token lines

Broad, flapping American ears

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

"Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at; as railroads lead to Boston or New York. We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate. Either is in such a predicament as the man who was earnest to be introduced to a distinguished deaf woman, but when he was presented, and one end of her ear trumpet was put into his hand, had nothing to say. As if the main object were to talk fast and not to talk sensibly. We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the Old World some weeks nearer to the New; but perchance the first news that will leak through into the broad, flapping American ear will be that Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough. After all, the man whose horse trots a mile in a minute does not carry the most important message; he is not an evangelist, nor does he come round eating locusts and wild honey...

"This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it reminds me of the Englishman who went to India to make a fortune first, in order that he might return to England and live the life of a poet."

-Henry David Thoreau in Walden, 1854

Book review: Leithart's Dostoevsky

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I'm no Russian literature connoisseur, but I enjoy reading heady Russian authors once in a while. Especially in wintertime. In fact, only in wintertime. I also appreciate Peter Leithart's intellect and writing talents, even if I don't understand half of it. So when I saw that Leithart branched out from his theological treatises and wrote a biography on Russian literature legend Fyodor Dostoevsky, I knew I had to read it.

For the above named reasons, I was excited to read Leithart's Fyodor Dostoevsky, a 2011 installment in Thomas Nelson's Christian Encounters Series. Unlike most current best-selling biographies like Steve Jobs' and Charles Hodge's that run 500 pages or more, this is a selective 175 pages. Leithart uses a conversational writing device, framing Dostoyevsky's life in Fyodor's first-person conversation with a old friend. Thus, much of this biography reads more like historical fiction.

Leithart's prose is tight, gripping, and enjoyable. It is written almost like a biopic, complete with flashbacks. The flashbacks come fast and furious, making this biography a quick read. I enjoyed Leithart's style, as it highlights the most important and formative chapters in Dostoevsky's amazing life. Leithart touches on Dostoevsky's banishment to Siberia, deep Christian commitment, sins and struggles, health issues, love affairs, early formative years, political protests, and writing career. Dostoevsky was anything but boring. His lifelong struggle with and against evil and social injustice is the thread that ties the book together.

Because of the complexity of The Russian's life and mind, 200 pages is impossible to give an exhaustive account. Leithart did do extensive research for this book, as evidenced by the copious notes that grace each chapter. Much of the dialogue is taken directly from Dostoevsky's letters and writings, or his contemporaries'. That said, it is not for those looking for a detailed historical account of Dostoevsky's life. Instead, it is enjoyable to get some brief context on his life or to read a light background of his. I would have easily enjoyed it in the summer as much as I did in the winter.

I found myself wishing that Leithart examined Dostoevsky's works and themes in more depth. I loved reading about some of the inspiration behind some of his major novels (namely Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov), but it was a cursory glimpse at best. Dostoevsky's time in Siberia was also not discussed in great detail, which I found odd considering it was one of his most formative events.

In summary, I was glad I read this somewhat fictionalized biography of one of my favorite authors. It reads well and is a good introduction to a Russian icon. Go into it with expectations of "listening" in on a conversation between old friends, and not an exhaustive biography. If you don't, then you might come away disappointed that this book doesn't do justice to Leithart's talents or to Dostoevsky's brilliance.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson in exchange for an objective review. The views are my own and only my own.

2012 reading goals

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that I love to read. That might be an understatement. Frequenters of this blog also know that I try to set seasonal and yearly reading goals for myself. I do this because there is so much time and so little to read. Wait a minute, strike that, reverse it. So decisions have to be made as to what to read. Thus, I find myself gravitating more toward weighty things lately, and less away from controversial or current trends. I've also been more picky, especially in which books I request from publishers to review (i.e. no more MacArthur or Driscoll). I don't want to be isolationist or provincial, but instead more thoughtful as to what will benefit me the most.

I continue to make lists and goals for myself, though I don't hold as rigidly to them as I once did. While Adler advocated for disciplined reading in the seventies, Jacobs more recently argued for a more organic reading style, driven by serendipity and whims. As with most things, I think the prudent thing is probably somewhere in the middle. I've found this to be true for my reading, making lists in pencil and leaving room for whims. I keep a rough outline of books to read each season, viewable on the right sidebar. But if one books leads naturally to another, I'll change it up. As a related aside, many of you have asked where I hear about books and how I decide what to read. The vast majority of them are either personal recommendations or ideas from readings: recommendations within books, passages quoted in books, or authors mentioned somewhere.

Lists help me maintain good reading habits, so as not to overload on one type or genre of book. I try to read at least one from these areas each season: biography, modern theology, classic theology, family, fiction, essay, and other nonfiction. I've added poetry as a category this year, which brings me to my yearly goals.

I read Calvin's Institutes in 2009, 50 books in 2010, and the Bible in 2011. What will 2012 hold, you might be asking? Well, it's not as ambitious as previous years, but I'm still excited about it. In 2012, I'm hoping to read at least one collection of poetry each season. It's a small goal, but I hope to exceed it by the end of the year. Poetry isn't easy for me to jump in to, so I am starting small. Eliot, Neruda, and Frost are on the docket to start, and I might sprinkle in some Shakespeare as well. Some selections from anthologies is also on the menu. The back-of-my-mind goal is to work my way up to reading Milton's Paradise Lost this year. Since I use recommendations heavily, any poetry recommendations from y'all?

Fourth annual book awards

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

This is for you, Scott. List of finalists is available here.

MVB
Holy Bible (ESV version). How could I not put the Bible as the best book I read this year? Reading straight through the Bible in a year was one of the best things I've ever done. I can't recommended doing it highly enough. The ESV was my translation of choice, though I dabbled in others through the year. I mainly read my Reformation Study Bible, but skipped most of the notes.

First Team (favorite books of the year). I read a lot of really good books this year, but for some reason none stand out as clearly ahead of the pack like they have in previous years. Other than the Bible of course. These were some of the best of the best, though:

Authenticity Hoax // Cross of Christ // Culture in Christian Perspective

Gilead // Republocrat // Supper of the Lamb

Anti-first team (most disappointing books). I would love to have a perfect track record, but not everything I read is all that good, helpful, or interesting. I had high hopes for Sanders' book on the Trinity, and it fell flat. Likewise for the repetitive and tedious Economics in One Lesson. I think I'm through with reading any more MacArthur after Slave; there's just too much better stuff out there and too little time. Search for God and Guinness was another that I had very high hopes for, but wasn't overly impressed.

Deep Things of God // Economics in One Lesson // Lotus and the Cross

Search for God and Guinness // Slave

Rookie of the Year (best book published in 2011). From Billy Graham to Sarah Palin. The majority of books I read were published in 2010, so I seem to be a year behind. But of the ones I read that were published in 2011, I learned the most from Hart's political/religious history.

Legacy Award (oldest book). The Godly Home. Resolved: read more Puritans. Richard Baxter's work on family life takes this award, published in 1645. Sticklers could put an asterisk here, since The Godly Home is an excerpt from his Directory, and published by Crossway in 2011. John Owen's Mortification of Sin is the runner up (1656).

Manager of the Year (most helpful). Shepherding a Child's Heart takes this fairly easily, and is a book we will continue to reread and revisit through the child-rearing years.

Gold Glove (best defense). All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes. I didn't read a stellar apologetics book this year, so Myers takes the prize for the best "defensive" book, arguing against Christians' immersion in banal popular culture.

Victor Cruz Award (best author I've never heard of). You've probably heard of her, but I hadn't heard of Marilynne Robinson until Gilead was recommended to me this year by at least three men I well respect. Much like Victor Cruz did to unsuspecting defensive backs this year, she blew me away. I'm looking forward to reading a collection of her essays as well as Home in 2012.

Nick Swisher Award (most enjoyable/humorous). The Inimitable Jeeves. I'm ashamed that it took me so long to read Wodehouse, but I'm not likely to stop any time soon.

Preseason 2012 First Team:
The Death of Adam - Marilynne Robinson (2005)
The Intolerance of Tolerance - D.A. Carson (2012)
Joy in the Morning - P.G. Wodehouse (1946)
Parenting By God's Promises - Joel Beeke (2011)
Scorecasting - Tobias Moskowitz (2011)

Mission accomplished: Bible in one year

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Back in January, I set out to read the Bible in one year. This January I'm here to tell you that after many failed attempts in years past, I finally did it. It is one of the best things I've ever done, and I highly recommend reading the entire Bible in a year's time (or two). One can't help but be changed by reading the Word of God each day. Sure, it takes discipline and effort, but it's doable and very rewarding. The Scriptures are truly living and active.

I recommend the reading plan I used, based on Fee and Stuart's How to Read the Bible Book by Book. It simply takes the reader straight through from Genesis to Revelation. I adapted the plan from a two year plan to one, averaging four chapters per day plus one Psalm or Proverbs chapter. There are also many helpful catch-up days built in. I read the whole Bible once and the Psalms and Proverbs twice. Note that this plan is in distinct contrast to the M'Cheyne plan, which prescribes one chapter from four places daily. Reading straight through provided much more continuity, big-picture perspective of each book as well as the whole Bible, and more focused reflection throughout the day on what I read.

Early in 2011 I would post reflections on what I was reading, but got out of the habit. Finishing a degree and having a newborn apparently takes up a lot of time. So to catch up, here are some things that I might not have noticed or learned if I hadn't read the Bible straight through in a year.

-Many reading plans meet their doom somewhere in Leviticus or Numbers. But I honestly enjoyed them as a beautiful picture of the Old Testament's shadows of Christ. However, my goal was in serious jeopardy in the minor prophets. One downside to reading straight through the Bible is that there's no breaking up those minor prophets.

-James is also a book with a bad rep, albeit for different reasons. Martin Luther called it the epistle of straw, and many Protestants are afraid of its emphasis on works. But I was blown away by its similarities to the wisdom literature of the Old Testament - especially Ecclesiastes. Being one of the earliest epistles, and written by the leader of the Jerusalem church, I guess this makes sense.

-Reading the gospels back-to-back-to-back-to-back was a great experience. I can't wait to do it again. Reading them this way, I could see their similarities, quirks, and emphases. John was my favorite (Mark is great, too), and he fills in many of the gaps that the three synoptics leave unsaid. For example, John provides the full texts of many of Jesus' sermons that made the Pharisees and Saducees furious enough to kill him. Reading John easily puts away the notions of Jesus as meek and mild, merely a good moral teacher, or primarily a social activist. I like to think that C.S. Lewis was thinking especially of John's gospel when he wrote that Jesus was either insane, a liar, or the Son of God.

-Hebrews solidified itself as my favorite book of the Bible. Read it out loud in one sitting if you can, as it was originally a sermon. It overflows with comfort, power, and joy. Reading through Hebrews also shows the "Hall of Faith" as a frequent victim of decontextualization. Hebrews 11 isn't about how great the patriarchs were or how great their faith was, but primarily about how great Christ is, given the context of the preceding 10 chapters.

-Proverbs ascended my list of favorite books, and is probably now in the top five (don't ask me to name them; it's hard).

-It's nearly impossible to not look at life differently after reading the Psalms and Proverbs twice in twelve months.

-I loved reading straight through book by book, but I'm still interested in reading it chronologically. If anyone has read the Bible that way, would you recommend it?

-I didn't use study aids or the notes in my Bible this time around, as they bogged me down. I do hope to make it a habit to continuously read through the Bible my whole life, slowing it down to a two-year pace. Read and repeat. Join me?

I should be glad of another death

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

January 6 is Epiphany, a Christian feast day celebrating the eternal Word Made Flesh; Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man. The magi's visit is also traditionally observed on Epiphany. So in observation of this feast day, enjoy this reading of T.S. Eliot's 1927 poem "Journey of the Magi," read by the poet himself (this post's title comes from the final line of the poem). Video is below (with annoying images), or you can listen and read along here.

2011 books

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Books read in 2011:

All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes: Christians and Popular Culture - K. Myers (1989)
The Authenticity Hoax: How We Got Lost Finding Ourselves - A. Potter (2010)
By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me - S. Ferguson (2010)
The Chestnut King - N. Wilson (2010)
Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape our Practice - B. Chapell (2009)
The Cross of Christ - J. Stott (2006)
Culture in Christian Perspective: A Door to Understanding and Enjoying the Arts - L. Ryken (1986)
Dandelion Wine - R. Bradbury (1957)
The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything - F. Sanders (2010)
Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist - J. Piper (1986)
Dug Down Deep: Building Your Life on Truth that Lasts - J. Harris (2011)
Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics - H. Hazlitt (1988)
From Billy Graham to Sarah Palin: Evangelicals and the Betrayal of American Conservatism - D.G. Hart (2011)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - P. Leithart (2011)
Gilead - M. Robinson (2006)
Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship; Celebrating the Legacy of James Montgomery Boice - P. Ryken, ed. (2003)
The Godly Home - R. Baxter (1645)
The Gospel and the Mind: Recovering and Shaping the Intellectual Life - B. Green (2010)
The Gospel Commission: Recovering God's Strategy for Making Disciples - M. Horton (2011)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling (2007)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
In Living Color: Images of Christ and the Means of Grace - D. Hyde (2009)
The Inimitable Jeeves - P.G. Wodehouse (2007)
Let's Study Philippians - S. Ferguson (1997)
Miracles - C.S. Lewis (1960)
The Mortification of Sin (abridged) - J. Owen (1656)
My Life for Yours: A Walk Through the Christian Home - D. Wilson (2004)
The Pearl - J. Steinbeck (1947)
The Person and Work of Christ - B.B. Warfield (1989)
The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene (1940)
The Prohibition Hangover: Alcohol in America from Demon Rum to Cult Cabernet - G. Peck (2009)
Republocrat: Confessions of a Liberal Conservative - C. Trueman (2010)
The Search for Christian America - M. Noll, et al (1989)
The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World - S. Mansfield (2009)
The Second Coming - W. Percy (1980)
Shepherding a Child's Heart: Revised and Updated - T. Tripp (1995)
Slave: The Hidden Truth about Your Identity in Christ - J. MacArthur (2010)
The Subversion of Christianity - J. Ellul (1986)
Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection - R.F. Capon (1967)
Things Fall Apart - C. Achebe (1959)

How art resonates with us

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

For my final quotation from Ryken's Culture in Christian Perspective, here are two excerpts on what good art does for and to us. I have noticed this phenomenon especially in my favorite writers like Walker Percy, C.S. Lewis, Dorothy Sayers, and Marilynne Robinson. It's that "aha" moment of reading something we always knew, but never knew how to express. It is why the best artists and writers stand the test of time, because their perspective transcends time and touches something that is common to man.

"When we see what is inside us projected and named, we recognize it. Dorothy Sayers has written that 'when we read the poem, or see the play or picture or hear the music, it is as though a light were turned on us. We say: Ah! I recognize that! That is something which I obscurely felt to be going on in and about me, but I didn't know what it was and couldn't express it. But now the artist has imaged it forth for me, I can possess and take hold of it and make it my own, and turn it into a source of knowledge and strength.'"

And,

"Novelist Walker Percy has said that 'in art, whether it's poetry, fiction, or painting, you are telling the reader or the listener something he already knows but which he doesn't quite know that he knows. What the artist does is simply to validate the human experience and to tell people the deep human truths which they already unconsciously know.'"

Thus, as Ryken says, art is a mirror in which we see ourselves, even if only dimly now.

Christian content doesn't redeem mediocrity

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Stylistic excellence should be a goal of every Christian artist for at least two reasons. As I have said many times in this book, a Christian world view values artistic beauty or form in itself. 'What is good in itself,' writes Flannery O'Connor, 'glorifies God because it reflects God.' Secondly, as Francis Schaeffer correctly notes, 'Art forms add strength to the world view which shows through, no matter what the world view is. Good prose as an art form has something bad prose does not.' Christian content does not redeem a work that is technically mediocre; in fact, the lack of artistic excellence detracts from the impact of the Christian content."

-Leland Ryken in Culture in Christian Perspective (1986), p. 209

An antidote to mental laziness

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I mentioned earlier that I really enjoyed Leland Ryken's Culture in Christian Perspective. I could easily post a quotation from each page or outline each chapter, but I'm restraining myself. Instead of overloading with posts, I'll share one of the most challenging passages of the book: Christians and the pursuit of leisure. I'll outline his thoughts while offering some of my own reflection.

Leisure is a good thing, and is a worthy pursuit. It is good because it follows God's example of resting after the work of creation. In this regard, leisure isn't just "vegging out," as it is commonly thought of, but it involves the mind and soul along with the body. God contemplated the work that He did, and declared it good. Thus, "leisure is a mental and spiritual attitude, not the inevitable result of spare time, a holiday, a weekend, or a vacation." Instead, it is primarily "an attitude of the mind, a condition of the soul. Leisure is an attitude of contemplative celebration." (J.Pieper, quoted on p. 91, emphasis mine). That is, leisure isn't free time, but it's done in free time, and is not a passive activity.

Ryken laments that one of the great problems of our day is that we don't know how to enrich ourselves during leisure time. The arts is one way that people can do so. He is not an elitist advocating for museum or performance hall trips every spare minute, but he does challenge the reader to examine where their free time goes. If most of it is spent doing mindless, non-enriching things, something is very wrong. This cultural malaise is evident in people's "boredom, endless search for distraction, fear of loneliness, sensuality, escape into comedy, violence, and the appeal of horror." I identified especially by the beginning of that list, while others may struggle with the latter ones.

It is here where Ryken resonated with the media ecologist in me. He cites some statistics about television viewing and the dearth of reading while explaining that television is one of the most passive forms of leisure, rivaled only by sleeping. He backs up these assertions with psychological studies. It's literally a mindless activity. I would love to see updated statistics on television viewing, as well as computer use. I know that surfing the Internet is up there on the mindless chart as well. Ryken's point is simple but challenging: because leisure is a state of body, mind, and soul, people spend their free time on what matters most to them. His quotation of Robert Lee is insightful (if slightly overstated):

Leisure is part of man's ultimate concern. It is a crucial part of the very search for meaning in life, inasmuch as the social malaise of our time has been diagnosed as anxiety and boredom, alienation and meaninglessness. It is in the realm of free time that these conditions will be brought into bold relief, bringing man to the depths of despair or to the heights of ecstasy and creativity. Increasingly it is in our leisure time that either the meaningfulness or the pointlessness of life will be revealed.

A Christian view of leisure, then, should be one of necessity, enjoyment, and practice. Leisure should refresh and enrich us. It's not something that we should fritter away, but we should strive to improve upon our leisure time, educating ourselves and learning from it. Ryken relates this point to our call as Christians to stewardship, which includes being stewards of our time. Being stewards isn't always easy, and expanding our horizons in the arts and other leisure pursuits is a matter of education and, at times, hard work. I'll close with Ryken reflecting on the law of atrophy as a challenge to us (me) to redeem our free time better: "Left to ourselves, the law of mental laziness takes its course and our horizons remain rather narrow. The reclamation of our leisure pursuits, therefore, will have to begin with our willingness to learn about new areas, including artistic ones."

Fall books

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene (1940) // Excellent work of fiction, and this, my second impression of Greene was much better than my first (Brighton Rock). The story follows a whisky priest in Mexico on his quest for forgiveness and redemption at a time of religious purging.

From Billy Graham to Sarah Palin: Evangelicals and the Betrayal of American Conservatism - D.G. Hart (2011) // A very well researched historical narrative of evangelicals' political involvement since the early 1900s. Light on analysis or opinion until the two concluding chapters. Hart assumes his readers have a certain level of familiarity with historic conservatism that I don't have, but I still enjoyed it. The final chapters tied things together nicely, provided a good perspective on Christians and political bias, and drove home Hart's point that evangelicals and conservative politics have always been an odd match. He wouldn't be surprised to see a messy split in the near future. Dr. Brian Lee has an excellent review here.

The Gospel Commission: Recovering God's Strategy for Making Disciples - Michael Horton (2011) // This is Horton's third in a series of three books on the American church, and is a lengthy exposition of the Great Commission. The first diagnoses the problem, the second challenges Christians to get the message right, and this one explains the methods and the future of the church. It is very good at points and skimmable at others. Could have been improved by better editing and shortened by 30-50 pages.

Miracles - C.S. Lewis (1947, 1960) // Philosophical, poetic, and masterful. A couple excellent passages here and here. I'm not sure if Lewis' definition of Naturalism isn't a straw man, but his logic, poetic prose arguing for the supernatural in our world is a joy to read.

Culture in Christian Perspective: A Door to Understanding and Enjoying the Arts - Leland Ryken (1986) // This has been recommended to me several times, and I intend to do the same now that I've read it. Ryken is a clear, compelling writer who argues for a recovery of the arts to a prominent place in Christianity. He touches especially on art related to truth, beauty, and creativity. The only qualm I have with it is that it is dated and written before postmodernism came into self-conscious existence in the arts.

The Pearl - John Steinbeck (1947) // Steinbeck's novella is based on an old folk tale of a poor man who finds the greatest pearl in the world. A powerfully tragic message. I did find some of Steinbeck's general descriptions to be superfluous and contrived, though.

The Cross of Christ: 20th Anniversary Edition - John Stott (2006) // After Stott's death earlier this year, I wanted to read his most popular and influential book. It's a comprehensive look at Christ's death and what it means theologically, doxologically, practically, and socially. Stott covers so many aspects of the atonement, relating them all back to its essence of "self-satisfaction by self-substitution." Without the cross being a substitution, everything else about it falls apart. A really great book.

Shepherding a Child's Heart: Revised and Updated - Tedd Tripp (1995) // Excellent book on parenting based on God's promises. Focuses on the foundation of communication and correction in getting to the heart issues with kids. This book is a resource that we will assuredly keep coming back to through the years.

Art: bearable pain, prolonged joy

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I am in the midst of reading my first work by Dr. Leland Ryken: Culture in Christian Perspective: A Door to Understanding and Enjoying the Arts (1986). This title has a tendency of popping up as highly recommended over the years, and I finally got around to it. Dr. Gordon alone has recommended it a few times. Worth the wait, I will say! Ryken writes in compelling, lucid prose, arguing for a prominent place of the arts among Christians. He touches especially on art as it relates to truth, beauty, and creativity. I enjoy Ryken's style very much for its positive, clear, and flowing style that is easy to follow. He presents his arguments clearly, effectively, and biblically. It's not a negative, reactive book like Ken Myers' All God's Children of the same era, but it does have some similarities. I highly recommend it. Look for more quotations in the future.

A rich confusion of awareness lies below the level of our consciousness. Artists reach into that confusion and give it an order. As we stand before a painting or listen to music or read a poem, we suddenly see our own experiences and insights projected onto the details of the work before us. Artists turn our pain into art so we can bear it. They turn our joys into art so we can prolong them. In song and statue, poem and painting, artists give shape to the affirmations and denials of the human race. By nature we long to express and confirm what we know. (p. 32)

A community of celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Boldness, love, and joy are not to be thought of as purely private and interior experiences; they are to distinguish our public worship. The brief time we spend together on the Lord's Day, far from being divorced from the rest of our life, is intended to bring it into sharp focus. Humbly (as sinners), yet boldly (as forgiven sinners), we press into God's presence, responding to his loving initiative with an answering of our own, and not only worshiping him with musical instruments but articulating our joy in songs of praise. W.M. Clow was right to draw our attention to singing as a unique feature of Christian worship, and the reason for it:

'The great faiths of the Buddhist and the Mohammedan give no place either to the need or the grace of reconciliation. The clearest proof of this is the simplest. It lies in the hymns of Christian worship. A Buddhist temple never resounds with a cry of praise. Mohammedan worshippers never sing. Their prayers are, at the highest, prayers of submission and of request. They seldom reach the gladder note of thanksgiving. They are never jubilant with the songs of the forgiven.'
By contrast, whenever Christian people come together it is impossible to stop them from singing. The Christian community is a community of celebration.

-John Stott in The Cross of Christ (2006), 251-252

Inflexible righteousness, transcendent love

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

The cross of Christ is the event in which God makes known his holiness and his love simultaneously, in one event, in an absolute manner. The cross is the only place where the loving, forgiving, merciful God is revealed in such a way that we perceive that his holiness and his love are equally infinite. In fact, the objective aspect of the atonement may be summed up thus: it consists in the combination of inflexible righteousness, with its penalties, and transcendent love.

-John Stott, quoting G.C. Berkouwer, in The Cross of Christ (2006), p. 131

Prioritizing marriage

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Crossway recently posted 3 Reasons to Prioritize Your Marriage Over Your Children, based on Voddie Baucham's book Family Shepherds (November, 2011). While children are a huge part of a family's focus and energy, these three reasons served as a refreshing challenge to continue to work hard at our marriage. By posting this, am I saying children aren't an important focus in the family? By no means! Given the huge importance children have, that speaks to how much important the marriage relationship is.

1. Children will eventually leave home. Prepare your marriage for the empty nest. Once kids are gone, it will just be Elizabeth and me again. And while we can't really remember what life was like before Mikayla (and 2P), we have worked hard to lay a firm foundation for our marriage. We need to continually maintain that foundation through the child-rearing years. "Building a marriage on the foundation of the preeminence of children is like building a house on a rented removable slab. You may have days or even years when you feel completely secure, but the day is coming when the lease will be up and the foundation upon which your home stands will be taken away."

2. Marriage forms the cornerstone of children’s security. This is an excellent point that deserves much attention. Mikayla and 2P will have our marriage as their primary example for marriage. Our marriage will be a source of security, satisfaction, and love for them. Or, it could be a source of insecurity, frustration, and bitterness. Heavy stuff! "Ironically, those who prioritize their children above their marriage are not only jeopardizing their marriage, they’re actually depriving their children of the very thing they desire to provide them. The greatest source of security our children have in this world is a God-honoring, Christ-centered marriage between their parents. Putting the children first is like a police officer putting away his badge and gun in order to make the public feel more at ease."

3. Putting your marriage first will prepare your children for marriage. Another great point. I am to show what a Christ-honoring husband is to Mikayla, and Elizabeth is to model a Christ-honoring wife. If the saying is even a little bit true that girls grow up to marry someone like their father, and boys grow up to marry someone like their mother, then what are we modeling to our kids? This is "one of the greatest lessons you’ll ever teach your children—how to be good husbands and wives. We must first and foremost model a commitment to marriage. Failure to do this will communicate ideas that are contrary to what we believe—starting with the narcissism it tends to create in our children—including the pitfalls that may follow them into their marriage."

The primary responsibility for all this falls to the husband. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Children have front row seats to watch the way this is played out: front row seats to every raised voice, disrespectful comment, short temper, belittling jab, or unloving gesture. As the husband, am I telling lies to my kids about Christ's love for the church, giving them a false idea of Christ's love (nod to Doug Wilson)? Or am I modeling sacrificial love, laying down my life for my wife in all circumstances? I know I will sin in front of them. But when I do, I hope I am given the grace to use those moments to model humble repentance. After all, there is never a time when parents aren't modeling something to their kids, consciously or unconsciously.

Joyful for my lack of time

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Between two jobs, finishing my degree, home responsibilities, and church-related duties, I'm having trouble finding time to even think about blogging. But perhaps the number one reason for my lack of time is:

I wouldn't trade my time with her for all the time to blog time in the world. Can you blame me?

Bringing children in backhandedly

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:43:00 +0000

I've appreciated much of D.G. Hart's diverse writing over the years, and I found myself having similar reactions as him to Justin Taylor's interview with a credo-baptist. However, I don't have the expert familiarity of the Westminster Confession that Hart does. That's why I appreciated his brief reaction to the covenantal aspect of baptism in his post "Young, Restless, and Dunked." Taylor's interviewee accuses paedobaptists of flattening the covenants, whereas Hart (rightly) points out that Baptists are actually the ones doing the flattening. His conclusions echo my view on Reformed Baptists - that that title is something of an oxymoron.

"Baptists like John Piper who defend male headship in the home should not have trouble with such a view of familial solidarity. But in point of fact Baptists do struggle with the covenantal objection to individualism and ironically embrace the modern view of human beings as isolated and autonomous selves. Of course, they can’t go all the way with such a chilling view of babies and their relationship to the household of God and so devise dedication as a way to bring children in by the back door. But one cannot begin to count the ways that dedication is a man-made contrivance, one of those examples of what Calvin called the idol-assembly line that exists in every person’s soul.

"As an aside, Taylor’s post should put to rest the claim by the Young and Restless crowd that they are Reformed. Their position on the sacrament of baptism differs little from Anabaptist teaching. In fact, the Baptist requirement that paedo-baptists be rebaptized (hence ana-baptist) puts the teaching and practice of contemporary Baptists and Anabaptists into remarkable alignment. Does this mean that the Young and Restless or other Baptists are bad people? Of course, not. Does it mean they aren’t Christian? No. Does it mean that they should not claim to be Reformed? Well, duh!"

Regardless of one's position, one has to acknowledge that it's an important (albeit touchy) issue, evidenced by the bevy of comments on both of the linked postings.

Pulling at the other end of the cord

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

As promised, here is another delicious, lengthy quotation from the master of prose, C.S. Lewis.

Men are reluctant to pass over from the notion of an abstract and negative deity to the living God. I do not wonder. Here lies the deepest tap-root of Pantheism and of the objection to traditional imagery. It was hated not, at bottom, because if pictured Him as man but because it pictured Him as king, or even as warrior. The Pantheist's God does nothing, demands nothing. He is there if you wish for Him, like a book on a shelf. He will not pursue you. There is no danger that at any time heaven and earth should flee away at His glance. If He were the truth, then we could really say that all the Christian images of kingship were a historical accident of which our religion ought to be cleansed. It is with a shock that we discover them to be indispensable. You have had a shock like that before, in connection with smaller matters - when the line pulls at your hand, when something breathes beside you in the darkness. So here, the shock comes at the precise moment when the thrill of life is communicated to us along the clue we have been following. It is always shocking to meet life where we thought we were alone. 'Look out!' we cry, 'it's alive.' And therefore this is the very point at which so many draw back - I would have done so myself if I could - and proceed no further with Christianity. An 'impersonal God' - well and good. A subjective God of beauty, truth, and goodness, inside our own heads - better still. A formless life-force surging through us, a vast power which we can tap - best of all. But God Himself, alive, pulling at the other end of the cord, perhaps approaching at an infinite speed, the hunter, king, husband - that is quite another matter. There comes a moment when the children who have been playing at burglars hush suddenly: was that a real footstep in the hall? There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion ('Man's search for God!') suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us?

So it is a sort of Rubicon. One goes across; or not. But if one does, there is no manner of security against miracles. One may be in for anything.

-C.S. Lewis in Miracles (1947/1960), p. 149-150

The Latinity of Latin

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Though difficult at times, I'm enjoying C.S. Lewis' Miracles immensely. It's his most philosophical work, and his brilliant prose is on full display throughout. Miracles is not so much a defense of miracles as it is a beautifully written defense of God and the supernatural. I hope you enjoy this passage as much as I do. I will surely post more quotations from this work in the near future. As a preliminary note, Lewis refers to Nature not as colloquially understood (trees, deer, bunnies), but as Nature as the whole system of the universe.

God need not create this Nature. He might have created others. But granted this Nature, then doubtless no smallest part of her is there except because it expresses the character He chose to give her. It would be a miserable error to suppose that the dimensions of space and time, the death and rebirth of vegetation, the unity in multiplicity of organisms, the union in opposition of sexes, and the colour of each particular apple in Herefordshire this autumn, were merely a collection of useful devices forcibly welded together. They are all the very idiom, almost the facial expression, the smell or taste, of an individual thing. The quality of Nature is present in them all just as the Latinity of Latin is present in every inflection...

I spoke just now about the Latinity of Latin. It is more evident to us than it can have been to the Romans. The Englishness of English is audible only to those who know some other language as well. In the same way and for the same reason, only the Supernaturalists really see Nature. You must go a little away from her, and then turn round, and look back. Then at last the true landscape will become visible. You must have tasted, however briefly, the pure water from beyond the world before you can be distinctly conscious of the hot, salty tang of Nature's current. To treat her as God, or as Everything, is to lose the whole pith and pleasure of her. Come out, look back, and then you will see this astonishing cataract of bears, babies, and bananas: this immoderate deluge of atoms, orchids, oranges, cancers, canaries, fleas, gases, tornadoes, and toads. How could you ever have thought that it was merely a stage-set for the moral drama of men and women? She is herself. Offer her neither worship nor contempt. Meet her and know her. If we are all immortal, and if she is doomed (as the scientists tell us) to run down and die, we shall miss this half-shy and half-flamboyant creature, this ogress, this hoyden, this incorrigible fairy, this dumb witch. But the theologians tell us that she, like ourselves, is to be redeemed. The 'vanity' to which she was subjected was her disease, not her essence. She will be cured in character: not tamed (Heaven forbid) nor sterilised. We shall be able to recognise our old enemy, friend, playfellow, and foster-mother, so perfected as to be not less, but more, herself. And that will be a merry meeting.

-C.S. Lewis in Miracles (1947/1960), 103-105

Moralistic, therapeutic, narcissistic deism

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

"I have tried to articulate some of the contours and reasons for the dominance of 'moralistic, therapeutic deism.' We come to the Great Commission with our questions. As Paul reminded Timothy, the last days are marked by narcissism, greed, disloyalty, and selfishness. It follows that we gradually transform the Commission's message into something about us rather than something about God and his saving purposes, work, and destiny for us in Jesus Christ. Consistent with this new message, we transform the Commission's mission into a kingdom that we are building rather than receiving, and we exchange its methods of delivering Christ through preaching and sacrament for our own clever programs, techniques, and principles for effecting real transformation of ourselves and the world.

"However, the result has been not only an increasing failure to reach the lost but a growing tendency to lose the reached. We place our hope in laws, principles, programs: things that we do to ascend to pull God down to us, instead of a gospel that is brought to us by a herald as completely counterintuitive Good News."

-Michael Horton in The Gospel Commission (2011), p. 298

Terrible as an army with banners

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

"Of all horrible religions the most horrible is the worship of the god within. Christianity came into the world firstly in order to assert with violence that a man had not only to look inwards, but to look outwards, to behold with astonishment and enthusiasm a divine company and a divine captain. The only fun of being a Christian was that a man was not left alone with the Inner Light, but definitely recognized an outer light, fair as the sun, clear as the moon, terrible as an army with banners."

-G.K. Chesterton quoted in Michael Horton, The Gospel Commission (2011), p 265-6

From nursery to the golden oldies

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

An issue that has been on our minds lately is that of family inclusive, or integrated, church and worship. We are grateful that our church is mindful of the importance of the family in the covenant community, especially in matters of catechesis, worship, and activities. While there are many ways family inclusivity can manifest itself, we are especially thinking through matters of church education (i.e. Sunday School and catechesis), worship (e.g. nursery and children's church), and programs (like youth group). We Pearces recently watched the hour-long documentary Divided, produced in large part to be a film promoting the organization Family Integrated Church (FIC).

Uber blogger Tim Challies (and author of The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment) ironically posted an uncharitable and one-sided review of the film. Though I am in agreement with Challies that the film is one-sided and heavy on the FIC propaganda, I think it is worth viewing for the purpose of stirring up thought on the subject. It is helpful to hear mainstream FIC proponents like Voddie Bachman explain the presuppositions of the FIC movement. Namely, why are youth and young adults abandoning the church in such huge numbers? Does the youth ghetto so prevalent in America's churches have something to do with it? What should the role of the father (or single mother) be? It is especially helpful for those of us who are wrestling with family inclusivity over against the status quo. That is, why are we segregating ages for education, worship, and activities? What are the foundational assumptions made when doing so? Are we segregating age groups because that's the way we've always done it, or because that's how all churches do it? What does the fact that age segregation stems from a modern education paradigm mean for the church? What are the benefits? At what cost to us and our children? Are there any repercussions of segregating age groups?

Where I think the film is lacking (and where Challies' review also lacks) is not necessarily in giving voice to the opposition (it is a documentary with an agenda, after all), but in its foundations for integrating family into the church life. The film and its FIC proponents do base their arguments on Scripture (as well as reactions against Plato, Dewey, and evolutionary thinking), but the film turns almost exclusively to the imperative commands (read: law) of Scripture for integrating the family. A more helpful approach, and one that has more Scriptural and historical staying power, is to make gospel, rather than law, the foundation of the rationale for family inclusivity. More specifically, the gospel as it is embodied in baptism and the covenant, and the covenantal community of grace that springs up organically from the gospel (see what I did there?).

Michael Horton, in his recent The Gospel Commission: Recovering God's Strategy for Making Disciples, discusses the integration of families and youth in the life of the church, but from a different foundation than the Divided filmmakers. He grounds his reasoning in God's gospel-bathed methods for making disciples: namely the worship of the church, baptism, union with Christ, and the covenant community. He is worth quoting at length:

"One may go from the nursery to children's church to the youth group to the college campus ministry to small groups to the empty nesters to the golden oldies and never really have been incorporated into the communion of saints. Is it any wonder that those who have never regularly attended the public service of Word and sacrament never join a church in college, although they may be active in a campus ministry? If they do join a church after college, it's often a new experience.

"A youth pastor in a Reformed church challenged me a bit. Youth ministries are so important, he said, because they relate to kids on their own level, 'where they are.' That's just it, isn't it? I asked. Where are they? Presumably, their location is 'in Christ.' They are baptized and are therefore members of the visible body of Christ, his covenant community. That's their primary location. Just as they grow up as members of their natural families, with all of the privileges and responsibilities of that home, they grow up in Christ's body...If [a youth] has grown up in the covenant community, he will realize that he needs the covenant community over the long haul. In addition, he needs to be reminded that his primary location is 'in Christ,' not his various social demographics...If they are raised with the contrast between a personal relationship with Jesus and belonging to the church - and their experience living on the margins of the covenant assembly confirms this - it is little wonder that they fail to join a church or embrace their covenant responsibilities as young adults." (p. 174-175)

Granted, the blind spot of Divided filmmakers and even critics like Challies might stem from their anti-paedobaptism stances, in which a well worked out and established concept of the tie between baptism and covenant community is foreign. Many FIC churches might also be struggling with such issues because many of them are Calvinistic Baptist. But beyond the issue of baptizing babies or not, churches would do well to ask Why? and To what purpose? when it comes to issues of age segregating in church worship, education, and programs.

Motives for the holy government of families

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

In previous posts, I outlined Richard Baxter's directives for the holy government (or headship, leadership) of families: authority, skill, and holiness. I took these from Randall J. Pederson's The Godly Home, in which he presents Baxter's chapters on marriage and family from his massive Christian Directory. These directives make up the "how" of leading one's family biblically. In this post, I'll outline Baxter's motives for the holy government of families, or the "why." As with the previous posts, I recommend this book and a fuller reading of Baxter's pastoral insight that is still powerfully relevant today. You can pick it up from Westminster or skip to the chapters on Christian economics at the free, online CCEL.

As an aside, I think Baxter provides a great challenge to men as heads of their homes, but I also think that he (like many Puritans) tends to over-aspire to ideals (see motive three). Family life is often difficult, because a family is made up of sinners. But Baxter issues a challenge for us to live up to, in full reliance on God's grace. On to the motives, quoted directly from Baxter:

Consider that the holy government of families is a considerable part of God's own government of the world, and if God does not govern your families, who shall?
An ungoverned, ungodly family is a powerful means to the damnation of all the members of it. A well-governed family is an excellent help to the saving of all the souls who are in it, and in a godly family there are continual provocations to a holy life, faith, love, obedience, and heavenly-mindedness.
A holy, well-governed family tends not only to the safety of the members but also to the ease and pleasure of their lives. To live where God's law is the principal rule and where you may be daily taught the mysteries of his kingdom and have the Scriptures opened to you and be led, as by the hand, in the paths of life, where the praises of God are daily celebrated and his name is called upon and where all speak the heavenly language and where God, Christ, and heaven are their daily work and recreation, and the greatest contention is who shall be most humble and godly and obedient to God and their superiors and where there is no reviling scorn at godliness, nor any profane and coarse language - what a sweet and happy life is this! It is the closest thing to heaven on earth.
A holy and well-governed family tends to make a holy posterity and to propagate the fear of God from generation to generation. It is more comfortable to have no children than to beget and breed children for the devil...Whoever trains up children for God must begin early, before things take deep possession of their hearts and custom increases the depravity of their nature.
A holy, well-governed family prepares for a holy and well-governed church. If masters did their parts and sent such polished materials to the churches as they ought to do, the work and life of the pastors of the church would be more easy and delightful.
Well-governed families tend to make a happy state and commonwealth. A good education is the first and greatest work to make good magistrates and subjects because it tends to make good men. Though a good man may be a bad magistrate, yet a bad man cannot be a very good magistrate.
If governors of families faithfully performed their duties, that would be a great supply as to any defects on the pastor's part and a means to propagate and preserve religion in times of public negligence or persecution.
The duties of your families are such as you may perform with greatest peace and least exception or opposition from others...Your own house is your castle; your family is your charge.
Well-governed families are honorable and exemplary to others. Even the worldly and ungodly bear a certain reverence to them; for holiness and order have some witness that commends them in the consciences of many who never practiced them.
Holy, well-governed families are blessed with the presence and favor of God. They are his churches where he is worshipped, his houses where he dwells. He is engaged, by love and promise, to bless, protect, and prosper them.

In closing, "it is an evident truth that most of the mischiefs that now infest or seize upon mankind throughout the earth are caused by ill-governed families...Family reformation is the easiest and most likely way to a common reformation, or at least to send many souls to heaven and train up multitudes for God if it reaches not to national reformation."

Exporting what we don't have?

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

You've probably heard the phrase that someone is "too heavenly minded to be any earthly good" or vice versa. But is it also true that it's possible to be too overseas minded to be any local good? Doug Wilson thinks so, applying Matthew 23:15 to current "missional zeal" in his brief post titled "Here and There Both."

"What you practice at home is the show you take on the road. What you grow in your fields is what you load on the trucks. Compassing sea and land doesn't generate a new message. The way you live when you get on the plane is going to be the single best indicator of how you live when you get off the plane. In short, don't expect geographical location to fix anything. The principle is this: you export whatever it is you are manufacturing...Not only do you export what you have, you cannot export what you don't have."

Reading, PA, by J. Kourkounis, New York Times

Wilson is absolutely not against foreign missions. But his point is that there is a nuance; this is a both/and situation and not an either/or. If someone feels called to overseas missions, one of the signs church leadership can look for before confirming their call is to see what their local missions efforts look like. Or, if someone has been approved for foreign missions work, what are they doing in the meantime before they are sent?

I think this can be generally applied to those of us who aren't explicitly called to missions, too. Are we praying, thinking, loving, giving, and acting locally as well as globally? Are we concerned for the Amish in Lancaster or the white middle class family down the street to hear the gospel, and burdened for those in the country's poorest city (Reading, PA) in addition to the lost in Eastern Europe and the starving and orphaned in Africa? Wilson writes:

"This is why reformation and revival in our churches here is a necessary precondition for effective evangelism there. Say that someone says he has a real burden 'for the lost' in Wango Bango. Say that the person at church he is speaking to suggests they spend that afternoon going door-to-door at student housing for the local university. There are lost people here too. Suppose further that the evangelistic ardor of the prospective missionary suddenly wanes. This is a bad sign, and it is a bad sign of what I am talking about."

I want to be careful because there is definitely nuance. I know that the church, the body of Christ, is a complex, diverse organism and not everyone can be the hands of giving or the feet of going or the mouth of preaching – and not everyone can be all of them at once. So I agree, to a point, with Wilson that "The first step in foreign missions is domestic mission. The first step toward Africa is right across the street." I'd also recommend the related book When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself, by Corbett and Fikkert (Moody, 2009). Is Wilson right? Does his position need to be nuanced more? Is he way off?

Carved amulets in pockets

noreply@blogger.com (Joel) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

"Make no mistake about it: Whatever our time and place, the cultures of this present age are catechizing us all. We may see this more evidently in places other than our own...But that's 'over there,' right? This is America, after all, born in the cradle of Judeo-Christian civilization. We forget that ever since our founding, our culture (including religion) has been a mixture of traditional Christianity and successive waves of infidelity, pseudo-Christian sects and cults, and esoteric spiritualities. We are catechized more by the rituals of the market than those of historic Christianity. Although bells rarely announce the assembly of saints today, the ringing of the opening bell on Wall Street is a daily ritual. We may recognize idolatry in the tribesman's dependence on the carved amulet in his pocket, but it doesn't occur to us that we may be idolaters as we clutch our iPhones for security, look to the market's daily news for our hope, entertain ourselves to death, and crave an identity that is shaped by the fashions of the moment."

-Michael S. Horton in "Trees or Tumbleweeds?", July/August 2011 Modern Reformation, p. 14