Dr. Robert Peterson interviewed on Adoption

Dan Cruver over at Carolina Hope Adoption Blog has a great short interview with one of my favorite professors from seminary.

He interviews Dr. Robert Peterson, who is Chair of the Systematic Theology department at Covenant Theological Seminary (here) and author of several good books, one of which covers the theological and practical aspects of our adoption into God’s family (Adopted by God: From Wayward Sinners to Cherished Children, 2001, P&R Publishing).

With 2007 being the year of the doctrine of justification, or legal/penal substitution, its important to not overemphasize one aspect of our salvation at the expense (and often, the neglect) of other equally important emphases found in Scripture.

Sure, there’s a time and a season for everything, but in our thoughts and reflections on all that God has done for us, we should maintain a full orbed sense of our salvation, or a view of the whole diamond, even while gazing through one of the many facets of that diamond.

Peterson responds to the question of why the doctrine of adoption is relevant to us on a daily basis, by saying:

It should make a great difference because it is one way that God impresses upon us our new identity in Christ. We are his children and as such we bask in his love, live for him (what else can we do in response to such love!), and eagerly await his Son’s return, when our spiritual resemblance to Christ our older Brother will be complete (1 John 3:1-3; Hebrews 2:11-12). Knowledge of our adoption should fill us with patient hope that God that will raise and redeem our bodies (Romans 8:23-25) and grant us a glorious inheritance (Matthew 25:34; Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:29).

You should go read the interview to hear Peterson’s reasons for writing his book on adoption in the first place, and truly wonder why more hasn’t been written on the subject (click here).

Thoughts on Thursday – Are adopted children real children?

Came across a great article this morning on adoption (much thanks to Justin Taylor for the usually good posts and links). This writer tells the story of their adoption of two boys and the myriad of questions they were asked regarding their newly adopted sons. It has some really great insights into the nature of adoption, the biases we all carry, and the radical truth that lies behind adoption – especially our adoption into God’s family in Christ. Check it out here. This is the part that got me hooked:

Maria and I had returned to Kentucky to wait for the call to return to pick up our children, and had only these pictures of young Maxim and Sergei, our equivalent of a prenatal sonogram, to show to our friends and relatives back home. But people kept asking: “Are they brothers?”

“They are now,” I replied. “Yes,” the lady snapped, “I know. But are they really brothers?” Clenching my jaw, I coolly responded, “Yes, now they are both our children so they are nowreally brothers.” The woman sighed, rolled her eyes, and said, “Well, you know what I mean.”

Of course, we did know what she meant. She meant did these two boys—born three weeks apart—share a common biological ancestry, a common bloodline, some common DNA. It struck me that this question betrayed what most of us tend to view as really important when it comes to sonship: traceable genetic material.

This is the reason people would also ask us, “So do you also have any children of your own?” And it is the reason newspaper obituaries will often refer to the deceased’s “adopted child,” as though this were the equivalent of a stepchild or a protégé, rather than a real offspring.

If you want to read some more great thoughts on the topic of adoption, both practical and theological, check out Carolina Hope Adoption Agency and Dan Cruver’s blog Eucatastrophe.