Kuyperian, Author at Kuyperian Commentary

On January 23, 2014 By Kuyperian In Scribblings Like

C. S. Lewis: The Unraveling of Materialism

Click to buy on Amazon

by Marc Hays

Here’s a portion of the first paragraph of the first essay in Walter Hooper’s collection of C. S. Lewis essays, God in the Dock. This quote is a prime example of Lewisian logic–better known as common sense.

“Mechanism, like all materialist systems, breaks down at the problem of knowledge. If thought is the undesigned and irrelevant product of cerebral motions, what reason have we to trust it? As for emergent evolution, if anyone insists on using the word God to mean ‘whatever the universe happens to be going to do next’, of course we cannot prevent him. But nobody would in fact so use it unless he had a secret belief that what was coming next will be an improvement. Such a belief, besides being unwarranted, presents peculiar difficulties to an emergent evolutionist. If things can improve, this means that there must be some absolute standard of good above and outside the cosmic process to which that process can approximate. There is no sense in talking of becoming better if better means simply ‘what we are becoming’—it is like congratulating yourself on reaching your destination as ‘the place you have reached’. Mellontolatry, or the worship of the future, is a fuddled religion.”

–C. S. Lewis, “Evil and God”, God in the Dock<>

On January 21, 2014 By Kuyperian In Books 1

John Newton Brown: Pastor-Poet

Guest Post by Mark Nenadov

John Newton Brown (1803-1868) was an American Baptist leader. As a pastor and theologian, he authored the well-known moderately Calvinistic confession, the New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith. His church covenant, or some variation thereof, is being used in many Baptist congregations to this very day.

Throughout his life, Brown pastored various congregations in New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Virginia. He produced a number of theological treatises, including a debate book in 1853 in which he defended the Christian Sabbath. He also did some work as an editor, editing the Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge and the works of John Bunyan.

It is, however, John Newton Brown the poet who captivates me most. Not only was he a poet, he was an excellent poet and it’s shameful that so few know him as such.

I would like to introduce you to Emily, and Other Poems, a book of poetry which Brown published in 1840. The book opens with an inscription to a Pastor. It could very well be a manifesto for Christian poets:

“[My Pastor] first taught me the two important lessons—that poetic talent, like every other gift of God, imposes upon its possessor a responsibility to cultivate and employ it, in obedience to His will, for the benefit of mankind;—and that, as the world will always continue to read Poetry, so the more of Christian Poetry in the world, the better”.

Are we Christians, at least those who are gifted in the area of poetry, cultivating this gift? In John Newton Brown, we have a wonderful encouragement in that regard. Christians who are Presbyterian and Reformed by conviction have no less pronounced 19^th/20^th century inspiration in the likes of pastors and theologians who were also poets to some degree, such as Gerhardus Vos and B.B. Warfield

Here are some things I’ve come to appreciate about the poetry in this book:

1. It shows incredible emotion depth and rawness. As you read the book, immediately you’ll notice that weighty subjects are not avoided. Death is repeatedly confronted. He even has a poem meditating on the viewing of a skeleton. This book is filled with elegies and tributes to deceased people, including his sister Emily, his parents, his daughter, and others.

For instance, of his sister Emily he writes:

“I bless, O, I bless Him from whom I received

Such a sister—my senior in years—

And when of my father and mother bereaved,

My guide in this valley of tears.

And though thou art silent and cold in the dust.

And Affection weeps over thee now,

I strike the loud lyre o’er the grave of the just,

For such, my dear sister, wast thou.”

Brown shows how a Christian poet can focus on death without becoming overly gloomy or morbid.

2. It is thoroughly theological and Biblical. Brown’s poetry is Bible-saturated and theologically-sound. He writes with the precision of a theologian. He delights in the Bible and exalts Jesus “the Lamb of God! The antitype divine”. You get the sense that that the poet is, at his core, an evangelist, pleading with sinners to turn to Christ!

3. It is pastoral. Brown’s poetry is deeply pastoral, pouring out sweat and tears over the people he loves and cares for. The abundance of acrostic poems addressed specifically to individuals evidences the personal care of a pastor who knows his people.

Brown’s poetry attempts to lead the reader into a closer walk with God. It exhibits the tender (and yet firm) aspect of a good pastor, or in his poems to his daughters, a loving father.

He is clearly not afraid to be frank and blunt in some cases, such as the poem “Hints To A Young Preacher“:

“Your air is too dogmatic;

Your tones are too emphatic;

Your style has too much splendor;

Your voice has nothing tender;

Your gestures are too frequent far,

And quite ungraceful many area.”

4. And yet the poetry is not overly didactic—it revels in esthetic beauty. Brown avoids a dry approach wherein poetry becomes a mere conduit for propositions. He unveils verses which reflect on the beauty of nature and his local surroundings. There is no rash or strained desire to make everything explicitly religious, and yet a deep Christian piety seeps through everything he writes.

The writing has the leisurely feel of one of Brown’s Sabbath morning walks in New York state, during which he wrote the poem “The Happy Family”.

Though Brown is often quick to instruct his reader and make the most of his teaching platform, he also seems to enjoy poetry for poetry’s sake, and in another poem, he gets lost in the wonder of the Niagara Falls:

“And I have seen thee, wonder of the world!
Unequaled cataract! my country’s pride!
With all thy weight of waters downward hurled,
As if in earth’s deep bowels thou wouldst hide
Superior, Huron, Erie’s blended tide!”

5. It achieves technical excellence. Brown’s poetry is great poetry, achieving high standards of form and esthetic value. Beside a high level of excellence in the poetry itself, Brown also shows a broad knowledge of classic literature and mastery in translation, rendering some historic Latin verses and even providing alternate renderings. His mixture of artistic talent and scholarly precision is quite remarkable and unique!

6. Though generally traditional and formal, it is also quite creative and flexible. Brown freely and naturally moves between tasteful variations in style. He generally follows traditional rhyming schemes, but is also highly experimental, eager to try acrostics and experimentation with indentation, and short poems.

7. It thoughtfully engages the world, current events, and history. Besides being infused with a sense of wonder, Brown critically engages with the thought of his day. In his poems, he interacts with the likes of Edward Gibbon, Chalmers, and even Don Juan, all through the framework of a Christian world-view. He also delves into world events, such as the fall of Turkey. Brown models how Christian artists do not necessarily need to be reclusive or mystical, but can engage with the world around them. And they can do that without turning their poetry into a mere conduit for propositions.

Christian poets have a lot to learn from John Newton Brown. I highly recommend checking out Brown’s poetry. I hope renewed interest in this neglected work of art will also inspire poets for many years to come!

To that end, since the book is out of print and only available in somewhat hard to read scans, I’ve recently transcribed it into a textual PDF file, which is available for free on Archive.org. It’s only a draft and more proofreading is needed, so there may be some minor errors. You can download it here.

You can also find a fair amount of John Newton Brown poems over at Calvinist poets.

For more publications and updates on Mr. Nenadov, see Goodreads, Blog, Twitter, Linkedin, Website<>

On January 20, 2014 By Kuyperian In Scribblings Like

Marc Hays: Whose Rights Are Ultimate? Who Decides?

by Marc Hays

Yesterday being “Sanctity-of-Life Sunday”, I was reminded of a quote by Canadian political philosopher, George Parkin Grant, from His book Technology and Justice:

“Behind the conflict of rights (between the mother and the fetus MH), there is unveiled in the debate about abortion an even more fundamental question about rights themselves. What is it about human beings that makes it proper that we should have any rights at all? Because of this the abortion issue involves all modern societies in basic questions of political principle.

These questions of principle were brought out into the open for Americans, when the Supreme Court of that country made it law that no legislation can be passed which prevents women from receiving abortions during the first six months of pregnancy. In laying down the reasons for that decision, the judges speak as if they were basing it on the supremacy of rights in a democratic society. But to settle the case in terms of rights, the judges say that the mother has all the rights, and that the foetus has none. Because they make this distinction, the very principle of rights is made dubious in the following way. In negating all rights to the foetuses, the court says something negative about what they are, namely that they are such as to warrant no right to continued existence. And because the foetus is of the same species as the mother, we are inevitably turned back onto the fundamental question of principle: what is it about the mother (or any human being) that makes it proper that she should have rights? Because in the laws about abortion one is forced back to the stark comparison between the rights of members of the same species (our own), the foundations of the principles behind rights are unveiled inescapably. What is it about our species that gives us rights beyond those of dogs or cattle?

The legal and political system, which was the noblest achievement of the English-speaking societies, came forth from our long tradition of free institutions and Common Law, which was itself produced and sustained by centuries of Christian belief. Ruthlessness in law and politics was limited by a system of legal and political rights which guarded the individual from the abuses of arbitrary power, both by the state and other individuals. The building of this system has depended on the struggle and courage of many, and was fundamentally founded on the Biblical assumption that human beings are the children of God. For this reason, everybody should be properly protected by carefully defined rights. Those who advocate easy abortions in the name of rights are at the same time unwittingly undermining the very basis of rights. Their complete disregard for the unborn weakens the very idea of rights itself. This weakening does not portend well for the continuing health of our system.” —George Parkin Grant, Technology & Justice 1986

“George Parkin Grant, 1918-1988, has been acknowledged as Canada’s leading political philosopher since the publication of Philosophy in the Mass Age 1959. He was the author of Lament for a Nation, Technology & Empire, and English-Speaking Justice. He taught religion and philosophy at McMaster University and Dalhousie University.” (from the back cover of Technology & Justice)

Here’s a link to it on Amazon.

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On January 18, 2014 By Kuyperian In Books Like

“A Grief Observed,” by C. S. Lewis – A Review

by Marc Hays and Aaron W. Eley

A few years ago, I received a pile of books from a friend, several of which were works by C. S. Lewis. The fact that all of them bore my friend’s name, in the upper right-hand corner of the first page, caused his donation to seem more like a purging than a gift. As such, I inquired as to his health; he said he felt fine. No fever. No chills. I inquired as to his sanity, and he assured me that his actions stemmed from sound-reasoning. Given the nature of my two queries, I could take the former answer prima facie but have continued to this day to doubt the latter. I informed him that his name would forever remain inside the cover and that he could return to retrieve his volumes any time that he wished. If he took too long to return, however, they would become annotated copies.

One of the volumes in the stack of works by Lewis was rather thin. None of them were particularly large, but one was almost a pamphlet, bearing the title A Grief Observed. When I indicate small, I mean this book is slender enough to be read in the span of one pot of coffee, or perhaps two large cups of tea; I suppose Lewis would have preferred the tea.

My copy of A Grief Observed consists of 76 pages organized into 4 chapters. The book is a chronological progression of Lewis’ state of mind as he grieved over the loss of his wife, Joy, to cancer. In the Foreword, Madeleine L’Engle relates the fact that “when C. S. Lewis married Joy Davidson, it was a pretty certain expectation that she would die first, unless there was an unexpected accident, for she was in the hospital. He knew that he was marrying a woman who was dying of cancer.” She went into a period of remission which allowed them an extended period of time as a married couple, but in the end, their marriage was comparably short.

In the introduction, Douglas H. Gresham, Lewis’ stepson, states,

Anything entitled ‘Grief Observed’ would have to be so general and nonspecific as to be academic in its approach and thus of little use to anyone approaching or experiencing bereavement.

This book on the other hand, is a stark recounting of one man’s studied attempts to come to grips with and in the end defeat the emotional paralysis of the most shattering grief of his life.

What makes A Grief Observed even more remarkable is that the author was an exceptional man, and the woman whom he mourns, an exceptional woman. Both of them were writers, both were committed Christians, but here the similarities end. It fascinates me how God sometimes brings people together who are so far apart, in so many ways, and merges them into that spiritual homogeneity which is marriage.

In the first portion of the final chapter, Lewis discusses his reasons for cataloging his thoughts into a written work:

In so far as this record was a defence against total collapse, it has done some good. The other end I had in view turns out to have been based on a misunderstanding. I thought I could describe a state; make a map of sorrow. Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process. It needs not a map but a history, and if I don’t stop writing that history at some quite arbitrary point, there’s no reason why I should ever stop. There is something new to be chronicled every day. Grief is like a long valley, a winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape. As I’ve already noted, not every bend does. Sometimes the surprise is the opposite one; you are presented with exactly the same sort of country you thought you had left behind miles ago. That is when you wonder whether the valley isn’t a circular trench. But it isn’t. There are partial recurrences, but the sequence doesn’t repeat.

If you’ve ever wished that you could sit down and have a conversation with a truly great man and ask him the great, great questions of life and death, then this is your lucky day. Even more, you aren’t required to come up with a list of questions. Lewis has asked them for you. He does not pretend to know all the answers, but you get to hitch a ride with one of the greatest question-askers that I have ever come across.

One recommendation: Read Mere Christianity first. A basic understanding of how Lewis thinks will make the brief volume under consideration much richer. A Grief Observed is a real-time application of the conclusions reached in Mere Christianity. Lewis is a Christian man asking questions about the world that the one, true, and living God created and that the lord and savior Jesus Christ has redeemed.

Concerning the Christian paradigm by which Lewis considers his grief, here’s a final quote:

It doesn’t matter that all the photographs of (my late wife) are bad. It doesn’t matter—not much—if my memory of her is imperfect. Images, whether on paper or in the mind, are not important for themselves. Merely links. Take a parallel from an infinitely higher sphere. Tomorrow morning a priest will give me little round, thin, cold, tasteless wafer. Is it a disadvantage—is it not in some ways an advantage—that it can’t pretend the least resemblance to that which it unites me?

I need Christ, not something that resembles Him. I want (my late wife), not something that is like her. A really good photograph might become in the end a snare, a horror, an obstacle.

Images, I must suppose, have their use or they would not have been so popular. (It makes little difference whether they are pictures and statues outside the mind or imaginative constructions within it.) To me however, their danger is more obvious. Images of the Holy easily become holy images–sacrosanct. My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time. He shatters it Himself. He is the great iconoclast. Could we not almost say that this shattering is one of the marks of His presence? The Incarnation is the supreme example; it leaves all previous ideas of Messiah in ruins. And most are ‘offended’ by the iconoclasm; and blessed are those who are not. But the same thing happens in our private prayers.

All reality is iconoclastic…

Okay, I have to stop. I’ve probably aggravated some copyright laws already. I highly recommend spending a morning or an evening drinking from the redolent fountain of C. S. Lewis. We are blessed that he took the time to journal this difficult period of his life. You will be blessed by taking the time to read it.

Amazon has the book here.

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On January 17, 2014 By Kuyperian In Theology Like

Notes from the Funeral Home

by Marc Hays

I am nearly forty years old and have yet to experience the death of “someone close to me.” My parents both live. My wife, my siblings, my children all remain. My grandparents have all passed, but for one reason or another they were distant. Age, geography, or Alzheimer’s can each create their own kind of distance. A close friend of mine from high school died a few years ago, but his death was nearly twenty years removed from our life together. I cried at his funeral for those who remained. My tears were not for my loss.

Today, we will bury my wife’s grandmother. Jamie’s experience with her “Mema” was the polar opposite of mine. Mema was only 48 when Jamie was born, so they had many years and spent much time together. We lived in Virginia for a four-year period and, until that time, Mema never lived more than 15 miles away from Jamie. The family gathered at least a half dozen times per year for birthdays and holidays and, up until a few months ago, Mema kept an incredible amount of clarity in her thinking. Neither age nor geography nor mental illness removed Mema from Jamie’s life. Only death did, and it did so on the same calendar day that we remember Jamie’s arrival. Today at the funeral, Jamie and her family will weep for their loss, something I’m not sure that I’ve ever done.

Jesus wept. He wept at the tomb of his friend, Lazarus. “When Jesus therefore saw (Mary) weeping and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in his spirit, and was troubled.” (John 11:32) He could have avoided it. He knew early enough to have come and healed Lazarus. After all, he had healed people without being present in the room so what would have stopped him from healing someone from miles away? Mary and Martha lamented, “If you’d have come, he wouldn’t have died.” But Jesus wanted to do more than give them their brother back. He wanted them to see the glory of God. (John 11:40) He wanted them to see that his groaning was not simply for himself. Not only for his loss.

Death is the nemesis of life. Archenemies they are, and there is no reconciling them. Never any accord. Never any peace. One must win and the other die. Jesus is life. He not only created life or gives life, although he did do those things; He is life. If he is life, then he and death can never be reconciled. Life is the antithesis of death. One must conquer and the other must be conquered. Jesus must be the death of death.

Adam ate from the tree that had been kept from him, and he died. Jesus drank from the cup that had been given to him, and he died. Adam’s death, as a consequence of his disobedience, plunged him and his bride headlong into death; Jesus’ death, as a result of his obedience, conquered death and gave life to his bride in him.

By his death and resurrection, Jesus trampled down death. In his life, he showed his power over the effects of death by resuscitating the victims of death. He could restore life in those who had succumbed to death. By his own resurrection, which could only follow his own death, Jesus showed that it is impossible for him to actually succumb. His “laying down of his life” is just as active as his “taking it back up again.” By “giving up the ghost” he never gave up any ground. Not one square inch.

Today, we will lay Mema to rest. But the day is coming when she shall be raised incorruptible. The trumpet shall sound. The Earth will give up her dead in the resurrection. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the first-fruits of them that slept, shall return for those who sleep; he shall return for those who weep.<>информер тиц и pr

On January 11, 2014 By Kuyperian In Scribblings Like

Marc Hays: GKC – Something Odd in the Truth

There is little as refreshing or as challenging as reading through Chesterton’s Orthodoxy. It refreshes like breathing clean air; it refreshes like tasting good smoke. I am challenged because I don’t believe I think deeply enough; it is challenging because I don’t believe I think simply enough.

For your Saturday morning reading pleasure, here are the first three paragraphs of chapter VI: The Paradoxes of Christianity:

“The real trouble with this world of ours is not that it is an unreasonable world, nor even that it is a reasonable one. The commonest kind of trouble is that it is nearly reasonable, but not quite. Life is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians. It looks just a little more mathematical and regular than it is; its exactitude is obvious, but its inexactitude is hidden; its wildness lies in wait. I give one coarse instance of what I mean. Suppose some mathematical creature from the moon were to reckon up the human body; he would at once see that the essential thing about it was that it was duplicate. A man is two men, he on the right exactly resembling him on the left. Having noted that there was an arm on the right and one on the left, a leg on the right and one on the left, he might go further and still find on each side the same number of fingers, the same number of toes, twin eyes, twin ears, twin nostrils, and even twin lobes of the brain. At last he would take it as a law; and then, where he found a heart on one side, would deduce that there was another heart on the other. And just then, where he most felt he was right, he would be wrong.

“It is this silent swerving from accuracy by an inch that is the uncanny element in everything. It seems a sort of secret treason in the universe. An apple or an orange is round enough to get itself called round, and yet is not round after all. The earth itself is shaped like an orange in order to lure some simple astronomer into calling it a globe. A blade of grass is called after the blade of a sword, because it comes to a point; but it doesn’t. Everywhere in things there is this element of the quiet and incalculable. It escapes the rationalists, but it never escapes till the last moment. From the grand curve of our earth it could easily be inferred that every inch of it was thus curved. It would seem rational that as a man has a brain on both sides, he should have a heart on both sides. Yet scientific men are still organizing expeditions to find the North Pole, because they are so fond of flat country. Scientific men are also still organizing expeditions to find a man’s heart; and when they try to find it, they generally get on the wrong side of him.

“Now, actual insight or inspiration is best tested by whether it guesses these hidden malformations or surprises. If our mathematician from the moon saw the two arms and the two ears, he might deduce the two shoulder-blades and the two halves of the brain. But if he guessed that the man’s heart was in the right place, then I should call him something more than a mathematician. Now, this is exactly the claim which I have since come to propound for Christianity. Not merely that it deduces logical truths, but that when it suddenly becomes illogical, it has found, so to speak, an illogical truth. It not only goes right about things, but it goes wrong (if one may say so) exactly where the things go wrong. Its plan suits the secret irregularities, and expects the unexpected. It is simple about the simple truth; but it is stubborn about the subtle truth. It will admit that a man has two hands, it will not admit (though all the Modernists wail to it) the obvious deduction that he has two hearts. It is my only purpose in this chapter to point this out; to show that whenever we feel there is something odd in Christian theology, we shall generally find that there is something odd in the truth.”

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On January 10, 2014 By Kuyperian In Books, Culture Like

The Missing “Missing Link”

by Marc Hays

Following is a collection of passages from Wile and Durnell’s, Exploring Creation with Biology. Classical Conversations uses the Apologia series of textbooks for their “Research Strands” through high school. I grow increasingly thankful for the fine work Apologia has done by providing our high school students with these invaluable science texts.

These quotes are from Module 9: “Evolution: Part Scientific Theory, Part Unconfirmed Hypothesis.”

“The lack of intermediate links was the most vexing problem that Darwin had with his hypothesis. In fact, in his book, he stated:

Geological research, though it has added numerous species to existing and extinct genera, and has made the intervals between some few groups less wide than they otherwise would have been, yet has done scarcely anything in breaking the distinction between species, by connecting them together by numerous, fine, intermediate varieties; and this not having been affected, is probably the gravest and most obvious of all the many objections which can be raised against my views. (Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, 6th ed, {New York, NY: Collier Books, 1962}, 462)

“Well, what of these missing links? Has paleontology uncovered them? The answer to that is an unequivocal no. Read, for example the words of Dr. David Raup, the curator of the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History and an expert on the fossil record.

Well, we are now about 120 years after Darwin, and knowledge of the fossil record has been greatly expanded…ironically, we have even fewer examples of evolutionary transition than we had in Darwin’s time. By this I mean that some of the classic cases of Darwinian change in the fossil record, such as the evolution of the horse in North America, have had to be discarded or modified as the result of more detailed information. (David Raup, Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin, 50:25, 197 – emphasis added)

“Since Dr. Raup’s quote is more than 20 years old, you might wonder whether paleontology has discovered anything in the past two decades to make the situation better for macroevolution. The answer is a clear and convincing no. Consider for example, this summary of the state of paleontology in regard to macroevolution:

…according to Darwin…the fossil record should be rife with examples of transitional forms leading from the less to more evolved…Instead of filling the gaps in the fossil record with so-called missing links, most paleontologists found themselves facing a situation in which there were only gaps in the fossil record, with no evidence of transformational intermediates between documented fossil species. (Jeffrey H. Schwartz, Sudden Origins, [New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1999], 89)

“Now think about this for a minute. The hypothesis of macroevolution tries to explain something about earth’s past. Since no one was around back then to tell us whether or not macroevolution actually happened, it is necessary to look for data that either support or contradict the hypothesis. Well, if you’re looking for data about earth’s history, where is the first place you would look? You would look in the fossil record! What does the fossil record say? It says that macroevolution never happened! Do you see what we mean when we say that scientists don’t belive in macroevolution today because of evidence? If the fossil record (the main place you look for information about earth’s past) shows no evidence for macroevolution, scientists simply should not believe in it.” (Wile & Durnell, Exploring Creation with Biology, 2nd Edition, [Anderson, IN: Apologia Educational Ministries, 2005], 274-275)

Wile & Durnell then point out that Schwartz and Raup are pointing out the lack of evidence for Darwin’s transitional forms in order to posit the notion of “punctuated equilibrium.” This spin on evolutionary theory tries to reinterpret macroevolution so that the lack of evidence for evolution becomes the evidence that evolution occurred. The idea being that transitional forms are by their nature short-lived, and therefore missing from the fossil record.

Or in other words, “the macroevolutionary emperor has no clothes, so we thought we’d cover him up with some fresh expert opinion.”

This is not intended to be the answer to the hypothesis of macroevolution, but this can serve as fodder for discussion with many people in our society. If they’re well-read, then they may have a reply, but I daresay many people in our culture are tickled pink to remain Darwinian, without any punctuated nuances. Their belief in evolution may make them feel better about their personal disbelief in the God who created them, but it does so based on their own religious presuppositions, not on any sure footing in the fossil record. Their faith may be in science, but their god has failed them.

(Advertisement: If you’re looking for a fantastic high school science curriculum, look no further. Check out the Apologia series here.)

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On January 6, 2014 By Kuyperian In Scribblings Like

Down’s Syndrome: A Gift to the World

by Marc Hays

Below is a link to a video about Tim Harris, a Down’s Syndrome man who owns his own restaurant.

Two thoughts came to my mind as I watched this video:

1.) On a personal level, I may be underestimating my son, Alan, who has Down’s Syndrome. He may be capable of far more than I could ever imagine. He may never own his own business like the man in the video, but regardless of how his gifts are made manifest, I need to be seeking out ways that he can fulfill his ministry in Christ’s Kingdom. The Body has many different members so that all the functions of health are present. In the home, the church, the broader culture– God creates all different kinds of beautiful people, some with an extra chromosome. All in his image. All for his glory.

2.) As a matter of public concern, Down’s Syndrome is commonly used as justification for late term abortions. In the article “Selfish Convenience: Why people abort children with Down syndrome,” Cassy Fiano of lifesitenews.com reports that “among women who receive a prenatal diagnosis (of Down’s Syndrome), 9 out of 10 choose abortion.” This is nothing less than the genocide of a people group. I guess technically it isn’t, but it displays the same heart. While Americans play god, these beautiful people are being murdered in droves and will never have the chance to blossom like the man in the video.

So, that’s the bad news. Follow the link below to some good news: a three minute video about a young man that dances to work and hugs everyone that walks in the door.

http://www.amazingoasis.org/2013/12/restaurant-owner-with-down-syndrome.html

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On January 5, 2014 By Kuyperian In Scribblings Like

Still Need A Resolution? Might I Suggest…

by Marc Hays

Happy New Year! Are you still in need of a resolution? Me either, but the new year is an appropriate time to look at where you’ve been, where you are, and where you want to go. As you look at where you want to go, I know a guy who can help you get there, and the world is forever blessed in that most of his insight was, and therefore remains, uncopyrighted. If you know me, then you already know that I can’t make it 5 minutes without recommending that everyone under the sun read Gilbert Keith Chesterton.

If you’re reading this, then you have no excuse not to read, or to listen to, more Chesterton. A desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone, or even a dumbphone is all you need. GKC’s seminal work, Orthodoxy, is free everywhere…

Online: http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/130/pg130.html

The Project Gutenberg HTML is simple, plain, boring, drab, etc., except that it’s not. You’ll be reading Chesterton. For free. If this is your only access to Chesterton, then jump in and swim around. The water’s nice.

On Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Orthodoxy-Moody-Classics-Gilbert-Chesterton-ebook/dp/B00DEUQ9GW

Don’t like the HTML? Tyr the Kindle App. It’s a free download, so you in very short order you could be on a fresh Kindle App reading G.K.C. for F.R.E.E. There are several free versions available on Kindle, but the address above links to one with a foreword by Matthew Lee Anderson. It ‘s great Foreword followed by a great book. Speaking of Matthew Lee Anderson, check him out at MereOrthodoxy.

On Librivox: https://librivox.org/orthodoxy-by-gk-chesterton/

Librivox describes itself as “acoustical liberation of books in the public domain.” The above link will take you to a page where you can download the entire book in one swell foop in the form of a ZIP file. Then you can extract it and put it in iTunes or whatever audio software you use. I put this version in my LG nv3 years ago. It’s great to have if your driving, or doing something else where you can’t read, but can listen for a while.

Also, the reader’s name is J. A. Carter. He is fantastic. I’ve listened to him enough now that when I read my hard copy of Orthodoxy in my head, I hear his voice and inflection. It’s pretty cool. Kind freaky, really.

So, do you have a new New Year’s resolution? Here’s a poem to help you remember this very important decision:

You can’t go wrong with G.K.C.

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On January 2, 2014 By Kuyperian In Culture Like

The Hills Are Alive With “The Gift Of Music”

by Marc Hays

Over the holidays I began reading The Gift of Music: Great Composers and Their Influence, by Jane Stuart Smith and Betty Carlson, both of whom worked at L’Abri with Francis Schaeffer. The book is a collection of biographical sketches of the great composers of Western music, but that categorization does not do justice to what these two ladies have accomplished. Please allow me to explain.

Upon perusing the table of contents, the reader will find 44 chapters in a book that is only 300 pages long. Yep, that’s right: the chapters average only 6 to 7 pages long. My initial reaction was that this book might be attempting to accomplish too much, which could result in accomplishing very little. I was very wrong. The biographical sketches are short, but they are short because of a pithy, conservative use of words, not from a lack of information or insight.

However, while being short, the chapters are not encyclopedia entries. This book was not designed to be an information download from one, human hard-drive to another. Rather, each chapter is brimming with the love that these ladies have for the composers and their work. These passionate authors follow lock step in the footprints of their mentor, Francis Schaeffer, and their work is undoubtedly an extension of the work he began. He revealed how the 20th Century was an era of decadence. The Gift of Music is a positive tool for rebuilding that which has been disintegrating in the post-modern era.

I have not finished reading the book yet, so this is not a book review, per se, but I am enjoying it so much that I didn’t want to wait until I was done reading it to share some quotes from it.

So, without further ado, here’s Betty Carlson from the Prelude to the Third Edition:

Most of all, the purpose of this book is to encourage listening to the finest music with understanding and pleasure and to stretch one’s imagination. The more people acquaint themselves with what is truly great and beautiful, the more they will dislike and turn away from that which is shallow and ugly. Also we want to show that what each artist believes in his heart and mind affects his creativity and influences those who follow him.

In the Introduction, the authors demonstrate how God’s hymnbook, the Psalms, has been a direct influence in the development of Western musical literature.

The key word of the book of Psalms is “worship,” and this is heightened by musical settings. Poetry is the form of expression most appropriate to describe feelings, and with music added, the emotional intensity is increased. The word “psalm” comes from the Greek “psalmoi,” meaning “twangings of harp strings,” which reminds us that psalms are meant to be sung.

When God decided to give the Israelites a theology manual, he inspired David, Asaph, and others to write songs. Through this, God showed us that theology class was never meant to be abstracted from choir practice. If it can be said truly, it should be sung gloriously. Truth is conveyed via harp and trumpet and timbrel and drums, as much as it is declared by the words being sung. The psalms are living proof, and Betty Carlson and Jane Stuart Smith do not miss this pivotal point. The introduction extrapolates the pivotal role the psalter had in the development of Western music.

The Gift of Music jumps into the story of Western music at the beginning of the Baroque era: Schutz, Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel are introduced in the first four chapters. The chapters are each so densely packed with quotable insight, but I don’t want to ruin it by overstaying my welcome with you, dear reader. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting some of my favorite quotes in our Scribblings column. “The Gift of Music” will be in the titles of my posts, if you are interested in keeping up as I progress. Better yet, go to Amazon, get this gem of a book for yourself, and share some of your favorite quotes with all of us here at KC.

Here’s a link to The Gift of Music at Amazon.com

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