Distinctive ChristianityCFM: Matthew 5 and Luke 6
Original title: Be Perfect and the Beatitudes
In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the eighth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (Feb. 13-19) covers Matthew 5 and Luke 6 - and is titled "Blessed Are Ye".
If you are in the Provo or Salt Lake City area - we invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!
LDS Sources:
Be Ye Therefore Perfect - Eventually (Jeffrey Holland)
The New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges
The King Follett Discourse (Joseph Smith)
JD 24:259-270 (John Taylor)
JD 24:271 (George Q. Cannon)
Brigham Young: JD 8:206-207, JD 10:5, JD 18:260
John Taylor: JD 11:164, JD 23:176-177
Wilford Woodruff: JD 6:120
Heber C. Kimball: JD 1:355-357, JD 3:108, JD 4:329
Orson Pratt: JD 1:332-333
Erastus Snow: JD 21:23-25
A Rational Theology by John A. Widtsoe
Elias: An Epic of the Ages by Orson F. Whitney
Resources:
When Grace Transforms by Terry Johnson
Who is God?: Key Moments of Biblical Revelation by Richard Bauckham
Jesus's Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World: A Study of Matthew 5-10; The Sermon on the Mount: An Evangelical Exposition of Matthew 5-7 by D. A. Carson
The Gospel of Matthew (NICNT); Divine Government: God's Kingship in the Gospel of Mark by R.T. France
God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology by James Hamilton, Jr.
WCF ch. 16 (pure motive, right manner, and God-centered goal)
The Person of Jesus by J. Gresham Machen
Christless Christianity by Michael Horton (here and here)
Voddie Baucham (here and here)
Note: The congresswoman's name was Jeanette Rankin. Her reasoning was more based on a general pacifism, as far as I could tell without looking too deeply. However, to be more clear, the point was more aimed at trying to rescue Jesus' teaching from over-familiarity, rather than a blanket endorsement of pacifism, as such. We are in the already-but-not-yet; and although peace should always be the goal, there may be times when fighting is necessary, akin to Jesus' teaching on divorce in this same passage. I try to avoid the extremes of both an under-realized eschatology and an over-realized eschatology.
Just War Theory: e.g. see Augustine's City of God (and here); see the writings of Francisco de Vitoria - and more generally, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas Woods (esp. ch.'s 7, 11). On the precedent that Augustine is interacting with - see here. A Reformed thinker often overlooked is Johannes Althusius. (here, here and here.) See also American Awakening by Joshua Mitchell.
Transcript
A full, speaker-identified transcript of this episode is in preparation — transcribed locally and checked against our theological glossary. Check back soon.