# Theology of Glory vs. Theology of the Cross



## BuddyOfDavidClarkson (Oct 30, 2006)

I was listening to several hours of MP3s from Michael Horton and he covered serveral chapters from his new book (Too Good To Be True) and he kept referring to the Theology of Glory vs. the Theology of the Cross. He had many good points and I would like to dig into this more.

Does anyone know of good books that take on the topic or either part of it?


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## alwaysreforming (Oct 30, 2006)

*Cross vs. Glory, on tape*

David,
What's up, brother? I'm from Orlando, too! Its cool to have another PB Brother here!

Anyway, to answer your question, RTS (in Oviedo) has a whole collection of tapes from past "White Horse Inn" broadcasts where they go over this topic in quite some length.

I'd advise you to go check those out. You can borrow them out by getting a library card at the RTS library.

P.S.
(I have a gym on the corner of Red Bug and Tuskawilla Rd, (next to K-Mart), so pass by on your way to RTS! Its called "L.A. Boxing".)


Chris Hinton


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## Romans922 (Oct 30, 2006)

He is talking about this:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Being-Theologian-Cross-Reflections-Disputation/dp/080284345X/sr=8-1/qid=1162222336/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-6916765-3404027?ie=UTF8&s=books"]Amazon.com: On Being a Theologian of the Cross: Reflections on Luther's Heidelberg Disputation, 1518 (Theology): Books: Gerhard O. Forde,Martin Luther[/ame]

I know this because we had a whole class on Leadership where for all of the semester we talked about not being theologians of glory (prideful/arrogant/all about yourself and your looks, etc.) but being theologians of the cross (Jesus).

You can also read 1 Corinthians 1-4. That will help also.


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## Me Died Blue (Oct 30, 2006)

Furthermore, even if it may often seem like one _is_ focusing on Jesus, with a theology of glory in can often be for the wrong reasons and in the wrong ways, expecting the wrong results. That's why the Cross balances that focus out as the focal point.

Actually, I would recommend Horton's own _In the Face of God_ for further treatment of this particular subject, as well as spirituality as a whole.


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## Romans922 (Oct 30, 2006)

I would suggest if anyone does anything with a theology of glory it IS for the wrong reasons b/c the theologian of glory is focused on things that are not Christ and the cross.


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## tewilder (Oct 30, 2006)

Romans922 said:


> He is talking about this:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Being-Theolog..._bbs_sr_1/002-6916765-3404027?ie=UTF8&s=books
> 
> ...



If it is simply to recommend the old familiar virtues of sincerity, humility, etc., then why the high falutin' terminology of theology of glory/theology of the cross? Just to sound clever?


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## R. Scott Clark (Oct 30, 2006)

The theology of the cross/glory distinction was a basic Protestant distinction. It became the archetypal/ectypal distinction (i.e., the distinction between the way God knows things and the way we know them) for both Reformed and Lutheran theologians. It was grounded in Deut 29:29. One does not find this exact language, e.g., in Calvin, but the substance is there.

It's a way of speaking of the Creator/creature distinction and its correlates. It's a categorical distinction. Luther meant by it to deny both Roman moralism (justification by sanctification) and to deny rationalism (in this case = identification of the human intellect with the divine as he rightly perceived Thomas to do). It also entails, I argue, an eschatology and ethic. 

Richard Muller correlated the TC/TG distinction with the TA/TE distinction in 1986. See 

Richard A. Muller, "Scholasticism Protestant and Catholic: Francis Turretin on the Object and Principles of Theology," _Church History_, 55 (1986): 193-205. The same stuff is also in his _Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics_ vol. 1

rsc


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