Well, I feel like I’ve been away from my blog site for a considered time. I would consider it about a few weeks!
I’ve just finished reading through Bernie Van De Walle’s book RETHINKING HOLINESS. Good read. In fact I would go so far as to say a great read.
I’ve been thinking along the same lines as Bernie (a professor at Ambrose University). We are living in a day and age where many people are trying to figure out holiness. They may express it as a desire to do what is right, or they want to be better than they are or . . .
Bernie makes the point that holiness is not morality but rather the wellspring of morality. Holiness is a way of being.
Our world is currently assailed by many moralities (moral pluralism) which cause division, death and defeat. Stretch your thinking and you come to the conclusion that holiness is rooted in God alone. Life requires us to have only one focal point for holiness – Almighty God – if we wish to live in harmony (OK, that’s getting off into my own pet peeve, but I think Bernie would agree). Finally, Bernie makes the point that holiness is grounded in union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The 151 pages of readable text fill in the gaps. And yes, Bernie, this is good Alliance theology. A.B. would be proud of you – he might even have published this as a series of articles in his magazine!!!!