CCC23, S2: Bryan Wolfmueller - ”Who Are You?”

The Christianity & Culture Conference of Spencer, IA

July 7-8, 2023

"Competing Stories: God's v. the World's"

Speaker: The Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller

Session 2: Who Are You?

What are human beings? Are we basically good or bad? Are we more than walking stomachs? Is there meaning and purpose in life? We’ll consider the different anthropologies competing for our imagination about ourselves.

 

Feedback for Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller: bwolfmueller@gmail.com

Podcast Feedback (Broken links, suggestions, etc): CCConferenceSpencer@gmail.com

 

Summary

• LSB 709 - The King of Love My Shepherd Is
• Implications of our chapter 1
• What is that mean for our anthropology - the study of man; theologically, the doctrine of man
• Pagan anthropology v. Christian anthropology
• Create own laws; rule of Gnosticism
• Strong preference for burial because of the Resurrection - Four things which define us
• The Lord’s Prayer teaches us who we are
• If you try to aim for happiness, you will never get it

References

• LSB 709 - The King of Love My Shepherd Is: https://hymnary.org/text/the_king_of_love_my_shepherd_is
• Minority Report: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181689/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
• Pictures from Whiteboard: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aA6uMAUHqrvOqcS9du4dEprvy_xz X_8W?usp=sharing
• Luther on Dichotomy and Trichotomy (Luther on the Magnificat): Page 7 here - https://www.checkluther.com/wp-content/uploads/1521-The-Magnificat- Translated-and-Explained.pdf
• “Disputation Concerning Man,” Martin Luther, , Translated by Lewis Spitz, In Luther’s Works, Vol. 34, edited by Lewis Spitz, (Philadelphia, PA: Muhlenberg Press, 1960), 137. LW 34 can be found here: https://www.cph.org/luthers- works-volume-34-career-of-the-reformer-iv
• Romans 7:7-25, Hebrews 12:1-2, Luke 11:14-26; Hebrews 2:14-18: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+7%3A7- 25%2C+Hebrews+12%3A1-2%2C+Luke+11%3A14-26%3B+Hebrews+2%3A14- 18&version=ESV

 

Clarification

1:04:13: (First Question): Is it accurate to say that before Baptism the “I” is on the flesh side?

1:06:25 (Second Question): In the mirror, I see I’m a sinner with my sin; but when God sees me He sees His Son.

1:08:10: (Third Question): In my life, I run into many people who say their Christian, but don’t go to church and seem to be in lock step with the world. Does a Christian filled with pagan ideas have hope when they don’t realize who they are as a Christian? How do we talk with them?

1:12:28(Comment): (But their response is): “But God wants me to be happy.”

1:15:29 (Fourth Question): In the dichotomy/trichotomy, is there a third option that it could be an empty space (with neither the Holy Spirit nor a demon there)

1:18:02: (Follow up to Fourth Question): So would an important distinction be that not all pagans are possessed by demons but all pagans are captive by the devil?

 

Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller is pastor of St. Paul and Jesus Deaf Lutheran Churches in Austin, TX. He is the author of Take They Our Life: Martin Luther’s Theology of Martyrdom (2019), A Martyr’s Faith for a Faithless World (CPH, 2019), Has American Christianity Failed? (CPH, 2016) and Final Victory: Contemplating the Death and Funeral of a Christian (CPH, 2010). He is host of What-Not The Podcast, posts videos on YouTube at wolfmueller1, and has a number of other theological projects that all end up on his blog, www.wolfmueller.co. Bryan is a member of the Doxology Collegium. He and his wife Keri live with their four children in Round Rock, TX.

https://wolfmueller.co/

 

Conference Partners:

Christ the King Lutheran Church, Spencer, IA - Rev. Michael McGinley - www.ctkspencer.com

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Spirit Lake, IA - Rev. Paul Dare - www.lcmslakes.org

First English Lutheran Church, Spencer, IA - Rev. Paul Kaldahl - www.spencer-church.com

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Terril, IA - Rev. Tom Marth - https://lcmsterril.weebly.com

Spencer Circuit of the Iowa District West (LCMS)