Graduate, Lucas Hattenberger answers this question:
Here is our doctrinal statement. Are there any parts you struggled with over the course of your CBS education?
As I have made my way through my bachelors I have for the most part whole-heartedly agreed with the many convictions that CBS holds. CBS’s hard stances have been refreshing to me. Such stances as the flawlessness of the Bible in its original manuscripts, the doctrine of the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and like doctrines have proved to grow me and establish me in my faith.
With that said there are several things eschatologically that I have always struggled with and questioned, the first being the concept of an eminent rapture of the church. The doctrine of the rapture has always been a struggle of mine, as I question its purpose. Besides the great trumpet passage in the Thessalonian passages, the rapture seems to be a very ambiguous concept. Also it seems to be grounded in the doctrine of the separation of Israel and the church. With that said there is support of it in the scriptures, but as to a why in the rapture, I struggle with that. Many believe that the rapture as proposed by in dispensational theology should be seen differently. Whereas dispensationally, the rapture is seen as the church being taken from this world, many believe that the rapture is in fact a time not of being taken from this world, but a time when saints welcome their conquering King to this earth. By this I mean that when Christ comes back, it is not that we meet him in the air and go back to heaven with him. Rather we meet him in the air and welcome him to the earth as a conquering King.
There is also the doctrine of the tribulation. Revelation seems to give a picture of a great period of distress. Christ also alludes to a time of great distress. Now there are several theologians that submit that this distress or tribulation is not in fact a future time period but rather a present one; it is a spiritual time of distress for the spiritual and true Israel. But the one question that one must answer is the reason for the tribulation. Why is there a great distress that floods the earth as Revelation so drastically paints? The picture that Revelation paints is for the purging of Israel. This answer however opens up endless questions. Why is God purging Israel? Who is the group of 144,000 Jewish converts in Revelation? The answer to this is allusive and difficult. Dispensational theology gives a detailed answer, whereas other theologians reject this and still question. I find myself still scratching my head.
Lastly, the largest puzzle that I struggle with is the Millennium, the concept of an earthly thousand-year reign of Christ. The common theory of dispensationalists is that this is the last of the dispensations. Other theologians give their own answers, while others deny the earthly millennium and propose a heavenly reign of Christ. While I personally see an earthly reign as more biblical, there is reason to see a heavenly reign presently as plausible.
And so as I make my exit from CBS and into my masters, I hold my stances with very open hands. I see very godly men giving their arguments, and I respect all of them! While a dispensational eschatological understanding is what I have been sitting under for the last 4 years, I see myself slowly understanding the other biblical arguments, and struggle very much so with seeing a clear place to hang my hat.
2 Peter 1:2
Grace and Peace
– Lucas
