
I think more care could be taken in how we translate these passages referencing “anxiety,” given that word’s contemporary associations. Too often such verses then get misapplied to condemn people experiencing abuse or distress from other terrible circumstances.
Ecclesial Crossbreeding: When Elders Answer to No One
Exegetical and theological differences aside:
Elder (presbuteros)-rule church government (polity) historically developed within an ecclesial ecosystem of broader presbyterian accountability structures. In other words, when the elders of a particular church (its “session”) functioned as its utmost governing body—as opposed to the congregation—those elders (session) were nonetheless governed by and accountable to its broader ecclesial system of accountability (e.g., its local presbytery, consisting of elders from other local congregations). Thus, although elder-rule existed, those elders’ authority in their church was not unchecked or absolute.
On the other side, congregational (e.g., Baptist) churches are autonomous, meaning each local church completely governs itself. It may affiliate with other churches (associations, conventions, etc.). But the church remains self-governing; there is no ecclesial authority that exists over it and governs it.
These churches have historically been congregationally governed, i.e., the members of the church (congregation) serve as the utmost governing body of the church. Certainly its congregationally appointed elders exercise a measure of delegated authority, but they remain accountable, in this case to the congregation.
In short, historically speaking both forms of elder-rule and congregational polity maintained mechanisms of accountability for its elders. Elders were never a pure, independent, unaccountable governing body in either system. In elder-rule, they had outside accountability from the elders of other churches in their denomination (known as presbyterianism). The accountability came from “above.” In congregational churches, the church (the congregation, the members) itself held them accountable. The accountability came from “below.”1
A dangerous—and from what I understand, historically aberrant and novel—iteration then are those churches that borrow from both these worlds, but thereby isolate pieces of these polities that were never meant to exist independent of their larger ecclesial commitments. Thus you get churches today that are autonomous but elder-rule. In short, the elders are not accountable to anyone, neither the congregation or an overseeing presbytery.
It’s dangerous and ripe for abuse.
Notes
- I mean “below” or “above” in terms of hierarchy, not value. ↩︎
The Athanasian Creed (with Brandon Smith)
The Athanasian Creed famously confesses, “We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the substance.” But what exactly does this mean that God is one and yet three persons? And why is The Athanasian Creed so concerned about the doctrine of the Trinity as it relates to our salvation? In this episodes Kirk is joined by Brandon Smith to discuss these questions and more!
(We apologize for the poor quality audio on Kirk’s end. His computer was experiencing a technical problem during the recording which affected the audio.)
Access the episode here. (Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and more.)
See all other episodes in this series.
A Reading Plan: Reformed Systematic Theology by Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley
Crossway was kind enough to send me a review copy of Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley’s recently completed, four-volume Reformed Systematic Theology. Altogether it’s a hefty 5,216 pages.
I’ve created a reading plan that I thought I’d share in case others might benefit. The plan is currently set up with one chapter assigned per day, meaning one can complete all four volumes in a little less than seven months. However, one can adjust the spreadsheet according to preference.
Kirk E. Miller 