Jeffrey C. Long

My new blog has been launched at http://jeffreyclong.typepad.com/journey. It’s still a little rough around the edges look-and-feel. From the welcome:

Welcome to “Journey to Westminster and Schleitheim.”

Our destination is to understand the theology of two streams of Christian faith.

The first is the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Written in the 1640′s, it is the culmination of western protestant theology. By understanding it we are able to grasp the theological conclusions that have been made throughout the centuries since the time of Christ and the early church.

The second, is the Anabaptist movement of the 1500′s symbolized here by the Schleitheim Confession. While Westminster represents the culmination of western protestant theology, the Anabaptist represent an impulse to bypass the theological and liturgical baggage of centuries of Catholicism by attempting to return to 1st century church. This movement is called “primitivism.”

It is my opinion that both are important. The Holy Spirit has been working throughout the centuries building God’s church upon the foundation of Jesus. Important doctrinal issues have been weighed and conclusions drawn that are valuable for us to understand. But similarly, the Church is in constant need of reformation. It is all too easy for us to slip into traditionalism. So we should always consider what it would be like for the Holy Spirit to come upon us anew as happened in Acts 2 and to have the same freshness that the church had for it’s first 100 years.

By comparing and contrasting these two movements, it is my hope that we can have a richer fuller faith.

I will be posting discussion topics working through the Westminster shorter catechism followed up by anabaptist teachings on similar subjects often using Schleitheim and other historical documents. And links in articles will lead to other resources to expand your understanding. But the real action will take place in the comments section. You are encouraged to comment and enter a discussion with other participants here. I have been discovering at my church that we really learn best when we are challenged in our beliefs by the voices of others. So, please join in. Don’t hesitate to comment more then once per post. Hopefully a conversation will develop as we explore these rich traditions.