The law is a complex and controversial topic, whether on is talking about national laws, moral law, the law of God, or some particular law code. The way we interact with law is also of great interest.

Energion Publications is sponsoring a discussion among our authors and friends about the nature of law, particularly in the Bible and in Christian thought. This discussion starts on Monday, March 22, 2021. This page is a directory to that discussion.

The discussion will open with a post by Energion author Alden Thompson, with links to a few related posts based on content. Links to these related posts will be posted below under the Related Posts heading. Over the next few days, a number of authors will provide responses. Links to these articles will be posted below under the heading Responses. Finally, links to book extracts from our authors regarding the law will be posted under the Book Extracts heading.

Certain authors were invited to provide early responses to get the discussion started, but anyone is free to participate. You can participate in several ways:

1. By posting comments on any of the posts provided.
2. By posting your thoughts on your own blog.
3. By posting on social media, such as a Facebook post or a Twitter thread
4. Posts will be placed on Energion Direct’s From Our Authors blog by invitation

Whatever approach you take to participating, please provide a link to your notes via a comment on this page, and/or by emailing pubs@energion.com.

Rules of the Road

Energion Publications supports free speech, so our rules are as limited as possible. Perhaps this is, in itself, a comment on law! We will not limit the discussion to a particular range of views. These rules apply only to those posts we link to or to ones we host on Energion Direct. Posts will be reviewed by a human, not an algorithm.

Here they are:

1. No profanity.
2. Avoid attacking the person. The line is drawn between saying “that doctrine or position is evil” and “you are evil.” The former is OK, the latter is not. This is intended to allow expression of strong opinions, but draw a line somewhere.
3. All posts must provide some positive content that addresses the topic of law and not simply an attack on an existing position.

Procedures

We will post notices on the Energion Publications News blog for each major new post, and will link to all from here. This is the directory to the discussion.

Time Limits

There are none. If you have found this page, you are welcome to advance the discussion. Many of the people involved have busy schedules, so there may be some time between comments.

Suggestions

These are not requirements, but suggestions. 1) Keep your posts short. Generally 1000 words or less is good. 2) Don’t feel obligated to answer everything. Choose a key topic or topics and focus on those. 3) Don’t be in a hurry. This discussion will continue for some time.

Below is a list of responses to the posts in this discussion. These posts were written specifically for the discussion.

Opening Article: The Law as Gospel by Alden Thompson

• Alden Thompson and the Law as Gospel by Elgin Hushbeck, Jr.
  (Comment to this by Alden Thompson)
• From DOBE to BEDO by Pat Badstibner, World Prayr.
• The Law’s Inevitable Tension between Ideal and Reality by Steve Kindle.
  Response by Pat Badstibner – What Was the Law Intended to Do?
• The Law Is Not Soggy Cornflakes by Pat Badstibner.

Related posts are those we discover that were not written for this discussion, but are of value to the discussion.

• Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday in Lent – March 7, 2021 by Bruce Epperly
  – Response from Pat Badstibner The Standard of the Law
• COVENANT RULES AND REGULATIONS – SERMON FOR LENT 3B (EXODUS 20) by Bob Cornwall
  – Response from Pat Badstibner Keeping the Law
• The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday in Lent – March 21, 2021 by Bruce Epperly
• TO BE A CHILD OF GOD — LECTIONARY REFLECTION FOR EASTER 3B (1 JOHN 3) by Bob Cornwall

• Grace Before Law – An Extract from Who’s Afraid of the Old Testament God? – Alden Thompson
• We Matter to God and to One Another – An Extract from Holistic Spirituality – Bruce Epperly
• The Antithesis of the Law – Edward W. H Vick
• Forgive as We Are Forgiven: An Extract from Ultimate Alegiance – Robert D. Cornwall
• James and Paul on Salvation and the Law by Alexander Stewart
• Good Intentions by David Moffett-Moore
• The Story of Moses, Exodus, and Sinai by Lee Wyatt
• I only preach a relational theology by Ron Higdon

Picture credits:

Ten Commandments image by Enlightening Images from Pixabay
Related image by mcmurryjulie from Pixabay
Response image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
Book extracts image by 200 Degrees from Pixabay