Things Protestants like: big hair

OK, it's unfair to make fun of fundamentalist bad hair days. But I suspect these two thought this was a good hair day. That's what's scary.

Our fundamentalist Protestant brethren (sisters, too) have had a thing for big hair for decades. It's never gone away, and my wife swears you can walk into Wal-Mart at 1 p.m. on Sunday, and immediately spot the Baptists fresh from church: women with large print dresses, and even larger hair.

Things Protestants like: radio preachers

Don't feel like getting out of bed for church? Too cold/hot/rainy/dry/whatever?

Don't worry! Just reach over and turn your radio on.



Of course, you can update that for 2008: turn on the TV or search Google. Or Youtube. Because Protestants love radio preachers.

If St. Paul were writing today, he'd have updated Hebrews 10.25 to include electronic church stuff. The pity is that the love for e-church has spread to non-Protestant brethren. (Even the non-separated types). Mother Angelica, what were you thinking?

When prayers seem hopeless

More on the prayer of Bartimaeus, from Living Prayer, (p. 49) by Metropolitan Anthony:

"We can learn from Bartimaeus in our practical approach to prayer that when we turn to God wholeheartedly, God always hears us. Usually when we realize that we can no longer depend upon all that we are accustomed to find reliable around us, we are not yet ready to renounce these things. We can see that there is no hope as far as human, earthly ways are concerned. We are aiming at something, we search for our sight and we are constantly frustrated; it is torment and hopelessness and if we stop there, we are defeated. But if at that moment we turn to God, knowing that only God is left, and say, 'I trust thee and commit into thy hands my soul and body, my whole life,' then despair has led us to faith."

A video tribute to Metropolitan Anthony

I've been quoting at length from Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) from his book Living Prayer. Here's a video tribute to him:

Not giving up in praying

Metropolitan Anthony writes on the prayer of Bartimaeus (Living Prayer, p. 48):

"How often does it not happen that after seeking and struggling for years on our own, when on a sudden we begin to cry to God, many voices try to silence our prayers, outward voices as well as inward voices. Is it worth praying? How many years did you struggle and God did not care? Is he to care now? What is the use of praying? Go back into your hopelessness, you are blind, and blind for ever. But the greater the opposition, the greater also is the evidence that help is at hand. The devil never attacks us so violently as when we are quite close to the term of our struggle, and we might yet be saved, but often are not, because we give way at the last moment. Give in, says the devil, make haste, it is too much, it is more than you can stand, you can put an end to it at once, do not wait, you cannot endure it any more. And then we commit suicide, physically, morally, spiritually; we renounce the struggle and accept death, just a minute before help was at hand and we might have been saved."

Things Protestants like: testimonies

Telling what Jesus has done for us is wonderful. Certain Protestants -- especially the evangelicals -- have made it into an art form, and woe to you if you are not up to it.

To some Protestants, a testimony must be readily available. Which means you might be called upon at any time, in any meeting, to tell what Jesus has done for you. On Youtube, you can find a multitude of such: "From Prison to Preacher!," "Gangland to God!"

All of which is wonderful. If -- big if -- you have such a testimony. But woe to you if you were "born in a Christian home" (to use the stock phrase) and have no such testimony. In such cases, one must find whatever tiny aspects of rebellion and sin were manifest in childhood, and out of these fashion the debauchery from which you were then saved.

(Franklin Graham -- son of Billy and Ruth, and a man doing some very admirable work -- is nevertheless one such bad example, in his book Rebel With a Cause).

Even Protestants who give up their faith still cling to the testimony motif. Bart Ehrman, who no longer considers himself a Christian, nevertheless continues the testimony theme in his book God's Problem in which the first several pages are devoted to giving a testimony and then what we might term an anti-testimony.

But famous or not, all Protestants like testimonies. Without a good one, there will be whispered doubts about your salvation. Conversely, the more lurid and debauched your life-before-Jesus, the higher your ranking will go amongst the saved.

things Protestants like: new Bible translations

Protestants don't have a magisterium like Rome or the Eastern churches, so there's no one (except a few hard core preachers) to tell them which Bible to use. (And those hard core preachers are going to tell them to use the KJV. Count on it).

Which means that Protestants are at the mercy of every religious publisher around, and every few years, there'll be a palpable excitement over the New and Latest English Bible translation. We'll be assured by advertising that this will be the definitive translation for English speakers. That is, until the next New and Latest translation comes along 3 years later. It's like a rolling ball.

Protestants collect new Bible translations like some Catholics collect rosaries. And you can count on Serious Protestant Bible students to have a shelf of English translations. Like all fads, the old ones seem kind of quaint. And like bell-bottoms and tie-dyed shirts, the old ones are there to remind us of our foolishness.

Things Protestants like

Along the lines of the blog Stuff White People Like, I was thinking about things Protestants like.

I got to thinking about this after reading a post on a friend's blog. So I'm going to throw out the first one. If you have ideas or things you think Protestants like, let me hear from you.

The first thing -- probably the biggest and for some, an almost defining thing -- is not being Protestant.

Not that they're Roman Catholic. Or Eastern. Or Coptic. Or whatever. The signboard on their church reads "Presbyterian," or "United Methodist," or "Lutheran," or "Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptist." Or whatever.

So you would think they were Protestant. But if you engage theologically oriented Protestants for more than 15 minutes, you will come up with some variant of this:

"Oh, we're like the original, early, primitive church, before it became corrupted." (Sometimes they leave out the "like.")

"Purifying the church from the springs of its primitive life, and raising it besides into a new and higher form," was the way Phillip Schaff (1877) put it. But Protestants never want to claim that they are doing anything different from what St. Paul or St. Priscilla would have done. That would open them to the whinings from Rome that their's is a new church, not the primitive church.

Thus, the first thing Protestants like: not being Protestant. Doesn't make a lot of sense, but some things in this life don't.

Getting rid of books

My wife wants me to get rid of some of my books. It's something she has to say occasionally.

And I always think that there's no way I can get rid of any of my books. They are all essential, and life as we know it would stop without them.

Of course, it's not true. The reality is that we are growing and learning and books that really, really were essential 20 years ago are such no longer. So I'm getting rid of some of them. My rule of thumb is that if I can never see myself reading the book again, there's no reason to keep them.

What I'm troubled thinking about is my Bible concordance. A Bible concordance was an essential for Bible study when I was in college. Mine is keyed to the KJV (one of the reasons I use the KJV almost exclusively is that so many tools are tied into it) and it's an enormous book in which every occurrence of every word (including "a," "the," and "and") in the Bible is provided with the verse references.

But I don't use it anymore. I haven't for years. Because, of course, there are superb concordances online, and in those you can not only search, but refine your search.

And still I hesitate. Because I imagine that some day I might need a book-based concordance. In case of a power outage, for instance.

But on those days when the power is off (I live in North Carolina, and we live with an occasional ice storm with concomitant power line breaks) I'll wait to do my concordance work.

I still don't like reading books on a computer screen, although I think that attitude will seem quaint one day. But study tools such as concordances are made for online work. Getting rid of these books is a good idea.

Becoming aware of our enslavement

"Once we have become aware of our enslavement, and have passed from mere lamentation and a sense of misery into a sense of brokenheartedness and poverty of spirit, our imprisonment in the land of Egypt is answered by the words of the next beatitudes: 'Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted', 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth'. This mourning that is the result of the discovery of the kingdom, of one's own responsibility, of the tragedy of being a slave, is a more bitter mourning than that which is the lot of the simple slave. The slave complains about an outer situation; this mourner, who is blessed by God, does not complain, he is brokenhearted, and he is aware that his outer enslavement is the expression of something far more tragic: his inner enslavement, his severance from the closeness of God. And nothing can be done to escape this situation unless meekness is attained."

Living Prayer, p. 28

The gift of love

"The Wise Men traveled a long way and nobody knows the difficulties they had to overcome. Each of us also travels as they did. They were loaded with gifts, gold for the king, frankincense for the God, myrrh for the man who was to suffer death. Where can we get gold, frankincense and myrrh, we who are indebted for everything to God? We know that everything we possess has been given us by God and is not even ours for ever or with certainty. Everything can be taken away from us except love, and this is what makes love unique and something we can give. Everything else, our limbs, our intelligence, our possessions can be take by force from us, but with regard to love, there is no means of getting it, unless we give it. In that sense we are free with regard to loving, in a way in which we are not free in other activities of soul or body. Although fundamentally even love is a gift of God, because we cannot produce it out of ourselves, yet, once we possess it, it is the only thing we can withhold or offer."

Living Prayer, p. 14

Coming nearer to God

"Coming nearer to God is always a discovery both of the beauty of God and of the distance there is between him and us. 'Distance' is an inadequate word, because it is not determined by the fact that God is holy and that we are sinful. Distance is determined by the attitude to God. We can approach God only if we do so with a sense of coming to judgment. If we come having condemned ourselves; if we come because we love him in spite of the fact that we are unfaithful, if we come to him, loving him more than a godless security, then we are open to him and he is open to us, and there is no distance; the Lord comes close to us in an act of compassionate love. But if we stand before God wrapped in our pride, in our assertiveness, if we stand before him as though we had a right to stand there, if we stand and question him, the distance that separates the creature and the creator becomes infinite."

Living Prayer, p. 10

Kyrie Elieson

Merton on The Jesus prayer

Thomas Merton (+ 10 December 1968) speaking on the Jesus prayer:

The prayer of the children of God

"This is a prayer of sonship -- 'Our Father' -- and in a certain sense, although it may be used by anyone who approaches the Lord, it expresses adequately only the relationship of those who are in the Church of God, who, in Christ, have found their way to the father, because it is only through Christ and in him that we become the sons of God."

Living Prayer, p. 21

The meaning of the excorcism in Baptism

"When the learner is determined to become a free man in the kingdom of the Lord, the Church undertakes certain actions. What would be the good of asking a slave, who is still in the power of his master, whether he wants to be free? If he dares ask for the freedom which is offered, he knows he will be cruelly punished the moment he is left alone again with his master. Through fear and from a habit of slavery, a man cannot ask for freedom until he is delivered from the authority of the devil. Therefore, before any question is asked of the one who stand there, with a new hope in divine salvation, he is made free from the power of Satan. This is the meaning of the exorcisms which are read at the outset of the baptismal service both in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. It is only when a man is free from the bonds of slavery that he is asked if he renounces the devil and if he wants to join Christ. And only after a free answer does the Church integrate him into herself, into the Body of Christ. The devil wants slaves, but God wants free men in harmony of will with him. The evil one in terms was Exodus was Egypt and Pharaoh, and all the values attached to them, namely, to be fed and kept alive, on condition that they were submissive slaves. And for us the act of prayer, which is a more essential, final act of rebellion against slavery than taking up arms, is at the same time a sort of return into our sense of responsibility and relatedness to God."

Living Prayer, by Metropolitan Anthony, pps. 22-23

A deceptively simple guide: a review of Metropolitan Anthony's 'Living Prayer,' from Amazon

Ever read a book in an afternoon, and then wished you hadn't?

I'm talking about the kind of book that you should treasure instead, maybe hoard it for yourself, so you can appreciate it over a longer period of time.

This is a book like that. You'll be tempted to read it quickly (it's 125 pages) but it is full of great and helpful stuff, and what's more, it's the kind of book that's easily read, gently told, and immensely helpful. His discussions of unanswered prayers, and of the role of petitioning in praying were especially helpful. (If you're someone like me who imagined that asking God for something was somehow easier, read his discussion on pages 82 and 83 about how prayers of petition are tests of the reality of our faith).

Jesus taught us to pray, and we never stop learning. No matter where you are along the path, this book will offer help and encouragement in your praying and ultimately in your love for God.

The meaning of repentance

"What does 'become like a child again' mean? Is the point of comparison a child's humility (cf. Matt. 18.4)? Hardly, as we have no parallel from the world of Jesus for the idea that the child is a model of humility. Or is the point of comparison the purity of children? This idea, too, is not current in early Palestinian Judaism. T. W. Manson's suggestion that Matt. 18.3 could have something to do with the use of the address 'Abba' may put us on the right track. That will, in fact, be the solution. 'Become a child again' means: to learn to say 'Abba' again.

This brings us to the heart of the meaning of repentance. Repentance means learning to say 'Abba' again, putting one's whole trust in the heavenly Father, returning to the Father's house and the Father's arms. Luke 15.11-32 provides evidence that this understanding might not be completely wrong. The repentance of the lost son consists in his finding his way home to his father. In the last resort, repentance is simply trusting in the grace of God."

Joachim Jeremias, New Testament Theology, pps. 155-156

Acrytic or gel? Anjelah Johnson's nail salon routine

OK, you've been working hard all week. Here's some comedy to get you started. My wife was clued into Anjelah Johnson's routines this week, and here's a good introduction to her:

Shoot 'em up: the Supreme Court recognizes the right to protect ourselves and guard against tyranny

Not really a theological issue, but I think that today's Supreme Court decision is one of those that may change our lives. And that's a good thing. In one of the few such cases in US legal history, the Supreme Court has defined that the Constitution's 2nd amendment reserves the right of individuals to own and bear guns.

Non-Controversial Church Opens For Potential Presidential Candidates: from Onion radio

For all those would-be presidential candidates, here's a church that won't impede your campaign. : )

Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, June 25: the Collect of the day

“O Lord God, heavenly father, pour our your Holy Spirit on your faithful people, keep them steadfast in your grace and truth, protect and comfort them in all temptation, defend them against all enemies of your Word, and bestow on Christ’s Church Militant your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.”

China's underground churches

China is a vast country (officially, one billion people; more likely, one and a half billion), and there are differences in the way the church is treated in various areas. However, this short video is an enlightening look at some of the persecution Christians are undergoing:

Collect for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist: June 24th

Almighty God, through John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, You once proclaimed salvation. Now grant that we may know this salvation and serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Perceiving the ineffable goodness of God

"Through grace God in His entirety penetrates the saints in their entirety, and the saints in their entirety penetrate God entirely, exchanging the whole of Him for themselves, and acquiring Him alone as the reward of their ascent towards Him; for He embraces them as the soul embraces the body, enabling them to be in Him as His own members…the intellect, because of its freedom from worldly cares, is able to act with its full vigor and becomes capable of perceiving the ineffable goodness of God."

St. Gregory Palamas (1296 – 1359)

The pastor who went to prison

King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband to cover up his sin. Nathan the prophet came to him, to warn him of his sin, and to rebuke him:

"And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die." (2 Sam. 12.7-13)

King David's response was of repentance to life, and Nathan continues to have a place of honor and counsel and continues to preach God's word to his king.

But note the difference in a similar incident, this time in 2 Chronicles 16.7-10a:

"And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing."

Asa responds in fury to the seer's rebuke and places him in prison. There's no repentance.

Both Hanani and Nathan must have trembled at their task. It required them to go before the king of their land and tell him that he had sinned. King David could have responded as King Asa did. But neither Nathan nor Hanani knew the outcome of their visit, but they spoke God's word as He had commanded them.

It's not easy for someone to tell us we've done wrong. We often lash out at those who do. But may God grant us faithful Hananis and Nathans. We need such men to tell us when we've done wrong. It's especially important for those in powerful positions to have such faithful men. But all of us need them. And may God grant them to us.

New book from Repristination Press

Aphorisms
On the New Testament Offices
and their Relationship to the
Congregation—
On the Question of Church’s Polity
(1849)
by Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe
translated by Rev. Dr. John Stephenson
Registrar & Professor of Historical Theology
Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary
St Catharines, Ontario



In June 1993, Repristination Press began its work of publishing the
works of our Lutheran forefathers with a reprint of Löhe’s (or
Loehe’s) Liturgy for Chirstian Congregations of the Lutheran Faith
(selected portions of the third edition of Loehe’sAgende, which had
originally been published in 1902). Now, in connection with the two
hundredth anniversary year of Löhe's birth, and Repristination Press'
fifteenth anniversary year of publication, Repristination Press is
pleased to announce publication of an English translation of Löhe's
1849 Aphorisms.

The 1849 and 1851 Aphorisms constitute Löhe’s two most significant
detailed studies on the Office of the Holy Ministry. Dr. Stephenson’s
translation is the first published English edition of 1849 Aphorisms.

Löhe’s substantial involvement in ministry and mission in the North
America (including founding Concordia Theological Seminary-Fort Wayne
and providing crucial support for American missions) highlight the
importance of his thought for confessional Lutherans. One need not
agree with all of Löhe’s conclusions to acknowledge the importance of
his role in supporting confessional Lutheran theology and practice in
North America and around the world.

Dr. John Stephenson’s excellent translation of this important text
was carried out from the original edition, including Löhe’s footnotes
from the original edition, and additional endnotes by the translator.

99 Pages • Hardcover • $20.00 (plus $3 shipping charge for U.S.
mailing addresses, shipping rate higher elsewhere).

You may order Aphorisms online and pay with Paypal:

www.repristinationpress.com

(go to "Online Orders" and scroll down.)

Or your may order the book by mail (for shipment to U.S. addresses),
sending payment by check or money order for $23 U.S. to:

Repristination Press
P.O. Box 173
Bynum, TX 76631



Rev. James Heiser
Repristination Press
P.O. Box 173
Bynum, TX 76631
hunnius@mac.com

Theology teaching videos on youtube

I haven't seen everything this guy's done, but what I've seen is good. He teaches plainly, carefully, and thoroughly, without being obtuse.

Old Crow Medicine Show - I Hear Them All

Sometimes CMT (Country Music Television) comes through with some really fine pieces that don't get commercial airplay much. Here's one I heard this morning.

Why casting lots is not a good idea

When problems happen with church officials (as they always will -- those folks are sinners like the rest of us), someone will invariably suggest that instead of electing officials, we should cast lots (draw straws, flip coins, whatever).

They give the example of Matthias, who was selected by lot to take the place of Judas, who had forfeited his apostleship by betraying our Lord.

And the Apostles were right to do this. However, just a couple of chapters later, when the first deacons were selected, we find the church "choosing" those who would take that office. Presumably by vote or consensus, but choosing, nonetheless.

What was the difference? The first event occurred in Acts 1.21-26:

"Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."

Note the words: "shew whether of these two thou hast chosen." In other words, the purpose of the lots was to determine a choice which God had already made. Even in the midst of the lots process, criteria (a witness of the resurrection who had been with the Apostles from the time of John's baptism) were used.

The event in Acts 6 -- which I'd argue is the more relevant for our discussions about churchly officials -- is different. Men were needed for a task in the church. They were to be the first deacons, and I'd also argue that they were thereby trained to be pastors. The Jerusalem church was given direction by the Apostles: "look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom," and choose from such. We're not even told that the Apostles had a say in the process: the men chosen were simply set before them.

Likewise, in I Timothy 3, St. Paul counsels Timothy about the qualifications of pastors and deacons (3.1-13). Timothy is to take such criteria, and use them to choose out those who will lead the congregations.

To be honest, the whole idea of lots is usually well-intentioned, but not a good idea. God has given us abilities, intelligence, and has charged us with doing certain things. We are not Manicheans, who believe that we're somehow rocks that God just throws. We are, to use St. Paul's words, "workers together with [Christ]" (II Cor. 6.1) and we have a responsibility to use our abilities well. And that sometimes includes choosing. We should not try to be holier than God. God has commanded us, not to flip coins, but to make rational, conscious decisions, informed by God's word and the church.

I'm not making a law here. If you're in a 3 man committee, and everyone's equally qualified, there's no problem with drawing straws to see who will serve as chairman. But serving in leadership positions in God's church is important, and we should, whenever possible, use those most qualified. We might wish that God would magically inform us whom we should pick, but that's not the way God operates. Use your abilities and choose. It's God's plan.

The first protest in the LCMS

I'm continuing to listen to this series, which I recommended earlier. I was intrigued by something Wohlrabe mentions in this video: the first time there was a protest in the LCMS:

When McCain Drops Out

A fascinating piece here on the question: what happens if McCain leaves the race?

Redeemer's 50th anniversary

Whew.

A mildly exhausting weekend. But all to good purpose.

My congregation (Redeemer LCMS, Burlington, NC) celebrated our 50th anniversary this weekend, with a dinner/reception last night, and a celebratory service today. We rejoiced to have a number of former members and pastors in for the weekend, and stayed up late last night catching up. That's a good tired to have. : )

Wohlrabe: Restoring Unity in the LCMS

This series (10 videos) is a good history of the LCMS, and the controversies that plague the synod now. (The guy who introduces Dr. Wohlrabe is, shall we say, long-winded. You might want to fast forward to the middle of the first video to get to the speaker).

Why nothing will change in January

Eric Heatherly's music

I've been a fan of roots country music since about 1980, but I find that I listen to commercial country stations less and less. My complaint is that such stations play a routinized genre, calculated to appeal to a mostly female, middle-aged crowd. The music's without the edge that characterizes a genre's beginnings. Which is only appropriate: country music's mainstream appeal has moved -- literally and figuratively -- into middle age.

Here's an interesting and perhaps harder to classify country musician, Eric Heatherly. He doesn't get much commercial airplay, but he plays a music that still has some sharp edges. May his numbers increase.

Jesus' baptism -- and ours

Jeremias, New Testament Theology, p. 55-56:

"Be that as it may, it is clear that Jesus attached supreme authority to the moment of his baptism. The puzzling and, by that token, early pericope Mark 11.27-33 par. is evidence of that. Jesus is asked about the basis of his authority. His counter-question, whether the baptism of John was or was not from God (v. 30) is hardly an evasion, a move by which Jesus seeks to avoid a direct answer. Now if his counter-question is meant seriously, it means: ' My authority rests on John's baptism', and that again will mean in concrete terms: 'My authority rests on what happened when I was baptized by John'."

Jeremias: The meaning of Matt. 11.27

I'm currently reading Joachim Jeremias' New Testament Theology, and I'll be periodically passing some choice pieces.

Jeremias is almost always thought-provoking and interesting.

"As we saw, Matt. 11.27 par. Luke 10.22 is a four-line stanza. The first line introduces the them: 'My Father has given me all things'. [This] is a technical term for the transmission of doctrine, knowledge and holy lore. Thus [this] like vs. 25, designates the mystery of revelation, and the first line means: 'My Father has given me a full revelation'."

The Portable Professor series

I don't like the term "monetizing time."

It's one of those unfortunate, sad terms that you still hear from time to time, and though I understand (or think I do) what the writer's trying to say, it simply isn't true, because contrary to the popular American expression, time isn't money, so you can't "monetize" it. You can only hope to make good use of it.

And incidentally, goofing off is sometimes a very good use of time. But I digress.

I do a lot of driving with my work. And while I like to drive, I also like to learn, and I've sought to find ways to use that time for learning. One I've recently discovered is the Portable Professor series, available from Barnes and Noble.

I bought one to try it out: Foundations of Western Thought. It's good.

Judging from the one I've been listening to so far, I think these are an improvement over those from The Teaching Company. The Teaching Company's stuff, while good, has a whiff of pomposity about them, and little things such as triumphalistic music intros and canned applause tracks at the beginning and end of lectures (as if Americans applauded when professors speak)are sort of silly, to be frank.

The world's first church

"Archeology is our voyage to the past, where we discover who we were and therefore who we are."

Camille Paglia

For Christians, here's a not small step on that voyage to the past: the world's first church, dating from about 33-70 A.D.

Why a speaker at the National Right to Life convention can besmirch who we are and what we do

What's wrong with this picture?

Plenty.

One of the things that's beautiful about the right to life movement is that it's so selfless.

Nobody's there to make money. (In fact, an astonishingly large number of people work long hours for no pay at all. I know of one state's RTL affiliate who works this like it's a full-time job. Only without pay. Compare that to the lobbyists on K Street).

And honestly, nobody's there to get a lot of political clout. For 99% of politicians, right-to-lifers are an embarrassment. They're happy to have us out of the way.

Rove is the Bobby Baker of our generation, a slick political operative who has manuvered George Bush to where he is today.

And where he is involves an administration that has done -- despite loud promises -- next to nothing for the right to life.

Lots of Americans -- my wife included -- held their noses and voted for Bush in 2004 "because of the Supreme Court." What we got was Chief Justice John Roberts who said that Roe v. Wade is the "settled law of the land."

Having Rove speak at a National Right to Life convention is an embarrassment to a movement that has worked long and hard to secure a fundamental right for the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly, among others. Having him speak makes our movement look like just another special group, lining up for a place at the trough.

I understand that working in Washington sometimes involves political associations that are less than ideal. For instance, the Right to Life PAC has endorsed John McCain for president, a man whose loathing for us is well-known. But I respect that sometimes endorsements must be made that might not be made under better circumstances.

But having Rove speak is quite another thing. It would be better to have no speaker than to have this weasel give an address. There's still time to dis-invite him.

How we talk: an Amazon review of Steven Pinker's 'The Language Instinct'

"We all talk. (Some of us more than others). But all humans -- barring a problem such as deafness -- talk. Even our deaf friends talk by means of a complicated language of visual signs.

And Steven Pinker tells this story, the story of human language, and why it's so essential a part of our humanity, well. Following Chomsky, he posits a universal language structure, an innate part of our being who we are, and how small children grow quickly into complex grammatical and syntactical structures.

And for the most part, this is a good read. My only complaint is that on occasions, Dr. Pinker waxes a bit too eloquent, telling more information than is needed for the argument, giving pages and pages of examples when one or 2 would do. But this is a good introduction to the whole question of why and how we talk, and by inference how we think."

The Real McCain

How to tell if it's a human culture

Donald E. Brown is an American anthropologist who's done interesting work on the theory that there are universals within human culture: aspects which every human culture has. Brown's work points out that in every culture, for example, there are differentiated gender roles (such as sex differences in spatial cognition and behavior, and division of labor by sex).

In the 1970s, there were those who argued that feminism would bring on an age in which, for example, women would play professional football. Such ideas are so idiotic that it's difficult to believe that anyone thought it true, but there are those who still believe them. But there are universals that hold true. We can tinker with the edges of human culture, but most things remain the same, through both geography and time.

"They didn't understand how much politics has changed since the 1990s. They were slow to use the Internet ... "

This is an interesting analysis. While its subject is the failure of the Clinton campaign, it has lessons for church bodies.

Church bodies that feel that they are "inevitable," or that they have some kind of lock on a constituency are usually wrong. Honestly, I'm not sure there's a lot to do to repair some of these groups. There's a whiff of decay about them, they feel almost retro, as though they were operating in 1989. And usually, the things they feel are ever so current are dated beyond belief. My favorite story of this nature was an LCMS pastor who sought to bring in what he thought were "contemporary hymns." One he suggested as contemporary was in reality written in the 1890s, and the hymn-writer was killed when she was thrown from a buggy in 1896 when a horse bolted. But in the same way that we are often suspicious of those who loudly proclaim their morality, it's not wrong to be suspicious of those who proclaim how contemporary they are. They usually aren't. The quote I gave above is symptomatic: the Clinton campaign didn't know how to use the net. Her staffers -- and her voters -- were old. Church groups that are dying usually can't use the net. Their members, too, are likely to be old and dying.

The end of the primary season

Whew. The primary season of the 2008 presidential race is finally -- officially -- over. The reality is that it's been over for several months, but poor, delusional Sen. Clinton has dragged this out until now for reasons best known to her.

I don't agree with Sen. Obama and won't vote for him. (I'll be voting for Libertarian Bob Barr in November). But this is a moment for the history books: the first time an American of African ancestry has headed up a major party ticket. America tends to view ethnic groups differently after someone from that group has won the presidency (think John Kennedy as the first Irish-American in 1960) and this is that moment for black Americans. The race issue will never again be a big deal in electoral politics. I'm glad for that.

Most of us are tired of this race. It's been going on for years, and won't be over for another 9 months. My wife and I are celebrating our 30th anniversary next week, and I joked that we should celebrate by visiting New Hampshire, where there are probably pols already hanging out in diners, pimping for the 2012 presidential race. But given the way the US system is set up, there's no way to avoid such long-range running. The only way to remedy it would be a change to a parliamentary system, where the date of the race is only known a few weeks to months in advance.

But that's not happening. So we'll endure this one until November. But life goes on apart from -- and in spite of -- electoral politics. It's always worth remembering that almost all of the important things in life happen apart from politics. Politicians fail to realize that. We must not.

Systematic theology: a Reformed course

I don't always agree with my Reformed brethren, but I appreciate what's being done here to provide a good, systematic, and scholarly theology course on youtube. I hope that other Christian traditions will provide similar courses.

Visible and invisible

Visible doesn't always mean visible.

When I speak about the "visible church," I'm using "visible" to broadly say that the church is "accessible to sense perception."

Which means that the people of God can be seen. That the flesh of Christ is eaten. The blood of Christ drunk. We can hear the word of God preached, hear the word of forgiveness, and speak that word.

Of course, as Luther spoke well (especially in his Lectures on Galatians the church is "hidden." I know that among the people of God I see are hypocrites and false believers. I know that the body of Christ is hidden under the bread. That the blood is hidden under the wine.

And faith is always required to know the reality of the church. We don't confess that we "see" the church, we confess that we "believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church." Because while the church isn't invisible, it's also not something that we can know without faith. Because ultimately, like all doctrine, it's revealed to us. It's like there's a curtain hiding the reality, and God pulls the curtain back. Matthew 16.17: "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."

Trying to make the church invisible only splits the one church into 2, one invisible, which we try to view as perfect, without sinners, without schisms, without faults, and the average, every Sunday get-together which we call church, but imagine it isn't, where there are preachers who occasionally do bad sermons, annoying Sunday school teachers, people who teach false doctrine, and sinners.

But the church is one. One church. God shows us some of it, and the rest remains hidden. But still there. And like all faith, it's a gift. Rejoice in that gift, and rejoice in the reality of the one church God has given to us.

Collect for St. Justin Martyr's day, June 1st

God our Redeemer,
who through the folly of the cross taught your martyr Justin
the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ:
remove from us every kind of error
that we, like him, may be firmly grounded in the faith,
and make your name known to all peoples;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The sad end of feminism

In a way, it's not fair to give this woman as an example. Her candidate has lost, and she's mad. But I give this clip as an example of the final, personal result of feminism. This woman represents a lot of women her age: embittered, sad, and nasty, and ideological feminism is the cause. Clinton's failed campaign is no longer a campaign, it's a bellwether for people like this as to their adequacy as human beings. This is an example of why I've said that Clinton's campaign has really done a disservice for other women running for office: Clinton has basically rode her husband's coattails for her entire career. She's no feminist, at least in the Susan Anthony/Elizabeth Cady Stanton tradition. And behavior such as her New Hampshire crying incident was a perfect example of how not to campaign: she's seeking to be the commander in chief of the US military, and she cries on camera (a staged incident, I'd argue), reinforcing the fear that some Americans have that a woman can't do the job. Clinton has set the cause of women running for office back years, and yet people like this view her as an exemplar of feminism. It's really sad.

"Seeing is believing," and other fallacies

One of the philosophical legacies Americans carry around in our mental baggage is a Lockean "common sense" construct.

A favored offshoot of that is the phrase "seeing is believing." Which generally means that we view ourselves as hard-bitten realists, and that we believe nothing until we've seen clear, convincing evidence for it.

And taken to logical conclusions, such a view is death to the Christian faith. Fortunately, most of us are inconsistent. Even though we pretend that seeing is believing, we act otherwise.

St. John of Damascus was blessed to have lived and thought before common sense philosophy came into being. His hymn The Day of Resurrection spoke a different way (verse 2, LSB):

"Let hearts be purged of evil, That we may see aright,
The Lord in rays eternal, of resurrection light
And, list'ning to His accents, May hear so calm and plain,
His own 'All hail!' and, hearing, May raise the victor strain."

Note the sequence: our hearts are purged from evil, which enables us to see. "Seeing is believing" works -- but only in the most technical, material senses. "Seeing is believing" (like Occam's razor) is death to any religious faith, Christian or otherwise. The reality is that in the most important things in life, we believe and then -- because we have been given the gift of believing, of trusting -- we see the reality of God and the creation.

The latest 9/11 film

Films such as Flight 93 and World Trade Centre tell the government-sponsored 9/11 story. Severe Visibility tells the story from another angle, posing some of the questions that have dogged the history of the 9/11 events from day one:

3 Cheers for Wal-Mart

When people think about helping the poor with rising food costs, they tend to think of either governmental programs (such as food stamps) or charities: things like soup kitchens or Meals on Wheels.

The reality is that the entity that probably does more for helping feed the poor is one which does it for what some view as the basest of motives: profit. It's your friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart. In the midst of skyrocketing food costs (much of it caused by misguided programs such as ethanol production) Wal-Mart is seeking to keep prices low. Which helps the poor, and all of us:

Wal-Mart puts the squeeze on food costs

Fear not

When I say -- as I did below -- that people need to begin planning a strategy for leaving the LCMS, please don't imagine that this is something recent. It's not.

I've been thinking this way for several years. All of which is to say that those who begin thinking this way should expect opposition. Often from those who agree with them.

Some people do not like change. For them, change in itself is a scary thing, and for them, this might be a very monumental change.

Others are afraid. Fear is a huge part of human life, and that's why there are so many admonitions in the scriptures such as "Fear not!," or "Be not afraid!"

When we are scared, we sometimes lash out. We sometimes strike at those we love, those we care for, those we agree with.

If you are pondering leaving, be prepared for those who are afraid. And be prepared for the reactions which may have nothing to do with you or what you are doing. In such a circumstance, you are merely a living example of something these folks fear.

Be kind to them. Explain what you are doing, and why. Return good for evil. Love them. And most of all, pray for them. Your job is not to rant about leaving the LCMS. Your job is love them as members of the body of Christ, and to treat them as you would treat our Savior. It's the hardest job. And the most important one you'll ever do.

Why stay?

Ever went to bed on Sunday night thinking you needed a vacation?

I know pastors sometimes do. One or more services, probably teaching an adult class, maybe confirmation, and maybe a shut-in visit. Just a lot to do.

And it's not just pastors. Lay members (especially in smaller congregations) do a lot, too: Sunday school, hospitality stuff. All of the ordinary, day-to-day, wonderful faithfulness that -- humanly speaking -- makes the church work.

Which is to say that there's a lot to keep us busy.

But we are often more tired by the psychological jobs. A stressful encounter with someone who gets on our nerves. A nagger. Arguments with your spouse.

I think the psychological aspects of remaining in the LCMS are sometimes underestimated. Dealing with the crud on a day-to-day basis is tough. Which is one of the reasons I encourage a measured, thought-out plan to leave affiliation with such an organization: because staying is more stressful than most imagine.

Leaving is just that, leaving. It's not a divorce, it's not (in itself) sinful, it's not wrong. It's just leaving. We shouldn't make it any more complex than it is.

I wish there could be a meeting of all sides (there are many: old-time libs, confessionals, conservatives, church growthers, "old Missouri," and charismatics)and we could just smile at one another, and say, "You know, this isn't working. Let's agree to separate everything out, and 2 years from Tuesday, we'll divide with a friendly handshake."

But that's not going to happen. Leaving is not consigning those who remain to outer darkness. One doesn't even have to judge or condemn those who don't. It's just leaving. It's that simple.

Is the LCMS an orthodox church body?

A friendly comment was added to my post earlier this morning, which asked:

"Which group of Christians has public confession more faithful to the Word of God than the LCMS?"

OK, I'm going to challenge that.

The LCMS has a public (that is, formal) confession. The question is not whether the LCMS has a proper formal confession, but whether that confession is a reality in the LCMS.

I cite the LCMS' own confession, in the Brief Statement of 1932:

"The orthodox character of a church is established not by its mere name nor by its outward acceptance of, and subscription to, an orthodox creed, but by the doctrine which is actually taught in its pulpits, in its theological seminaries, and in its publications."

This is how the LCMS itself says we are to determine the orthodox nature of a church body: by both outward acceptance of an orthodox creed, and also by the doctrine which is actually taught. By this -- a standard which the LCMS has set forth -- is the LCMS faithful to the word of God?

When all varieties of services -- including "clown ministry,", "contemporary worship," and self-written liturgies -- are extant within the LCMS, is the LCMS an orthodox church body?

When virtually anything (including -- in my personal experience -- unitarianism) can be taught with impunity in LCMS pulpits, is the LCMS an orthodox church body?

When self-composed creeds are used in LCMS congregation services, is the LCMS an orthodox church body?

The question isn't whether the LCMS is the "most orthodox." Orthodoxy isn't a relative thing; one is, or one isn't.

Again, from the Brief Statement:

"Since God ordained that His Word only,
without the admixture of human doctrine, be taught and believed in
the Christian Church, 1 Pet. 4:11; John 8:31, 32; 1 Tim. 6: 3, 4, all
Christians are required by God to discriminate between orthodox
and heterodox church-bodies, Matt. 7:15, to have church-fellowship
only with orthodox church-bodies, and, in case they have strayed
into heterodox church-bodies, to leave them, Rom. 16:17."

The reality is that the LCMS -- like many others -- is a heterodox church body. The further problem is that the LCMS is not teachable, not changeable, and that the more heterodox faction has been -- 3 times -- confirmed as the dominant faction in the LCMS.

Those who want to remain and fight within the LCMS are welcome to do so. But they should do asking themselves these questions:

1. Has any church body ever been "turned around"?

2. And if they can't think of one, why is the LCMS different? What makes us think the LCMS is going to turn around?

3. Do the votes in LCMS conventions in 2001, 2004, and 2007 indicate that the orthodox Lutherans are somehow the "real" LCMS?

4. Finally, by "staying and fighting" are we going against the explicit command of Romans 16.17?

The 3 options available for those in the LCMS

If you recognize that the LCMS is dysfunctional, you have 3 options.

The first is to stay and be angry.

Such people know things are bad, and they are continually hit with new things, usually worse than before. So they become angry. And there's this bitter, nasty edge that coats their ecclesiastical dealings with anger.

The second option is, bluntly, to become a poodle. A poodle knows things are wretched, but remains, begging for treats from those now running the LCMS. And they are occasionally rewarded. What's sad is that such people usually become apologists for the errors, nastiness, and corrupt individuals who are in LCMS offices.

Either of these options stains our souls.

The final option is to leave. I'm not sure why this is considered so complicated. The LCMS is not the church. As I've said before, it's the ecclesiastical equivalent of resigning from the Rotary Club. Leaving doesn't mean you have to be gone in 2 days. But it does mean saying, "I'm on my way out, and I'm actively working toward that."

When I was in college, I had friends who were Methodists, who were concerned about the direction of the United Methodists. They were active in the "Good News" movement, which sought to reclaim what they saw as a more historic Methodist heritage.

But all of this was with the realization that they would work within the UMC and now -- some 30 years later -- nothing has changed in the UMC. Rather, things are far worse.

And these people have stayed.

And they have been taught error.

So have their children.

And grandchildren. Not to mention others who have remained in the UMC because of these folks' example.

The same scenario is happening in the LCMS.

There is no limit to what will be done if people realize you won't, under any circumstances, leave.

Which of the 3 options will we take?

Alex in London: the first letter

Note a couple of things: first, she flew business class. I didn't pay for that, although given the price of air travel this summer, what I paid for her to fly economy might have bought a business class ticket before America made some bad life choices in 2000. (It's a Simpson's joke). Alex -- like her brother Matt -- have figured out how to get into business class without paying, and I understand -- though I don't want all the details -- that it involves flirting with a flight attendant of the opposite gender. Also, for those of English extraction (you have been warned) you might want to skip this, as Alex (though of Irish, Scots, German, Italian, and Greek ancestry) has inherited the Italian antipathy for the English. Since the English share a similar antipathy for the Italians, I guess it's only fair.

"Dear Mom and Dad,
My layover in London is more than halfway complete. It’s 2:23 am in
Burlington (you’re tucked in tight) and it is 7:23 am in London. I’m
managing for the time being, considering that I absolutely conked out
on not 1, but 2, flights. It’s fairly easy to do from the bulkhead of
business class. When I woke up to land, I was dreaming that there was a
wolf in front of me on the plane and I refused to wake up and run from
it. I guess that’s how I felt. Anyway, British Airways seems to have
stepped up from mildly from our last experience flying with them. The
appearance of the British, however, has not. I flew in front of one of
possibly one of the most unattractive flat-faced woman I have ever
seen. So far, my travel has really been flawless. I’ve managed to find
my way and was only frisked once. I’m curious to find out what airport
security thinks I can hide underneath a white cotton skirt and tube
top. Also, while taking a tram to another terminal in Boston I had the
aching fear that perhaps I was supposed to pick-up my checked luggage
and re-check it. The concierge reassured me, but I just kept imagining
myself being responsible for my own lost luggage.
I hope y’all had a safe trip to Burlington from the airport. I was
relieved that there were no tears at the airport. A month goes by
quickly, probably at lightning speed for me. While I’m awake during travel, I’ve been
re-reading my high school graduation gift from Katie, Through Painted
Deserts, by Donald Miller. “It’s interesting how sometimes you have to
leave home before you can ask the difficult questions, how the
questions never come up in the room you grew up in, in the town which
you were born. It’s funny how you can’t ask difficult questions in a
familiar place, how you have to stand back a few feet and see things in
a new way before you realize nothing that is happening to you is
normal.” All my love to each of you and the family,
Alex"

"My mouth is too full to talk"

I mentioned last week that my daughter Alex is doing study abroad in Florence. (Italy, not South Carolina).

And the wonders of email: her latest missive.

"Dear mom and dad,

I am finally getting to access the internet at our student point (aka
union). I am still figuring out these keyboards though, so stay with
me. I hope all is well at home and tell everyone I send my love. I went
to the Buboli gardens yesterday and experienced some really amazing
views of Florence.

I had my first class this morning and it was really good. Pretty much
everyone has never painted before and the teacher is really excited.
Also, we had to purchase about 150 euros of art supplies. I put it on
the credit card, but just so you know, it was a ton of stuff. I will
bring it all home and I am sure it will continue to contribute to my
artistic success. I also signed up for an optional cooking class. It
was 240 euros that I put on the card, but I also am only going on 3
excursions, because I found out I actually only had 3 weekends instead
of 4 (the first weekend here does not really count). The final word on
money is that Florence is not as credit card friendly as I had hoped,
especially for food. I tried to use credit to buy my lunch today and
the woman looked at me like I was trying to barter with rusty treasure.
I am going to the grocery store later today and will probably start
packing my lunch. It is a lot easier. You do not need to worry about my
cash though, the cash you put in my account for the extra excursion
should cover the food. I will let you know when I want you to transfer
more money from my savings to checking.

But speaking of food, it is truly amazing. What are the rules for
flying and bringing back food? The prosciutto is heavenly, the cheese
is amazing, the gelatto is, dare I say it, better than corona, and the
wine is the best I have ever had.

I have intro to italian at 1 and I am excited to finally learn to not
be an American moron in this city. I must be off to that, but I will be
back in touch later. Feel free to call me at any time.

Ciao,
Alex"

Where does the one hour service come from?

One hour Sunday services are almost universal in American Christianity.

Almost. Go to a Russian Orthodox or a black church service -- to give 2 examples -- and you might find a place that goes on for hours.

But the more mainstream an American church (or rather, how much they are in contact with the liturgical trends that culminated in Vatican II), the more likely they are to adhere to a one-hour-and-no-more routine. And woe to the pastor who goes over that hour! The wrath can be pretty acute.

What I'm wondering is where this rule comes from. We have -- in most services -- clipped even the least amount of silence from the service, since that's usually seen as a useless artifact that might needlessly prolong the service past an hour.

We are far more conscious of exact time than our ancestors would have been. Such things as jet travel, chemical studies, and a whole lot else require exact times, and close chronologies.

But I'm baffled by why we need such exactitude in church. Reducing the Mass to an hour limits the number and length of hymns we can see, feeds the Western desire to avoid redundancy in the service, shortens the length of Psalms used, and requires a shortened sermon.

None of which is bad in itself. But I wonder if the overall result of our one-hour-Mass is a lessening of our receiving of the gifts. I'm especially intrigued by the loss of redundancy in the Mass. In this book Catherine Pickstock works on the assumptions that underlie the West's loss of redundancy in the Mass over the last 100 years, a movement that sped quickly and permeated most of the Western communions after Vatican II.

Good things sometimes take time. Our fathers in the faith may have understood this better than we, and our obsession with foreshortening the liturgy given to us by them to bring us God's gifts may prove to have been a mistake.

SAY not the struggle naught availeth,

SAY not the struggle naught availeth,
The labor and the wounds are vain,
The enemy faints not, nor faileth,
And as things have been they remain.

If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars;
It may be, in yon smoke concealed,
Your comrades chase e'en now the fliers,
And, but for you, possess the field.

For while the tired waves, vainly breaking,
Seem here, no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.

And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light,
In front, the sun climbs slow, how slowly,
But westward, look, the land is bright.

Arthur Hugh Clough

Paglia: Hillary Clinton's candidacy has done feminism no favours

"When the dust settles over the 2008 election, will Hillary Clinton have helped or hindered women's advance toward the US presidency?

Right now, Hillary is in Godzilla mode, refusing to accept Barack Obama's looming nomination and threatening to tie the Democratic party in legal knots until the August convention and beyond."

Keith Olbermann on Clinton's nasty remarks

Olbermann will be remembered 50 years from now for his courage in speaking out for the last terrible 8 years. His comments last night about Clinton are right on the button. It's in 2 parts:

Crazy Clinton and the assassination comments

I'm finally glad to see the American left getting disgusted at the Clintons.

The right has found them repulsive for years: the lying, the conniving, the sheer audacity of 2 people who would do anything needed to advance their own personal agenda.

Now the left has seen the reality, too: that this whole crusade has nothing whatsoever to do with social justice, or any of the other things that the left thought were the reason they were in Washington. No, it's just about getting them in -- or back in -- to power. Clinton's husband, who gloried in the audacious idea that he was the "first Black president" is now seen with his wife for what they are. Lots of commentators on the left have said it well in the last 24 hours: here's just one who said it especially well.

Reading and thought

We glean knowledge by reading, but we separate the grain
from the chaff by thought.

Myrtilla Morrell

How to master the English Bible

In my friend William Weedon's blog, there's been a discussion in the last day or so about Bible knowledge among Lutherans. He laments the state of that knowledge and suggests that our Baptist or Presbyterian brethren might be better. The reality is that the state of Bible knowledge in almost every confession is abysmal. I think the ignorance is a result of many factors, and it's one that will not be cured easily. But in the meantime, we can begin the cure: for ourselves as individuals and for those we teach: children, grandchildren, Sunday school students, whatever. The reality is that the Bible -- while a fairly large library -- is not that complicated, and not that hard to grasp. Trust me: people far more ignorant than us have learned it, and so can we.

Here's a book I'd recommend. I can't recommend everything in it -- Gray was a dispensationalist, and I strongly disagree with their mode of interpreting certain scriptural passages. But there's a lot of good here: How to Master the English Bible

Why preachers need to preach -- and not give lectures

I was listening to an interview today with a woman whose father was a preacher. And she spoke about the powerful sermons he gave every Sunday. Sermons about social justice, about the needs of the poor, and about the downtrodden.

And all of these things are very, very important. It's just that they are not what we should remember about preaching.

I've mentioned that I think that writing down sermons is sometimes problematic. Because there's a great temptation to provide an eloquent address, to give a thoughtful theological lecture, to speak to Current Events.

There's a tradition in the Primitive Baptist churches that sermons should not be written down. At all. The one preaching meditates on the passage he's chosen, thinks about it, ponders it, prays about it, and stands to preach, and hopes that the Holy Spirit will speak through him as he preaches.

And maybe there's wisdom in that. Preaching the gospel in catholic Christianity involves using the pericopes given to us. And it means using those texts, preaching those texts, explicating those texts (and primarily the gospel pericope) to the hearers.

Such a sermon will not be a religious lecture. It may speak about the poor, it may treat of social justice issues, it may address or be about the downtrodden. It may even address current events. But we should trust the Holy Spirit to have an applicable text for when the text is needed.

Giving religious lectures can be easy. The preacher can deal with issues he's concerned about. But he can also become a nag, a scold, a ranter about an issue of concern to him.

St. Paul (Acts 20.27) said that he had "not shunned to declare all the counsel of God." Giving religious lectures -- even needed religious lectures -- is not the way to do that. Instead, preach the gospel. St. Paul counseled St. Timothy thus: "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." (I Timothy 4.2) Luther's example here is a very good one. He often just went through, verse by verse, explaining, teaching, correcting by the text. We could do far worse than that, and those who listen would have the whole counsel of God. What's to be preached is not the preacher's counsel, but God's. Remembering that is a good thing.

Off to Italy

I started using the net in 1994. Which makes me -- for my age -- a fairly advanced user. But some things still astonish me.

My daughter Alex is going to Florence, Italy today for a month for study abroad. Which involves leaving Raleigh, flying to Boston, hanging out in Logan for 2 hours, flying to London, hanging out there for 4 hours, flying to Rome, taking a shuttle train to downtown Rome to Stazione Termini, and taking a train to Florence. All this with jet lag. Whew.

The school suggested leaving the Florence train station on the southeast side, and taking a bus. But I was curious: how far was the school (where she has to pick up the keys to the apartment where she'll be staying) from the train station? I've been in Florence -- I know how narrow are the streets, and how slow can be the buses. I thought there might be a map.

What I hadn't expected was that Google maps would have Italy on them. So I googled the train station address, and got directions.

Turns out the distance from the station to the school is .3 kilometers. Or slightly less than 2/10 of a mile. Walkable, that is.

The net isn't perfect, and there's a lot of pretty nasty stuff out there. But as I have pointed out before, what the net does is free us up. Alex could have gone to the effort of finding the right bus, made sure she had the 1.2 euros in exact change, and made certain she got off at the right stop. It would have taken a while. This way she will (probably wearily) drag her bags the 984 feet, and save some time. And probably some aggravation, to boot.

Why the West surpassed Russia in early modern history

As quoted (p. 112) in Fearful Majesty: The Life and Reign of Ivan the Terrible:

"If we consider the amount of time and resources spent upon this grim and exhausting struggle [against the Tartars], we shall have no need to ask ourselves what the Russian people were doing when the West was progressing rapidly in industry, in social life, in the arts and sciences, and in trade ... Fate set the Russian nation at the Eastern gate of Europe and for centuries it spent its forces in withstanding the pressure of Asiatic hordes while Western Europe turned to the New World beyond the seas ... Outpost service, however, is everywhere thankless, and soon forgotten, especially when it has been efficiently carried out. The more alert the guard, the sounder the slumbers of the guarded, and the less disposed the sleepers to value the sacrifices which have been made for their repose."

Russian historian V. O. Klyuchevsky, 1841-1911

The creation of the world, and the beginning of school

From Fearful Majesty, by Benson Bobrick:

"A Note on Names and Dates

All dates are according to the Julian or Old Style calendar in use in Western Europe until 1582. Sixteenth-century Russians celebrated their New Year on September 1 and based their calendar on the date of the creation of the world, which they placed in 5508 B.C."

I've just begun this book, but this little note at the beginning intrigues me.

I have puzzled for several years over why there seems to be an almost universal "school-beginning" around the first of September. In every culture I've seen that has an organized school system, this holds.

The explanation usually given is that agricultural economies needed a summer off so children could help with crops.

Which doesn't hold on 2 levels. First, if that were true, it would make far more sense to place a school vacation into the Fall, when most crops are harvesting. And secondly, this also holds in cultures that are not agriculturally based.

The Mongolian culture is one I'm familiar with. The Mongols -- like virtually everyone else -- begin school in the Fall, and end in late Spring. But the Mongols have never been an agricultural economy. They were traditionally nomadic, and even today, there's a significant portion of the Mongol population that still lives in gers and moves around according to the needs of their animals.

So whence the near-ubiquity of a late summer-early Fall school beginning? Maybe our 16th century Russians give us a clue. I wonder if there's a cultural memory of a creation date, a memory that perhaps led our forefathers to begin important stuff -- such as learning -- around the time they remembered for the beginning of the world.

(Which would help to explain another, somewhat unrelated, question: why there's such opposition to year-round schools, even in very non-agricultural settings. This is not saying that such operations are wrong, but it's interesting to note with what little enthusiasm such school calendars are embraced. North Carolina even dealt with it by legislation. School officials had kept moving the begin date for school further back -- close to the first of August -- and were moving the school year's close date further out, usually until the 3rd or 4th week of June. Now -- by law -- public schools in NC cannot begin before August 25, and must close by June 10).

The big picture in 2008: more from Peggy Noonan

"Big picture, May 2008:

The Democrats aren't the ones falling apart, the Republicans are. The Democrats can see daylight ahead. For all their fractious fighting, they're finally resolving their central drama. Hillary Clinton will leave, and Barack Obama will deliver a stirring acceptance speech. Then hand-to-hand in the general, where they see their guy triumphing. You see it when you talk to them: They're busy being born.

The Republicans? Busy dying."

From the last words of David

"But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding."

I Chronicles 29.14-15

How a water fountain can lie

Ever been really, really thirsty, and spotted a water fountain? You go to the fountain, press the button, and ... well, nothing happens. The fountain is broken, disconnected, whatever. The fountain lied to you. It promised something it didn't give.

I mentioned yesterday the archaic English word "leasing," used in Psalms 4 and 5 in the AV, translating the Hebrew kazabh. The general meaning is loose, lying, or deceitful.

Isaiah 58.11 is an interesting use of kazabh. The thrust of the verse is the same as our water fountain above, and it's a picture of a spring in the desert, and a traveler who comes upon the spring, and the spring has no water. It lies, deceives, tells us something's there that's not.

On ceremonies

With graduation festivities over, we can return to normal life. And give thanks for graduations: for what a graduation entails, and what it says to us about the one graduating.

I know someone who argues that graduation ceremonies aren't important. He says you still have the degree, you still get the diploma, so why bother?

It's because ceremonies are important. We mark the Big Changes in life by ceremonies: births, Baptisms, graduations, weddings, even death.

It's like that in church. We don't "have to" have ceremonies to receive God's love. We don't "have to" sing to praise God. But we do.

Why? Because a ceremony tells us something important is going on. And of all the big things in life, receiving God's gifts is the most important. The ceremonies are times of joy for receiving those gifts, and publicly recognizing that we're receiving them.

Destroying those who speak leasing

The AV translation of Psalms 4 and 5 use an archaic English word to translate the Hebrew word kazabh.

Psalm 4.2: "How long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing?"

Psalm 5.6: "Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing."

The general meaning of "leasing" in this context is " loose, false, or deceitful," and it's related to the suffix "-less" (as in "meaningless") and "loose."

Another interesting related meaning is that from Scots (not Scotch: "Scotch" is a beverage) law: " the uttering of lies or libels upon the personal character of the sovereign, his court, or his family."

Graduation weekend

My posting may be a bit less than normal this weekend: we've got a graduation!

Our daughter Katie's graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill with majors in history and political science. She'll be starting grad school (MAT) at UNC in a couple of weeks. Her almost-fiance Dustin Miller is graduating next week from UNC-Greensboro with a business degree. So, tonight, we're having a party here at the house, and we're expecting some 35 people. (Ora pro nobis ... )

Tomorrow's Katie's graduation ceremony. It's a tradition that it's held outdoors every year on Mothers day, and UNC is a school with hidebound traditions. After the ceremony, we're going for Mothers day brunch at the Carolina Inn, there in Chapel Hill.

Judy Bachrach: Everything I Hate About Myself I See in Hillary

"When I was 25 (okay, 32), I got dumped by my first untrue love. He’d fallen, six years into our relationship, for his next-door neighbor, a really pretty actress with the IQ of an asparagus and the ability to fill many a conversational lull with tributes to liposuction. But I digress."

The embarrassment of the Clinton candidacy

If you haven't read (and aren't reading) Peggy Noonan, you're missing out.

Noonan was a Reagan White House speech writer and is not a syndicated columnist with the Wall Street Journal, and her writing is a delight, fun to read, interesting, and insightful.

In today's WSJ, she recounts the continuing train wreck of the Clinton candidacy. Here's a quote: "In a jaw-dropping interview in USA Today on Thursday, she said, 'I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on.' As evidence she cited an Associated Press report that, she said, 'found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.'

White Americans? Hard-working white Americans? 'Even Richard Nixon didn't say white,' an Obama supporter said, 'even with the Southern strategy.'"

More here.

Maybe Sen. Clinton could start having Klan rallies in support of her candidacy. She's come about that low.

"The Murder of Helen Jewett": a review on Amazon

"We shouldn't like murder mysteries, but we usually do.

While there's a real tragedy going on -- someone killed, families in disarray, a killer on trial -- we hang on for the gory details.

Folks were no different in New York City in 1836, which is the setting for the real life, true story of the murder of Helen Jewett, a lady of negotiable virtue, who plied her trade at an upscale brothel. It's the story of Jewett's life, and how she came to be who she was, and how she came to do what she did for a living.

And about Richard Robinson, her accused killer, and how a mild-mannered store clerk from rural New England came to New York, and was arrested for Jewett's murder.

And about the trial, and about the crowds there (mostly young -- the defendant was 18 -- clerks like the accused), and about how long the trial lasted, and about the speculation that the judge might have been bribed.

But this is more than a murder mystery. Because the author tells us vivid details about life in New York City during that time, and how prostitutes lived in that era (I didn't know that prostitution was legal in New York at that time), and how young Americans grew up during that time, and what was expected of them as far as behavior and decorum.

This is a scholarly book. It's labeled "history/women's studies," and I wouldn't take that away Patricia Cline Cohen, the historian who wrote the book. But if you just want a better-than-average read that will entertain you as well as teach you, you can do no better than this. I might even suggest -- since I'm writing this review on May 8 -- it wouldn't be a bad beach book. The cover and title are just trashy enough that the people on the next towel won't think you're a nerd on the beach. It'll have to be a secret between you and me and the author that while you're busy turning pages, you're also having your mind expanded."

In the Clinton campaign, the race-baiting continues: "white people support me"

Thankfulness

"The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!"

Henry Ward Beecher
1813-1887, Author

Proposal for a New Seminary

This is a good, important, and well-written piece. It's a bit dated (it was originally written in 1972!) but I think what he's got to say is still relevant, maybe more so.

Proposal for a New Seminary.

Why churches gotta do previews

This morning, I'm reading Reason magazine (I'm in a semi-political snit because the North Carolina primary is tomorrow, and my wife was good enough to do some research on the more obscure races -- judges, etc. -- and help me out) and I read a review of Matt Mason's book The Pirate's Dilemma. It looks like a good book, but Amazon has no preview. None! And since I'm wary of buying a book I haven't seen (the problem is not the $15 or whatever it would cost; it's the time I would spend finding out that a book is not worth reading) I was teetering on not putting the book on my wish list, so I go over to Google, and check their book previews, and there it is! A preview -- limited, but still a preview -- of The Pirate's Dilemma. And it looks good, and I put it on my wish list.

But that's not my point. The point is: is your church providing "previews" for people who might want to visit? It used to be that denominational labels were the only preview most people looked for: Baptist, Catholic, LCMS, whatever. No more.

In the first place, the labels have become less than helpful. Identifying a congregation as LCMS can mean a whole panoply of things, so people want to know more.

A visit can be a preview. However, churches need to know that some people simply won't visit without knowing more. And beware: if you are a small church -- meaning less than 100 people in church, which covers most American churches -- lots of people simply won't show up unannounced. They feel too conspicuous.

Which means that small congregations can -- and must -- provide previews that will allow new folks to feel comfortable with them.

The most obvious way is a website. A church that doesn't have one is likely dying, serving an increasingly aging group of people, and, honestly, probably doesn't really welcome new people. A website is the first thing, the must have for church life in our time.

Another way: put your services on youtube. Watching services on youtube (or television, or listening on the radio, or whatever) is not a substitute for gathering with the people of God. But putting out video of services shows newbies what the service is like, and gives them a feel for it.

Another way: put teaching videos on youtube. If you have distinctives (and if you don't, why not?) talk about the distinctives. Or do Bible studies on video. Or whatever. The point is not to have a large presence on youtube (although I think it's important for there to be more orthodox teaching on the site) but to demonstrate to new folks what your congregation is about, and why.

Why the dogs licked Lazarus' sores: more thoughts on Luke 16

Luke 16.19-21 is one of those passages that is best not discussed over dinner. (Believe me, I tried tonight. My wife wasn't happy when I shared my thoughts as she ate a salad).

But here's the text: "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores."

Traditionally, we read this, and see the contrast: the rich man so rich he's wear royal (purple) clothing, with Lazarus so poor that he's a beggar outside the rich man's gates, so poor that dogs lick his sores.

All of which is true. However, there's another theme that may be going on here. As I've mentioned in other spots, dogs are not exactly well-spoken of in the Bible. Specifically, they are used as a metaphor for unbelievers and gentiles. (Note Matt. 7.6, Matt. 15.26-27, Mark 7.27-28, among many other texts).

So while this pericope is saying that Lazarus is so low that he's surrounded by unbelievers, there's another theme here.

Dogs -- and many other animals -- have antiseptic qualities in their saliva. (Human saliva does not).

So while the dogs would probably enjoy the activity, the one being licked might benefit in such a situation, too.

Which means that part of the meaning of the text is that while Lazarus is ill-treated by the rich man, the dogs (= "gentiles") show a kindness to him.

The first woman journalist in America

While reading this book, I came across the story of Anne Royall.

Royall is acclaimed as the first woman journalist in America. Which is a kind way of putting it. She would travel from town to town, basically mooching off the hospitality of the inhabitants there, and would write up her experiences in her several books. If you were gracious and hospitable to her -- or at least feigned it well -- you got a good write-up. If not, you didn't.

Which might mean that Anne Royall wouldn't be the one you'd pick for a house guest. (I think she did the choosing). But she's one of those interesting characters who never seem to come up in conventional history books. And that's our loss.

Why idolatry hurts

Psalm 115: "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.

Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:

They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:

They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield."

It's easy to imagine that idolatry isn't all that bad. That while we're commanded to worship the true God and no other, we wonder what harm idolatry does in itself.

(A superficial understanding of St. Paul's statement in I Corinthians 8.4-6 -- "As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him" -- can also confuse the situation).

But Psalm 115 tells us most succinctly why idolatry is bad: we become like who (or what) we worship. Those who worship false gods who can't see, smell or speak ultimately become unseeing, unable to smell (think the incense of prayer) or speak truly about God or anything else.

Conversely, when we are blessed by the Father to know the true God and worship him, we become like that God.

That's why the creed is so important. Because the creed tells us who God is. And when we tinker with that creed, we're in danger of lapsing into idolatry. And because the first commandment is the source, the fountain, if you will, of all the commandments, worshiping a false god leads us to just about every possible wrong. A correct understanding of God also leads us in holiness, becoming more fully shaped into the image of Christ. Not that we become without sin (the constant returning to God for forgiveness is part of that being shaped in Christ's image) but avoiding gross or subtle idolatry is perhaps the one key to holiness.

The future of the Republican party

This is a round-table discussion from Princeton University, about the future of the Republican party.

Which is not my point. I'm not political, and don't fret a lot about the future of various parties. However, I think that a discussion of this nature about the future of the LCMS would be a prudent and good thing to have. Contra Gerald Kieschnick, there are huge divisions in the LCMS, and in a real sense, these are denominational groups under the umbrella of the synodical structure. How the future of the LCMS should be approached is worth talking about. Kieschnick is being silly when he pretends there are no divisions; refusing to talk about the very obvious, public divisions only means that any future schisms will be worse.

So, what's pollution?

We think -- mostly -- in terms of words. So defining the words properly is important.

Take pollution. We talk about it a lot, but seldom think about exactly what it is.

It's easy enough: pollution is an unwanted by-product of a process.

"Unwanted" is the key word. I like curries. My wife doesn't. When I make a curry, the odor is pleasant to me, and not to her. To her the smell is pollution.

As with "weeds." A weed is an unwanted plant. It's a definition strictly in the eyes of the observer.

A rose -- under the wrong circumstance -- could be a weed. And a dandelion could be not a weed. Under the right circumstances.

Same with "noise." Noise is unwanted sound. And actually, it's an unusual word, one that strictly speaking doesn't have an opposite. A classic joke is made of a parent telling a teen, "That's not music, that's noise." So the opposite of noise could be music. Or a baby crying. Or a dog barking.

(The term "noise pollution" is really a redundancy: all noise is pollution).

The point I'm making is that there are a lot of things that are objective. But there are lots of things that aren't. Knowing the difference between things that are inherently objective and things that are inherently subjective is important. Because otherwise our discussions can be speaking past one another.

Ascension Day

"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."

Acts 1.9-14