Feb
04
2011
Theology and Adoption
Fred Sanders explains why the resurgence of interest in the theology and practice of adoption is so exciting, as witnessed by the new short book by Dan Cruver: Reclaiming Adoption: Missional Living through the Rediscovery of Abba Father. An excerpt from the post:
The whole tenor of Together for Adoption’s ministry is that “what orphans need . . . is Christians who are deeply theological.”
When thousands of orphans are being rescued and supported, it may seem small-minded to say that the most exciting thing about this movement is that it might be moving the neglected theological doctrine of adoption onto the agenda of evangelical systematic theology. But I’ll stand by that, because I take theology to be one meaningful indicator of the spiritual health of the church, and an important tether to spiritual reality.
And:
The whole book is guided by the same deep theological insight. And if you consider that this book is going to be finding its way into the hands of people who are child-proofing their houses, working out passport issues, and giving sacrificially to orphanages, you may see why I say there is a movement going on. A book like Reclaiming Adoption is carrying out the theological task of catechesis, teaching Christians in mid-mission to think more, and think better, about the gospel they are living in. That is going to pay off in the quiet halls of evangelical theology.