How we read the Bible speaks volumes about our demeanor towards culture. If I cannot think biblically about any reality or decision-making process I am making myself subservient to extra-biblical authorities. If I am incapable of commencing my thinking biblically I am just as capable of abandoning my Christian categories. It is the great compromise of our age that we hold on firmly to “God and Country” but fail to know what God requires of us who are called to think and speak as citizens of a heavenly country. We have allowed the presuppositions of pagans to guide the thinking of the pious. Our theory of knowledge is inescapably secular. We have retired our Sunday hats after church and replaced it with the hats of neutrality and unbelief. I have found that people’s passions run deep…for the wrong causes. In fact, they have so engaged in secular pieties that they have established social structures, hierarchies, right and wrong categories, stipulations, and judgment to systems and promises that show utter contempt for the God of the Bible. What guides your thinking of reality? What gives shape to your decision-making? The redeemed man is led by the self-attesting reality of God’s word. Begin and end with truth
Self-Attesting Reality
Interview with Mark Horne on the Life of J.R.R. Tolkien
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In honor of Tolkien’s death on this day in 1973, we are reposting this interview:
Pastor Uri Brito sat down in 2010 to talk with author, Mark Horne, to discuss the life of J.R.R. Tolkien and Pastor Horne’s biography on Tolkien.
“It was through The Hobbit and the three-volume The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien became a literary giant throughout the world. In his fiction, which earned him the informal title of “the father of modern fantasy literature,” Tolkien presents readers with a vision of freedom- nothing preachy- that a strong, unequivocal faith can transmit.”
In Praise of Bookish Christians
Guest post by Pastor Duane Garner
One of the most popular criticisms made against Reformed Christians and pastors is that they put way too much emphasis on learning, reading and teaching and way too little emphasis on “real ministry”. Now “real ministry” is defined in a number of ways by these critics, but the allegation routinely leveled against us from many quarters of Christendom is “there is no problem too big for us to recommend a book for.”
Is there any merit to this charge, and if so, how should we answer it?
My first response is that I really wish it were true. I am afraid that the stereotype of the well-read studious Reformed Christian is nothing more than a gross caricature. There are a few men and women I know who might fit that description, but I fear that the reality is that only a fraction of people in the Reformed world really care about or make the time to pursue any kind of study outside of Sunday morning worship. It is obvious that for the most part, people are not reading, they are not making time for any extra pursuit of Biblical or theological knowledge and they are satisfied to drift along not growing or maturing in any significant way.
Compare our present situation to the previous generation of Reformed Christians. A couple of decades ago Reformed publishing houses were printing, and people were reading, thick heavy hardback volumes of theology, but that is simply no longer the case. Today we are doing good if we have skimmed a handful of books on the family and on developing a “Christian Worldview” and having done so, consider ourselves well-read. (more…)
Reconciliation and Bearing God’s Image
Guest Post by Al Stout
At Providence Church in Pensacola, Fl,[1] we have a regular Vespers’ service on the first Wednesday of each month. We sing the majority of the service, we read three lessons from Scripture– an Old Covenant, New Covenant and Gospel passage–followed by a short homily. This week we read Genesis 1:26-31; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; and John 3:1-8 and I delivered the homily.
Reading the news of the day, there were a couple stories about men being shot and killed while being arrested or detained by police. I saw some of the responses to those shootings. I began to contemplate what it is that gives men and women, no matter their level of sin or righteousness, dignity. This is what I asked those who were at Vespers…
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What is it that gives man dignity? What moves the Church to advocate for the unborn child and the prisoner? What compels us to give honor to the most innocent and the guiltiest, that they should be treated with dignity?
In Genesis 1 God declares that we are created in the image of God. Man was created in goodness and while still pure commanded to take the image of God to the rest of creation. They were to reflect the image of the Creator to His creation that did not bear that image. This is part of the subduing of creation mandated by Holy Spirit. By carrying the authority of God by way of His image, we would participate in Creation, its management, and husbandry. Even without sin man took the image of God to the world.
The fall did not undo this. Man is still to take the image of God out to the world, but with the fall came a haze over our eyes. Blindness is a type of death[2]. We could no longer see properly; not just creation, but we could no longer see God himself in those He created. So, when Cain kills Abel and he is confronted with his sin, he cannot see the value of his brother, his inherent dignity. He slanders him by declaring to God that Abel is not worthy to be watched over, cared for, ministered to… “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:8-9).
This cloudiness of eyesight can affect us as well. It is hard for us to see the image of God in an unborn child or in the man guilty of murder. If we forget that they are both image bearers we can trash them both. We can literally put the most innocent into the garbage, but we can also forget the prisoner; leaving him or her to physical assault and even rape. Turning such humiliation into a joke, we laugh with the world as fellow prisoners or guards strip men and women MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD of their dignity, or sounding support with glib comments like “Can’t do the time, don’t do the crime[3].”
When we forget that even the guilty bear the image of God, we can quickly find ourselves supporting or even participating in evil far greater than the crimes perpetrated by these guilty persons. (more…)
Happy 142nd, GKC!
One-Hundred and forty-two years ago this Sunday, Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in Kensington, England. I tend to keep track of the anniversary of his birth, because I was born 100 years and 2 days later. (It would be way cooler if the “2 days” part was not there, but it is what it is.)
Since you’re here, and given the small amount of time you have to devote to reading blog posts, I am going to give you the gift of brevity for Mr. Chesterton’s birthday, i.e. I’m going to hush and let GKC speak for himself. If the best gift you can give an author is to quote him, then Mr. Chesterton, having perfected the art of quotability, must be one of the easiest people in the world to buy for.
Below is a sampling of his poetry. Although it is not his best-known genre, it is one of my favorites. Also, through his poems, you can instill a love for him in your children that may be hard to accomplish through prose while they are young. My children will not remember the day before they heard the following three poems, and I can’t imagine them ever wanting to.
Hint: For maximum enjoyment, read the poems aloud. The words take shape when they’re spoken that cannot be formed in your brain. If you don’t believe me, try it both ways. I think you’ll like them better aloud. So will your kids. (Your best, fake, British accent doesn’t hurt either.)
The Englishman
St George he was for England,
And before he killed the dragon
He drank a pint of English ale
Out of an English flagon.
For though he fast right readily
In hair-shirt or in mail,
It isn’t safe to give him cakes
Unless you give him ale.
St George he was for England,
And right gallantly set free
The lady left for dragon’s meat
And tied up to a tree;
But since he stood for England
And knew what England means,
Unless you give him bacon
You mustn’t give him beans.
St George he is for England,
And shall wear the shield he wore
When we go out in armour
With battle-cross before.
But though he is jolly company
And very pleased to dine,
It isn’t safe to give him nuts
Unless you give him wine.
Here’s our second favorite. If you have an interpretation, we’d love to hear it. If not, that’s okay. We’ll never love it any less. (more…)
Family Liturgy: Short and Sweet
If you are anything like me, daily life in your household generally conforms to a pattern, a liturgy, a modus operandi. Every day certain things happen, and other things happen every few days. Some patterns, however, are weekly, monthly, or annually. Some things are necessary on a daily basis, like eating and drinking, and as long as we’re alive, these will continue unabated. Some events are weekly, like Sunday worship, other events occur annually, like birthdays and Christmas.
Finding Time for Family Worship
One pattern that I have clumsily endeavored to establish for decades now is a time of daily worship together in the home as a family. We’ve tried, failed, repented, and tried again hundreds of times over the years. But a couple of months ago, with a little help from a friend, we began again with hopes for a better outcome, a perpetual outcome.
Last summer, my wife attended a talk at the 2015 CiRCE Institute Annual Conference by Cindy Rollins about family liturgy and then related to me what she had learned. She gleaned that the overarching principle in planning a family liturgy for the long haul is to keep the time together short, simple, and therefore, sustainable. The pattern can then become a thread weaving each successive day to the memory of yesterday, as well as a foretaste of what can be expected tomorrow. (more…)
Socrates & Seeking the Truth in Love
Socrates: I think so too, Meno. I do not insist that my argument is right in all other respects, but I would contend at all costs in both word and deed as far as I could that we will be better men, braver and less idle, if we believe that one must search for the things one does not know, rather than if we believe that it is not possible to find out what we do not know and that we must not look for it.” (Plato’s Meno, tr. G.M.A. Grube)
Last month, I was honored to speak at a Collegium event held by New College Franklin in Franklin, Tennessee. I teamed up with a faculty member to speak about “Seeking & Speaking the Truth in Love.” I was “seeking,” focusing on Plato’s Meno, and my counterpart was “speaking,” focusing on Plato’s Gorgias. Actually, I did some speaking too, which is what I’d like to share with you here.
My lecture was entitled “Seeking the Truth in Love,” and it focused on seeking the truth through Socratic dialogue–not Socratic dialogue generally, but specifically, as in the ones Plato wrote. After some introductory remarks and an historical introduction to Socrates and Plato, I walked through the first half of Plato’s Meno, all the way up to the end of the geometry problem with the Slave Boy. My application and conclusion summarized what I have been learning as a Christian studying Plato and how I see those lessons trickling down to my neighbor, who is also seeking the truth.
If you already enjoy Plato, I hope you enjoy this somewhat informal rehearsal of the dialogue. If you are unfamiliar with the study of Plato’s dialogues and have no idea why Christians even spend precious time reading them, then I invite you into one of my favorite things to talk about: Seeking the truth in love, and loving your neighbor through it.
Me and Zaccheus
Luke says that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature; Peter tells us to grow in grace and knowledge; Zaccheus shows us what to do if we have not yet grown enough to see Jesus as he passes nearby. We use whatever tools we have in order to improve our vision. Zaccheus had a tree, and you and I have minds, hearts, and appetites, bearing God’s image. Our children bear that image as well, so we train them to use the tools God gave them so they can distinguish truth from falsehood when they meet either. God has given them each a mind, a heart, a belly, a conscience, a will, an identity, a community, a church, and a family. We have God’s Word in our hands and God’s world at our fingertips, so we seek truth in both, and we place both within the reach of the ones God has given us.
Education or Propaganda?
Last summer in a talk entitled “The Harmony of Contemplation,” author and educator Tracy Lee Simmons briefly contrasted the educated mind with the propagandized mind: “[What is] the difference between the educated and the propagandized mind? The one is prompted to think, the other is anesthetized to thought. The one is given the greatest questions, the other is supplied with canned answers. The one seeks a measured and rational view of oneself and others, the other can be lulled into satisfaction with caricatures.”
As our children grow, we parents are often faced with questions that baffle us, stump us, and ultimately, humble us. As this occurs, remembering Mr. Simmons’ three comparisons can help us educate our children as opposed to merely propagandizing them. (more…)
Never Asking Anything More Than Everything
God never asks for anything less than everything, and in his mercy, never asks for more. He remembers our frame, our dustiness is never hidden from His eyes. A widow’s mite and a sower’s seed are both limited by physical and temporal “smallness,” as are the widow and the sower themselves. All four are finite creatures, and more humbling than finitude, the widow and the sower are both fallen, both sinfully natured and habitually inclined toward sin.
But He places the mite in the widow’s hand and asks, “What will you give?” She gives everything and He asks nothing more. He did not ask for two mites. She gave her fortune, little and limited as it was, and God smiled as He smelled the redolent savor of her sacrifice. What did God do with a penny? I haven’t any clue, but I trust it was something great. He has made it a habit of doing grand and glorious things with the seemingly scant offerings of His creatures.
God knows you’re little. God made you that way, and out of his infinite mercy, He placed His own image within you. You are created, but the one whose image you bear is not. He asks you today, “What will you give?” He wants you to give everything, and will never ask for more than that. He knows your frame. He remembers you are dust.
What about the sower of seed? The farmer loves the earth and the bounty of the earth. Any sower sows in faith. Who would broadcast these dead vessels of future life without believing they can live again, and bear fruit five, ten, and one-hundred fold? Which farmer commands the clouds to spill their liquid life and then depart again to reveal the sun? Which farmer believes he can command the seasons or the stars? Doubt-filled farmers will not remain in that line of work for long. Farming takes faith. And the faithful farmer sows expecting good things in return.
God has given you a parcel of earth to tend. It may be dirt, seed, and crop, but it may not. To an author he has given paper, ink, and words—and a readership. To a teacher he has given books, lessons, and curricula—and a class. To a mother he has given a home, a hearth, and a heart—and children. To a lawyer he has given a legal code, a conference room, and a library—and clients. To each one us, he has given tools, skills, and experience—and the people around us who need us.
Like the sower of seed, you only have so much you can give today and a limited number of people to give it to. God asks for no more than you have to give, but if you hold some back in doubt, like extra manna, it will rot before sunrise tomorrow. You always have just the right amount of seed for today’s field. When the bag is empty, the field is sufficiently sown; if seeds remain, there is work left to do.
And like the widow, you have everything at your disposal that God has placed at your disposal. He only wants to bless you as you give it all, and never asks for a penny more than you have to give. He knows your frame. He remembers that you are dust.
